Dear BoF Community,
Today, The Business of Fashion is excited to reveal The BoF 500 Class of 2025, our newest additions to the definitive index of the people shaping the global fashion industry.
What began in 2013 as a list of the 500 most influential people in the global fashion industry has now grown into a community of 1,613 people from 98 nations.
As we set about compiling The Class of 2025, we sifted through 528 nominations from current BoF 500 members and gathered intel from the BoF team and other sources around the world to surface the most compelling names based on key criteria including leadership, creativity, innovation and impact, across eight categories: Designers, Executives, Media, Retailers, Entrepreneurs, Creative Class, Models & Muses and Catalysts.
The Class of 2025 reflects a fashion industry in flux. And it should not come as a surprise that we have a bumper crop of Designers this year, given the sheer number of debuts at key brands. New creative directors in this year’s mix include Julian Klausner of Dries Van Noten, Meryll Rogge of Marni, Michael Rider of Celine, Rachel Scott of Proenza Schouler, Simone Bellotti of Jil Sander and Veronica Leoni of Calvin Klein.
This year’s Models and Muses include breakout runway stars like Alex Consani and Mamuor Majeng. They also reflect fashion’s growing intersection with other creative disciplines. Take Guillaume Diop, an étoile for Paris Opera Ballet, for example, who received nominations from Babeth Djian, Lucien Pages and BoF’s Robert Williams. Meanwhile, breakout “Girl Love” stars Freen and Becky — brand ambassadors for Valentino and Chanel respectively — underscore the growing cultural power of Thailand.
In the Catalysts category, we are recognising behind-the-scenes connectors and power brokers like Grace Ladoja, who founded Nigeria’s Homecoming Festival, linking the country’s youth culture, music and fashion scenes, and was nominated by Tayo and Ayo Amusan, Ebi Sampson and Iretidayo Zaccheaus. Then, there’s Kyle Smith, the first ever fashion editor for the NFL, who’s at the centre of the growing connection between high fashion and American football, and Colombia’s Sebastien Diez, who is making waves in Latin America as the CEO of Inexmoda which organises Colombiamoda and Colombiatex, putting Medellin on the global fashion map.
Among our new Creative Class members are the Korean American illustrator Annie Choi, known for her whimsical animations for Loewe and Hermès; Chinese art director Zipeng Li, who has made waves with visuals for publications including W Magazine China; and the Brazilian stylist George Krakowiak, who received nominations from the likes of Katie Grand, Roksanda Ilinčić and BoF’s Robb Young for his inventive editorials featuring celebrities like Bad Bunny and Tyla.
And of course, there are top Executives like Ralph Lauren’s CEO Patrice Louvet and Loewe’s CEO Pascal Lepoivre, disruptive Entrepreneurs like Quince’s Sid Gupta and Shopmy’s Tiffany Lopinsky, and many more inspiring individuals shaping the global fashion industry.
Explore the entire BoF 500 Class of 2025 here.
The BoF 500 2025 is made possible by Presenting Partner Amazon Fashion, and partners The Shangri-La Hotel, La Fantaisie, La Mode en Images and Getty Images.
