Grandson of Grégory Salomon, a fur merchant and supplier to the major fashion houses, and son of’Yves Salomon, who transformed the family business into a luxury brand, Thomas Salomon is much more than just a famous offspring.
When I went to their office-workshops at 3 Cité Paradis in Paris, I didn't meet Yves. But I had the feeling he was there.
Thomas has been working alongside his father for 20 years, and has naturally found his place — with complete legitimacy thanks to his hard work, dedication and vision.
In this interview, Thomas tells us in particular:
🪡 How he joined the company with his first internship, which almost didn't happen!
🪡 His collaboration with his father and the division of roles
🪡 Brand positioning and development, strategic choices and the shifts they had to make to ensure their stability
We talked about figures, we talked about retail and wholesale, and of course we also talked about fur, which is very controversial.
And the Resource Pact, which signs the house's commitment to transparent, ethical and responsible production.
Thomas Salomon is the embodiment of the fact that a French luxury house rooted in tradition and craftsmanship can — and must — innovate continuously, and become more agile, both in terms of creation and at an operational level, in order to endure for many decades to come.
If you’d like to find out more about what I call Creative Management, I dedicated a full episode to it a few months ago.
Today, I would like to take a closer look at one aspect of Creative Management: team-building.
What exactly does it involve?
What are the benefits?
I also share a great example, as well as a counter-example, from my own experience as an employee.
And bonus: I talk about my favourite sports coach, Ted Lasso. (no spoiler as I haven’t started Series 4 yet).
If you're interested in offering your team a workshop / team-building / training session, do drop me an email! lbm@lilibonnet.com
I can organise and facilitate almost anywhere in the world 🙂
I’ve known Fabien for over 20 years, back when he was a graphic designer.
We worked together on a project and have stayed in touch — partly because it’s something I enjoy doing, of course, but mainly because I’ve always admired his entrepreneurial spirit.
Even when he enrolled at art school, he didn’t know what he was going to do later on; he just had a fairly broad vision of his future:
– getting up whenever he wanted;
– not working for a boss;
– and living in a loft.
Today, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
He’s the owner of UNSEEN, a vintage shop in Brussels, but he’s also a designer, a carpenter…
it’s clearly impossible to define him in a single word, as he has developed and put to use a wide range of skills.
And it’s quite fascinating to see how much this multi-potential individual needs to free himself from the constraints that a single skill entails, to allow himself not to be confined to just one profession. Not to limit himself. And that is precisely the driving force behind everything he undertakes.
this episode, we also talked about:
– pop culture,
– imposter syndrome,
– mental health,
– and identity, thanks to his recent reconnection with his country of origin, Vietnam.
