Trendsetter : Natalie Massenet made Net-a-Porter a global phenomenon . When Natalie Massenet set up a website selling luxury fashions 15 years ago , her critics said it would never work . But that company , Net-a-Porter.com , proved to be a huge hit – with women saving up more than £2,000 for dresses by top designers such as Valentino . Now the online firm she founded from a London flat in 2000 is about to go through a mega-merger with an Italian fashion group – netting the mother of two about £70million . The deal with Yoox , expected to be announced this week after both sides confirmed talks yesterday , will make the business worth £1billion . It is a remarkable success story for UK-based Miss Massenet , who is credited with changing the way women shop for high-end fashion . Her website has become a global phenomenon , reaching sales of more than £500million and spawning copycat sites across the world . The daughter of a British Chanel model , the 49-year-old former fashion magazine journalist set up her online business just as the dotcom crash hit in 2000 . Aged just 33 and struggling to get any funding , she eventually managed to raise just over a million in start-up capital from her Chelsea flat . She launched the business with her then husband Arnaud while pregnant with her first child , despite warnings from sceptics who thought women would refuse to buy expensive clothes without trying them on . But the site has been a huge hit with the wealthy as well as those who simply live a long way from London ’ s designer shops and save for months for an item . Top-end products on the site include a JW Anderson leather panelled mini dress for £1,350 and a black silk satin jacket by Givenchy for £2,675 . Miss Massenet , who split from her husband in 2011 after 15 years of marriage , has since expanded the company into menswear with a site called Mr Porter and a discount site called the Outnet.com . She is due to receive the fruits of the mega-merger , which analysts say will bring a range of benefits , once the deal is finalised . She is expected to receive more than £70million on top of the £50million she made from selling the business to current owner , Swiss luxury giant Richemont , in 2010 . That deal valued the business at £280million . The merger with Yoox , which sells overstocked or unsold designer goods from previous seasons , values it at a staggering £1billion . Catwalk creations : The latest clothing designs on the website . California-born Miss Massenet , who is currently the chairman of the British Fashion Council , may stay on in her role as chairman of the business . She worked for US magazine Women 's Wear Daily and later became an assistant to stylist and fashion muse Isabella Blow at Tatler . Net-a-Porter is famous for its plush back and cream ribbon-wrapped delivery boxes , with designer items lovingly wrapped in crisp tissue paper . During the financial crisis women who were unable to give up their Net-a-Porter habit asked for their purchases to be delivered in plain wrapping , to hide their extravagance from colleagues .
Critics told Natalie Massenet her Net-a-Porter website would never work . Now she is finalising a deal with Yoox , making business worth £1billion . Site has reached sales of more than £500m and has spawned copycat sites . She has since expanded company into menswear with site called Mr Porter .