Ruth Chapman

Ruth Elizabeth Chapman (born December 1961 ) is co-founder and former co-CEO of luxury fashion retailer MATCHESFASHION.COM.

Early life Born on the Wirral, Chapman attended West Kirby Grammar School for Girls.

While growing up, Chapman said she was always interested in fashion and the "power of clothes". She was influenced by her mother, stepmother, and grandmother At the age of 21, Chapman met Tom Chapman, who convinced her to leave her job to help him run a fashion boutique.

Chapman was known in the industry for working with new and up-and-coming talent, and has said that "discovering" new designers was key to the business' early success.

In 2007, the couple launched the MATCHESFASHION.COM website, which Chapman has called a "seismic moment" for the business.

In 2017, Apax Partners acquired MATCHESFASHION.COM in a deal that valued the company at more than $1 billion.

In 2017, Chapman joined the jury of the ANDAM fashion award. Between 2013 and 2017, Chapman sat on the British Fashion Council's NEWGEN selection panel to find new UK fashion talent.

Matches Fashion was subsequently acquired from Apax in December 2023 by Frasers Group and went into administration in 2024.

Personal life Married to Tom Chapman, the couple have three children.

Chapman supported The Telegraph's Women Mean Business campaign which aimed to close the finance gap between female and male entrepreneurs.

In 2017, Ruth and Tom Chapman received the Drapers Award for Lifetime Achievement.