It looks like music impresario Simon Fuller (of ‘Spice Girls’ and ‘American Idol’ fame) is serious about being taken seriously by the world of fashion. Fuller has just recruited Susanne Tide-Frater, former creative director at Harrods and before that Selfridges. Tide-Fraser, a heavy-weight in London’s fashion retail scene, has joined Fuller’s ‘19 Entertainment’ company specifically to help develop its fashion collections which include dvb by Victoria Beckham and Roland Mouret.

Tide-Frater, now a brand consultant, has more than 15 years of fashion retail experience under her belt and is largely credited with establishing Selfridges as a serious player in the world of high-end fashion in the early 2000s. She left Selfridges to join Harrods where she developed and implemented the retailer’s exclusive ‘By Appointment’ personal shopping service that caters to high net worth individuals. Her specialty is developing brand identity. She also sits on the Advisory Panels of the British Fashion Council and Fashion Fringe, the prestigious competition that seeks out and nurtures young fashion design talent in the U.K. Hmmmm. Could this mean that there will soon be more Roland Mouret ‘RM’ to love? I do hope so.

Left to right: Susanne Tide-Frater; Simon Fuller with designer Roland Mouret and model.