THE BUSINESS OF FASHION UNVEILS THE BoF 500 CLASS OF 2023
MARKING 10 YEARS CELEBRATING FASHION TRAILBLAZERS
Marking 10 years of The BoF 500, today The Business of Fashion (BoF) unveils The BoF 500 Class of 2023, the definitive index of people shaping the global fashion industry of today and tomorrow.
New entrants to the index are selected for their leadership, creativity, innovation, and impact, based on nominations from existing BoF 500 members, on the ground intelligence from around the world, and in-depth research closely examined by BoF editors.
Imran Amed, Founder and CEO of The Business of Fashion, said: “Ten years ago we set out to identify the people shaping the global fashion industry to recognise those who are driving exceptional innovation, change and creativity. Starting with those 500 names, we have grown our index to include exciting talents representing more than 70 nationalities. The combined experience, tenacity, and drive of The BoF 500 Class of 2023 is truly inspiring and illustrates how fashion, business, culture, and technology all intersect. We are delighted to welcome them all into our global community.”
On joining the BoF 500 Class of 2023, Sole DXB Partners Hussain Moloobhoy, Joshua Cox and Rajat Malhotra said: “We’re honoured to be awarded a place on the Business of Fashion 500. We’ve been blessed to be part of a community that has shared their love and support, and we simply could not have built Sole without them. We’ve never been more optimistic about what the future holds for Dubai and the wider region, and we’re looking forward to where this adventure continues to take us.”
Sole DXB is the region’s most celebrated youth and contemporary cultural festival, built on its pillars of fashion, music, visuals arts and sports. This year from 8-10 December, the highly anticipated festival returns as the official celebration of Hip Hop 50, the three-day event spans live music, workshops, film screenings, brand activations, exclusive fashion drops, art installations, and the region’s most competitive basketball tournament.
Sole DXB has become the most powerful experiential, brand-building platform across the SWANA region, attracting a young, diverse, and sophisticated audience. The ecosystem they’ve built through their experiential and values-driven strategy, serves as the main bridge between over 150 international brands and a rapidly expanding global community.
The 100 members in The BoF 500 Class of 2023 represent 44 nationalities and are based in 26 countries:
23 DESIGNERS: Including Creative Director of Louis Vuitton Men’s Pharrell Williams (USA), Gucci Creative Director Sabato de Sarno (Italy), Artistic Director of Courreges Nicolas di Felice (Belgium), Artistic Director of Pucci Camille Miceli (Italy/France), Rami Al-Ali (Syria), Cecilie Bahnsen (Denmark), Bianca Saunders (UK/Jamaica), Kiko Kostadinov (Bulgaria), Co-Founders of Aje Adrian Norris & Edwina Forest (Australia) and more.
25 MODELS AND MUSES: Including musicians NewJeans (South Korea), BTS (South Korea), Bad Bunny (Puerto Rico), Doja Cat (USA), Burna Boy (Nigeria), Karol G (Colombia), Actors Margot Robbie (Australia) and Anne Hathaway (USA), Athletes Héctor Bellerin (Spain) and Sir Lewis Hamilton (UK), Influencer Amy Roko (Saudi Arabia) and more.
11 CATALYSTS: Dubai Design District’s Senior Vice President Khadija Al Bastaki (UAE), Founder of Harlem’s Fashion Row Brandice Daniel (USA), Founder of Beth Model Management Elizabeth Isiorho (Nigeria), Founder of The Or Foundation Liz Ricketts (USA), KCD Partner and Managing Director Rachna Shah (USA) and more.
11 CREATIVE CLASS: Fashion Director of Dazed Imruh Asha (The Netherlands), Artist Laila Gohar (Egypt), Hair Stylist Cyndia Harvey (Jamaica), Makeup Artist Valentina Li (China), Creative Director at D Magazine Jacob K (Denmark), Photographer Gabriel Moses (UK), Founder of Crosby Studio Harry Nuriev (Russia) and more.
5 ENTREPRENEURS: Co-Founders of Love Bonito Rachel Lim and Dione Song (Singapore), Designers at Toteme Elin Kling and Karl Lindman (Sweden), Founder of The Giving Movement Dominic Nowll-Barnes (UK), Co-Founders of Sole DXB Hussain Moloobhoy, Rajat Malhotra and Joshua Cox (United Kingdom, United States, Australia), Co-Founders of Rubi Laboratories Neeka and Leila Mashouf (United States).
9 EXECUTIVES: Chief Executive of Alo Yoga Danny Harris (USA), CEO of Grupo Soma Roberto Jatahy (Brazil), CEO of Lotte Department Store Jun Jun-ho (South Korea), Head of Tmall Luxury Pavilion Janet Wang (China) and more.
10 MEDIA: Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Ukraine Vena Brykalin (Ukraine), Editor-in-Chief of Elle UK Kenya Hunt (UK), Shin Kwang-ho of Vogue Korea (South Korea), Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar Olivier Lalanne (France), Content Creators Hanan Besovic (Croatia) and Beka Gvishiani (Georgia), Co-Founders of Nowre Peter Zhong and Chris Wang (China) and more.
6 RETAILERS: Founder of 69 Group Amir Fayo (Egypt), Founder of AshLuxe Yinka Ash (Nigeria), Founder of Forward Fashion Holdings Patrick Wing Ting (China), Founder of Vitkac Arkadiusz Likus (Poland), Creative Director of Restir Maiko Shibata (Japan), Founder of TX Youth Energy Center Dickson Sezto (China).
The BoF 500 Class of 2023 will be celebrated at The BoF 500 Gala on Saturday 30 September during Paris Fashion Week. The BoF 500 2023 special cover stories on Pharrell Williams, Karol G, Isamaya Ffrench and Lorenzo Bertelli will be published on businessoffashion.com starting Monday 2 October 2023.
