WGSN and Stylus founder Marc Worth dies

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 16, 2023

Trends and insight service Stylus has announced the death of its founder Marc Worth, who also founded global trends service WGSN with his brother Julian.

At the time of his death on 13 January the 61-year-old was Executive Chairman of Stylus.

The Worth brothers came from a clothing industry background, working for the family business, Heat-Seal Textiles, before they had the idea that radically transformed the trends forecasting sector. 

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They founded WGSN (or Worth Global Style Network) in 1997 and turneds trend forecasting from a slow-moving physical publications-based business into an online one. But in its early days before the worldwide web was as developed as it later became, its forecasts were delivered via CDs or broadcast via satellite.

They built WGSN from a London operation with just a few staff (this writer included) into the world’s leading fashion trends business, overcoming the wobble of the dotcom bust at the turn of the Millennium to eventually sell the firm to publishing giant EMAP for £140 million in 2005.

After WGSN, Worth owned the Ossie Clark label for 18 months but later sold the loss-making business. He continued to have a wide variety of business interests and was a keen investor in and mentor to new companies and young entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds. 

He was also Chairman of UK Israel Business (UKIB) and Israel’s Shenkar College Board of Governors, as well as a Trustee of The Tel Aviv Foundation and the Chairman of TLVinLDN.
 
He launched Stylus in 2010, which he led as CEO until stepping into the role of Executive Chairman in April 2022.

Current Stylus CEO Victoria Rennie said of him: “Everyone at Stylus is completely shocked by this tragic news. Marc was an indomitable presence whose passion and humour will leave an indelible mark on our business and the industry for years to come. Many of us at Stylus have worked with Marc for decades and his loss will be felt sorely.”

She added that the company would continue its work “to evolve and grow the business Marc founded, as I know he would have wished us to do. But of course, our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the whole Worth family at this very sad time”.