Rina Bovrisse

Rina Bovrisse (born 1974, Japan) is a fashion executive, designer and activist. Bovrisse is Chanel alumnus and Parsons School of Design graduate, known for her activism, "Prada Vs The UN" by Vogue. She is the first female to counter report a women’s rights case of fashion industry to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In 2011, Bovrisse founded Chateau School, a new concept preschool for creative industry families. In 2016, The Wall Street Journal Barron’s released Bovrisse to run for the Governor of Tokyo in 2020.

In 1990, she lived in New York City during high school. In 1992, she lived in Paris and attended American University of Paris, Parsons Paris and University of Paris. She also lived in London attending 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 which Bovrisse took instead.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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

On June 15, 2016, Bovrisse announced she would run for the Governor of Tokyo in 2020.