How I started in fashion: Gymshark's Chief Commercial Officer Carly Natalizia

Carly Natalizia's path into fashion is a reminder that there really is no single route into the industry. After spending more than 15 years in financial services, holding marketing roles at the likes of Bank of America and NatWest, she made the move into retail as CMO at The Very Group before joining Gymshark in 2022, as VP for Marketing, International.

Since then, Natalizia has climbed the ranks at the sportswear brand, leading to her appointment earlier this year as Chief Commercial Officer – a role in which she leads Gymshark's commercial strategy and drives the brand’s evolution towards becoming a fully omnichannel business.

Her unique perspective has proven very valuable to Gymshark as it continues a period of rapid growth. Over the last few years the brand has expanded its digital channels alongside its physical retail footprint, opened experiential formats such as its new gym in Miami, and embraced new growth channels, including its first US wholesale partnership. 

In this interview Natalizia reveals what led her to retail and fashion, her "product is king" philosophy, what continues to draw her to Gymshark's culture of experimentation, and the industry figure whose calm confidence she has always admired.

Have you always had an interest in fashion? Why does it appeal to you and why did you want to work within it?

​Honestly, I wasn’t someone who grew up dreaming of working in fashion or who had a particular passion for designer clothes, but was lucky enough to find fashion along the way. I started in finance, but when I moved into retail, it was actually less about fashion and more about proving to myself that I could make a successful move into a completely different sector.

However, the first time I went into a studio and saw all the product on rails, the models, the styling and the whole creative process, I was hooked.

Coming from banking, where everything was largely conceptual and intangible, I loved the fact that retail and fashion had something physical at its heart. There was a product that had to be designed, made, photographed, marketed and ultimately sold to a customer. It made everything feel very real.

I also quickly realised just how much the product matters. In retail, you really do live or die by the product. When it’s right, everything becomes easier; when it’s not, no amount of marketing can completely compensate for it. I love that challenge – getting the product right and then working out how you maximise it when you do.

Tell us about your first job in fashion. What drew you to the role and what was the experience like?

So, as I say, I had come from finance and wanted to prove to myself that I could make the move into retail and build a career in a very different environment.

What appealed to me was that it gave me exposure to the buying and retail side of the business, so I could start to understand how the product actually worked within a retail environment.

​When I first went into the studio and saw the product on rails, the models, the makeup and styling, I just remember thinking:"this is completely different from anything I've experienced before"

But I was immediately drawn to the energy and the fact that there was something tangible at the centre of the business. You could see the product, understand it, work with it and ultimately see how customers responded to it.

That was incredibly refreshing. It was the beginning of me discovering that retail and fashion combined a lot of the things I enjoyed – commerciality, creativity, people and, most importantly, product.

What were the most valuable skills or lessons you gained from that first experience?

The biggest lesson was simple: product is king.

I learned very quickly that whatever your role in a retail business, your job becomes infinitely easier when the product is right.

That gave me a much deeper appreciation of how important it is to understand the customer and make sure you are building the right product and assortment for them.

I also learned the importance of starting with your core customer. My first experience was in a business with a very loyal and highly engaged customer base, so understanding their needs and building the assortment around those needs was critical.

And finally, I learned that retail doesn't give you much room for complacency. You can't get time back. If you lose sight of things for a few days, weeks or months, you can't necessarily make it all up with one good month. You have to be on your game consistently.

Those lessons – putting product and customer at the heart of what you do, and maintaining a constant sense of urgency – have stayed with me throughout my career.

What do you most enjoy about your current role?

More than anything, I’m still learning.

At this stage of my career, to be able to say that I’m learning something new every single day is incredibly energising. I deliberately came to Gymshark because I wanted to learn how to do things differently. It’s a company that hasn’t necessarily followed the traditional playbook, and I find that incredibly exciting.

I also love the people. There are some amazing people across the business and particularly within my team. It’s a really fun group to work with, and that makes a huge difference.

And then there’s the culture. There’s a real openness to trying things. You can have an idea and the instinct isn't necessarily to tell you why it won't work. It’s much more likely to be: why not? Let’s try it.

That entrepreneurial spirit is something I really enjoy. There’s a sense of possibility – of asking what we could do, rather than simply what we should do.

Natalizia's job in retail was with The Very Group

If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice at the very start of your career, what would it be – and why?

Chill out. It’s going to be fine.

I spent a lot of my career feeling like there always had to be another goal, another milestone or another thing to get to. I was always looking ahead rather than taking the time to appreciate where I was.

I’d tell my younger self to try things, take opportunities and not put so much pressure on everything having to work out exactly as planned.

You can be ambitious and still enjoy the journey. In fact, I think you probably do better when you give yourself permission to enjoy it a little more.

You’re going to have difficult moments, but you’re also going to have great ones. When you get a win, stop and enjoy it. You don’t always have to be thinking about what comes next.

What does the next chapter of your own career look like and how are you hoping to grow from here?

I genuinely feel like I couldn’t have designed a better role for myself on paper.

So, for me, the next chapter is less about immediately looking for the next thing and more about settling into this role, doing it properly and enjoying it.

There’s a huge amount to learn, and it’s challenging and hard work, but that’s exactly what I wanted from this stage of my career.

I’ve spent a lot of my career striving for the next milestone, and I think this is an opportunity to take stock, make the most of the position I’m in and continue to grow through the work itself.

I want to keep learning, particularly around product and the wider customer experience, and use the breadth of the role to become better at connecting all of those things together.

For now, the ambition is quite simple: do a great job, keep learning and enjoy it.

Has there been a person in fashion that you have always admired and why?

Someone I’ve really admired is Vanessa Kingori, the former publishing editor of British Vogue.

I saw her speak at an event where she was doing a Q&A, and I was struck by the way she carried herself. She was operating in a very commercial, senior role within fashion, which can still be a very male-dominated environment, but she had this incredibly calm, confident presence.

She had a real badass energy, but without needing to be loud about it. She was incredibly smart and clearly knew her stuff, but there was a calmness to the way she showed up. Almost a silent-assassin quality.

I also saw her at a point when she was transitioning back to work after having her son, and I found the whole thing incredibly inspiring – seeing someone operate at that level, navigate motherhood and continue to lead with such confidence.

For me, it was the combination of commercial intelligence, confidence, calmness and the way she handled all of those different demands that I found so inspiring.