Dear BoF Community,
The Business of Fashion is excited to reveal The BoF 500 Class of 2024: 100 new additions to the definitive index of people shaping the global fashion industry.
Back in September 2013 when we first conceived of the BoF 500, I wrote: âNo other sector has a cast of characters as passionate, diverse and interesting as those who influence and animate the business of fashion. Yet, mostly, whatâs projected in the media that reaches the broader world is only a thin, and sometimes superficial, slice of this captivating group. The more we thought about it, the more we felt like now was the right time to explore this talented community of people and collect them together online.â
Eleven years later, that vision is still coming to life as our community continues to grow. What began as a list of the 500 most influential people in the global fashion industry has now grown to 1,509 entries in our index, representing more than 70 nationalities, representing every facet of the industry.
This yearâs new entrants have been selected based on extensive research, on-the-ground market intelligence and, most importantly, nominations from existing BoF 500 members. Our team sifted through 462 nominations, conducting research and market interviews to surface the most compelling names across eight categories: Designers, Executives, Media, Retailers, Entrepreneurs, Creative Class, Models & Muses and Catalysts. We assessed their contributions to the global fashion industry based on key criteria including leadership, creativity, innovation and impact.
This resulting Class of 2024 includes people with 37 nationalities based in 26 countries, including first-time entrants with nationalities that havenât been represented in the BoF 500 before. Indeed, what is most remarkable about this class â and all the classes that have come before â is how global they are.
Thomas Plantega, based in Vilnius, Lithuania, has been recognised for steering the turnaround of the resale platform The Vinted Group, driving almost â¬600 million in revenue in 2023. Faraz Manan is a Pakistani designer based in Dubai whose bridal garments are worn across South Asia and by the South Asian diaspora in the Middle East and beyond. And Maryse Mbonyumutwa is the founder of pan-African fashion brand Asantii and garment manufacturer Pink Mango who has established an export-led sourcing hub in Rwanda.
Also new to the BoF 500 are Polish movement director Pat Boguslawski and German model Leon Dame, who were both key to this yearâs viral Maison Margiela fashion show by John Galliano. Exciting new voices in our media category include the passionate French-Algerian fashion narrator Lyas; the Texas-based Turkish-born online commentator Volkan Yilmaz whose online persona Tanner Leatherstein has attracted more than 1 million TikTok followers and reshaped how many customers perceive the value of luxury leather goods; fearless Kenyan-American podcaster Recho Omondi of âThe Cutting Room Floorâ and Canadian Derek Guy, known for his sharp critiques as the âmenswear guyâ on X.
Executives including Gap Incâs Richard Dickson, Abercrombie & Fitchâs Fran Horowitz and Benedetta Petruzzo, formerly of Miu Miu, now of Christian Dior, are all part of this yearâs BoF 500 Class for the business results they delivered in the past 12 months. But there are also agitators, challenging these executives to create a better fashion industry, like Nicole Rycroft of Canopyu
At the intersection of fashion and sport, new entrants include Canadian basketball player Shai Gilgeous Alexander who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder and has made waves for his pre-game âtunnel walkâ looks, and breakout WNBA star and BoF 500 cover star Angel Reese who has not only boosted viewership to all-time highs, but also has become a force in fashion and beauty, on and off the court.
And of course, there are the designers, an essential part of the fashion ecosystem, who make up 21 percent of this yearâs new additions, including Duran Lantink, who hails from The Netherlands and received 4 nominations from across our community, the highest of any new entrant.
These are just a few of the members of The BoF 500 Class of 2024. There are so many more inspiring new names to learn about, each of whom has worked hard to make contributions that deserve our recognition. I hope you will enjoy exploring this yearâs impressive class.
Imran Amed, Founder and Editor-in-Chief
The BoF 500 remains a vital and free-to-access global resource for anyone who is interested in learning about the industry and the people who make it tick. There are many more inspiring journeys contained in our latest BoF 500 index which is now available to explore. (BoF Professional mobile app users, please click here).
The BoF 500 2024 is made possible by our partners Chase Sapphire Reserve, NEFT, Shop With Google, The Shangri-La Hotel and La Mode en Images.
