Creating opportunity out of adversity is something entrepreneurs love to talk about, and today we got a brilliant example from fashion designer Alannah Hill.
Yesterday, Hill made a complete dill of herself when she launched what can only be described as a rant in praise of disgraced former David Jones chief executive Mark McInnes, which included the choice line: “I wish he had touched me up”.
Hill admitted she had “thrown herself” at McInnes in the past, only to be rebuffed by the ladies man who said he did not want to “mix business with pleasure”.
While McInnes apparently showed some restraint, Hill didn’t.
“I wouldn’t be trying for $37 million, I would just be like, good,” she said.
“I would have gone back to that Bondi flat in a heartbeat..He could have bedded me but he chose the other one,” she said.
This morning, a very contrite Hill appeared on a Melbourne radio station to apologise.
“I’m here with a priest, I’m on my knees and I’m doing my confession,” she told Melbourne’s Fox FM.
“I’m so gutted … I feel like such an idiot.
“Look, I know they are really serious allegations and I’ve never really worked in the corporate sector, and I understand sexual harassment would be unbearable.
“I know people get so stressed they can’t even go to work. I feel terrible for that girl and I feel stupid for myself and I really, really humbly apologise.”
Hill said her business partner had been “furious” with her outburst yesterday and was forcing her to hold a “sorry sale” on Saturday, with half the proceeds donated “to some sort of a women’s shelter or sexual abuse (charity)”.
Apparently she might even give the other half of the proceeds to “the nice girl with the hyphen in her name”.
The name, which Hill said she had forgotten, of course belongs to the alleged victim in this case, Kristy Fraser-Kirk.
Hill couldn’t really have made a bigger dill of herself yesterday, but her recovery has been pretty impressive – even if it seems she had to be told by her “business partner” that she had stuffed up.
While this incident hasn’t enhanced her reputation as a paragon of corporate responsibility, she at least has been transparent about her mistake and rapidly tried to make things up with her customers.
Silly comments by Hill, great recovery by the business partner. Now, if only that business partner can keep her away from microphones for a few more months…
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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