LTB 2014

At Look the Business in 2014: Amy Chua’s triple package of traits for success and why Eve Pollard won’t dilute her femininity … the guests that seriously sparkled … and the clothes that maketh the businesswoman…

Those who had secured tables were in sparkling form and looking so extraordinarily elegant that US-based guest speaker Amy Chua professed her relief at having worn a gold Prada dress, last given an airing when she was crowned one of Time magazine’s Top 100 global thinkers. Law professor at Yale and author of a number of bestselling titles, most recently, The Triple Package, about the key traits that determine success, Chua’s entertaining speech took us on a journey that commenced with the uproar over her Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother memoir and the Chinese-style parenting regime she imposed on her two daughters.

She believes many children today are brought up with a sense of entitlement that makes them weak and likely to lack self esteem. “I believe you earn self-esteem, from striving to be good at something, and succeeding.” This is a sentiment echoed in her latest book. “The Triple Package is essentially about the three key traits that determine success – a sense of self-esteem, yet a feeling of insecurity plus of course, impulse control.” She suggested both Mary Robinson and Mary Mc Aleese were examples of women who had the “triple package”.

This very notion of a “triple package” of key traits for business success got Vodafone CEO Anne O’Leary thinking about what she believes is important for a career in business. “Networking comes first,” she says. “It’s critical to build relationships, to get out there and meet people.”  She also advocates prioritising: “Know your trade-offs, sometimes multi-tasking results in a lack of focus.” Thirdly, O’Leary, a keen triathlete, urged setting personal bests. “We need to constantly raise the bar.” She also joked that her “triple package” helped justify her interest in fashion. “Getting out there and looking good and feeling positive means building relationships is hugely rewarding.”

“Networking comes first,” [Anne O’Leary] says. “It’s critical to build relationships, to get out there and meet people.”

Pulling together a good work wardrobe can also be a cause of stress for women who are working and trying to juggle their professional lives with other demands, something our after-dinner speaker, Eve Pollard OBE, readily identified with. “Decide if you are a black or a navy person – you can’t be both.” During stints as editor of two Fleet Street newspapers, she recounted how on Sunday nights she would lay out her clothes for the week ahead, to save time and angst. Now, clearly a “black” person, and looking amazing in a dress of her own creation (she has a new fashion label aimed at older working women), Pollard spoke about her own outstanding career in print journalism and broadcasting during the cutthroat 1980s in British media, in which she flourished while simultaneously being critiqued for her sleek wardrobe. As mother of two children (her daughter is Claudia Winkelman), her advice to working mothers was succinct: don’t miss the important moments, pay for help at home and dispense entirely with ironing. Do go to the pub after work, drink very little and never cry within a 15-minute radius from the office.

A dramatic opening to the fashion show, to the sounds of A Fifth of Beethoven and a swarm of models wearing amazing dresses from Valentino, Nina Ricci, Versace Collection and Roksanda Ilincic, all at Harvey Nichols, set the tone for the next 40 minutes of stunning looks, collated and styled by Catherine Condell, stylist and show producer. The dress has now firmly positioned itself as the ideal desk-to-dinner number. We also saw looks from Bastyan’s, NEXT, Arnott’s, Seagreen, Khan, and many fashionable others.

Needless to say, the models at Look the Business looked the business, their make-up looks (both daytime and evening), specially created for the event by Look the Business beauty partners Lancôme and executed by their expert team with creative artist Christine Lucignano. For day, the look centred around a show-stopping rich-red lip while the evening look focused on the eyes with Lancôme’s Parisian Lights Hynôse Palette (this palette has an amazing gold-brown shade). You can get expert tips for achieving both beauty looks from Look the Business by visiting your nearest Lancôme counter. Hair genius Michael Leong designed two hair looks for the models: a polished elegant wave with length, and a chic and simple chignon.

Look the Business is well-known for showering guests with goodies in the aptly-named Designer Handbag Draw (this year it was the bag that rules them all, the caramel leather Double bag by Prada). As the draw commenced, the decibel level rose significantly as one guest at each table in the room was thrilled to receive a luxury scented candle and diffuser from Max Benjamin’s exclusive Gold Collection. The three women at the top of Avoca, one of Ireland’s best-known family companies, chose the perfect gift for this appreciative audience: a Bliss and Blessings bangle for one guest at every table. At the whisk of a business card, five other lucky attendees won a Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone and five more a Nokia Lumia 830 device, courtesy of event partners Vodafone. Further surprises included a fabulous voucher for €1,000 to spend at stylish furniture store Roche Bobois; as well as beautiful 18-carat gold earrings – from studs to teardrops and hoops – all understated and elegant, from Louise Stokes’ Loulerie boutique. With Powerscourt Hotel’s Deirdre O’Brien in the room, she took an executive decision to instantly upgrade the prize at Powerscourt from a one-night stay for two to a fabulous break for one lucky guest plus five of her friends to include cocktails in the Presidential Suite, dinner in Sika restaurant, special spa treatments and an overnight stay – jealous-making. Plenty of other luxurious prizes were won throughout the evening.

Even those guests who were not victors of these spoils went home with not one but two gift bags with contents worth over €200 – more than the price of a ticket (now, that’s a return on investment). Lancôme’s gorgeous goodie bag included the utterly brilliant Grandiôse mascara, the mascara with the intuitively-designed wand that has transformed our lives! The mascara amnesty begins – chuck out that old, tired one and be a convert.