Sharlene Sherwood

I specialise in creative head office recruitment, from mid-management roles in buying, merchandising, design, product development, production, garment technology and account management, to senior appointments like heads of design and creative directors.

I didn’t start out in recruitment. For a few years, I was one of the founders of a successful brand that began by customising clothing and selling on Portobello Market, Camden Market and Spitalfields. Then we were spotted by Selfridges which had collections in all their locations. It went pretty crazy for a while, but then all the founders were headhunted and I became a buyer. That, eventually, led to recruitment.

I felt like a fish out of water at first but there’s a lightbulb moment in recruitment when you start making placements and everything clicks. For me, it clicked as I realised I understood the candidate journey, the lifecycle of products, and the challenges my clients and candidates faced. I think it made me more relatable. I think it still does.

I met [ZD founders] Danny and Zac years before I joined Zachary Daniels. When they reached out to me to say they were opening a London office it gave me a chance to be part of a business where retail was the core focus and where I could concentrate on developing my desk rather than on management. It was a real breath of fresh air. I still love the environment here.

Outside of work, my obsessions are fashion, food, travel and the arts. I’m always at the theatre, brunch and cocktails with the girls, or at exhibitions. Both my daughters are creatives (performing rather than fashion, though), so we enjoy seeing them perform!