Rina Bovrisse

Facts

• Rina Bovrisse is a fashion executive, designer, and activist born in 1974 in Japan.
• She's known for her activism against workplace sexual harassment in the fashion industry.
• She is the first woman to report a fashion case to the United Nations Office for Human Rights.
• Bovrisse moved to New York City in 1990 for high school.
• She studied at various universities in Paris and graduated with a BBA in Design Marketing from Parsons School of Design in 1998.
• She started her fashion career in the early 1990s in Paris, opening a small purchasing office.
• Bovrisse worked at Comme des Garçons, Prada, and Chanel in different roles.
• In 2011, she designed a prestigious preschool, Chateau School, offering a global curriculum.
• Bovrisse has been featured in media outlets like Elle France, Bloomberg, and Vogue for her activism.
• She publicly opposes discrimination and harassment in the fashion industry.
• Bovrisse is a global activist, specializing in social campaigns and working with a network of attorneys and NGOs.
• In 2012, a Tokyo Court dismissed her gender discrimination case against Prada. However, the UN backed her call for workplace sexual harassment to be made illegal in Japan.
• She also highlighted Japan's gender equality issues, with the nation ranking 101st out of 135 countries in gender equality in 2012.
• In 2013, the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan named her a spokesperson for Global Advocate for Women in Business.
• Bovrisse works with organizations to improve gender equality and empower women worldwide.
• She has lectured on gender equality and positive action at various institutions, including TED talks.
• A 2013 Change.org petition supporting Bovrisse against Prada's countersuit collected over 222,000 signatures.
• Bovrisse announced in 2016 her intention to run for the Governor of Tokyo in 2020 to champion women's rights.

Early life

In 1990, she moved to New York City during high school. In 1992, she lived to Paris and attended American University of Paris, Parsons Paris and University of Paris. She also lived in London for Central Saint Martins in Fashion Design. In 1998, she graduated with BBA in Design Marketing from Parsons School of Design in New York City. In 2009, she was accepted to American University of Paris to finish her master's degree, but while traveling to Paris, a friend at Prada in New York recommended a job at Prada Japan, which Bovrisse took instead.

Luxury Brands

Her fashion career started during her teen years in the early 1990s in Paris. She opened her small purchasing office and worked as liaison for shops carrying Vivienne Westwood and Martin Margiela products. She appeared at events at Les Bains Douches in Paris. She started working in the showroom of Comme des Garçons in New York City. After graduating from Parsons School of Design, she continued working at Comme des Garçons executive office. She was recruited to Prada Marketing in New York City and represented Prada and Miu Miu runway collections in Milan showroom. In 2001, she began working at Chanel headquarters in New York City.

Chanel

Bovrisse is Chanel alumnus. Most of her fashion career, she worked for Chanel Fashion Division in New York and Paris.

Chateau School

In 2011, Bovrisse designed a prestigious preschool, Chateau School offering a diverse and international experience. In 2012, the school's curriculum was featured on one of Japan's national TV stations, cited as a successful exponent of “Advanced Early Education”. In 2015, Fuji Television launched an exclusive 17 minutes documentary of Chateau School for its highly academic program. Bovrisse’s preschool, Chateau School has been featured on Vogue, Numero, Elle, WWD, Figaro and many fashion magazines.

Media

Bovrisse has been the subject of tabloid and media for her fashion activism.

In April 2010, Elle France selected Bovrisse as "The Woman Of The Week". In September 2010, Bloomberg featured Bovrisse as "Heroine of the Global Economy". In January 2011, she was featured as "Female Icon Of The Year" alongside Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni in a Spanish newspaper Correio da Manhã. On May 28, 2013, Vogue launched a news, "Prada Vs The UN" and became the most shared article.

TV Shows

On August 6, 2013, Bovrisse was interviewed by CBS Los Angeles news by CBS TV reporter, Andrea Fujii and commented, "I want to eliminate any discrimination and harassment in the fashion industry because it’s not beautiful".

On December 2, 2013, Bovrisse appeared on live American TV show, D.N.A. on Fusion (TV channel) owned by Disney–ABC Television Group and Univision Communications. The show features news, lifestyle, pop culture, and entertainment by anchor Derrick Ashong, host of Oprah Radio by Oprah Winfrey. Bovrisse was a guest speaker for Fashion Week Special and commented, "No one should feel uncomfortable about themselves. How you present yourself is who you are, what you wear and how you look is who you are. Everyone should be comfortable with that."

Newspapers

Bovrisse reached global media attention from breaking news and cover stories as the first female executive to counter report a fashion case to the United Nations for human rights of women.

Activism

Bovrisse is a globally respected activist devoted for her corporate social responsibility activism towards socially influential brands. She offers differing approaches to campaigning through worldwide network of attorneys and international NGO. She is specialized in branding social campaigns on a global scale.

Prada Gender Discrimination Case

In 2012, Tokyo Court female judge Reiko Morioka dismissed Bovrisse's Prada Gender Discrimination Case, said: discrimination is "acceptable for a luxury fashion label and that a well-compensated female employee should be able to withstand a certain level of harassment." Prada counter-sued for alleged defamation. The UN has backed Bovrisse and The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for Japan's State party to introduce new regulations that would make sexual harassment in the workplace illegal. The Committee also recommended that the State party ensure that victims can lodge complaints without fear of retaliation.

Global Gender Gap Report

In 2013, Bovrisse pointed out at Geneva Press Club that Japan is the 3rd largest economy of the world and 42% of the nation's workers being females, but gender equality was ranked 101st out of 135 countries measured in 2012. In 2016, Japan's ranking remained 101st behind Gambia and Tajikistan is a dearth of female voices in power.

American Chamber of Commerce

In 2013, American Chamber of Commerce in Japan The Women in Business Committee welcomed Bovrisse as spokesperson of Global Advocate for Women in Business at Tokyo American Club.

Asian Transnational Corporations Monitoring Network

On May 8, 2012, Asian Transnational Corporations Monitoring Network sent a letter against LVMH Group in hiring Sebastian Suhl for Givenchy who was the key player of sexual harassment and discrimination case. On June 7, 2013, fifteen Hong Kong NGOs co-signed a "Statement for Press" which backed Bovrisse to support improve gender equality and empowering women around the world.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange

In May 2011, Bovrisse was invited to The Hong Kong Legislative Council to meet with the council members and lawmakers. Bovrisse met with the Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong, Emily Lau, and the General Secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, Lee Cheuk-yan, on IPO regulations. Hong Kong Stock Exchange IPO regulation was later updated to include compliance monitoring before approved for IPO.

UN Women

In October 2013, Bovrisse presented to advocate the promotion of UN Women organized by the Center for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL) of the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Women's Coalition on Equal Opportunities and the Women’s Studies Research Centre (WSRC), joined by Emily Lau and Hong Kong NGOs.

TED

Bovrisse has lectured on gender equality and positive action at law schools, universities, fashion schools and TED.

Change.org

In April–August 2013, a Change.org petition calling for Prada to drop its countersuit against Bovrisse collected over 222,000 signatures.

Politics

On June 15, 2016, Bovrisse announced she would run for the Governor of Tokyo in 2020. Bovrisse said, "I keep hearing about how Japan is championing women, making us shine, creating new opportunities, but this is all fiction, all talk. For women to enjoy real change, we need to do the jobs that men think are only for them. That's why I'm running. Once you are involved in our political system, you get brainwashed and don't see the problems because you lack real world experience. Wages are weak and income inequality is rising, but these men have no idea. This is the main reason things never change in Japan."

Personal life

Bovrisse is a single mother, having divorced a Frenchman from whom she got her surname. She has one son, French-American model and singer. He appeared on fashion shows, TV commercials and concerts in Tokyo.