Each year, The Business of Fashion releases its BoF 500, a list of the people it believes are shaping the industry's future. More than just a roll call of familiar names, the list has become a snapshot of how influence in fashion is evolving.
As fashion moves away from its traditional power centres in Paris, Milan, London and New York, the BoF 500 has increasingly highlighted talent from a broader range of countries. That shift is reflected in this year’s edition.
“This is our most global group of industry shapers yet,” says Imran Amed, BoF’s founder and chief executive. “With new entrants from Montenegro, Mongolia, Cameroon and Panama, it underscores how fashion’s centre of gravity continues to shift eastwards and southwards.”
The Arab world is also making its mark. Below, we highlight the most notable new entries from the region.
Tara Emad
Egyptian actress and model Tara Emad earns her place on the list for a body of work that has steadily expanded her influence across the region. She drew wide recognition for her role in the Arabic adaptation of Suits, as well as standout performances in the 2018 thriller Diamond Dust and the box office smash The Blue Elephant 2 in 2019. Beginning her career as a model before moving into acting, Emad has built a reputation for versatility and charisma on screen. In 2022, she became the first Middle Eastern woman to be named as an ambassador for Chanel Beauty, which cemented her position as one of the region’s most visible and boundary-pushing talents.
Ahmed Hassan
Ahmed Hassan, co-founder of the Saudi label KML, has also been recognised. The brand, launched in 2022 by Ahmed and his sister Razan, draws inspiration from the gender-neutral, utilitarian dress of Saudi Bedouin. It creates garments designed to be worn in multiple ways. His inclusion in the BoF 500 follows his success as a finalist for the 2025 LVMH Prize.
Sofia Guellaty
Sofia Guellaty, founder and creative director of Mille World, is another Mena talent recognised this year. The Tunisian entrepreneur launched the media platform in 2018 with a mission to spotlight Arab culture, lifestyle, beauty and fashion on a global stage.
Mustafa Kucuk and Vahap Kucuk (LC Waikiki)
Turkish business leaders Mustafa and Vahap Kucuk have also earned a place on the list for their fashion and lifestyle brand LC Waikiki. Since acquiring the company in 1997, they have grown it into a powerhouse that in 2024 reported net sales of approximately $4.92 billion (Dh18.06 billion).
BoF’s founder Amed says their inclusion reflects the broader transformation of the industry. “We put together this year’s class at a unique inflection point for fashion, as the industry contends with shifting geopolitics, economic dislocation and sweeping technological change.”
Other notable inductees for 2025 include Simone Bellotti, creative director at Jil Sander, and Michael Rider, creative director at Celine. Dries Van Noten designer Julian Klausner also makes the list, alongside Italian couturier Giambattista Valli and Jamaican designer Rachel Scott, recognised both for her label Diotima and for her recent appointment to lead Proenza Schouler, where she will debut next season.
Despite its name, the BoF 500 welcomes 100 new members each year, nominated by existing inductees and rigorously vetted before being selected by BoF editors for their influence. The list now consists of 1,613 people representing 98 nationalities.
This year’s list also features US rappers and singers Doechii and Kendrick Lamar, alongside British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo. American model and beauty entrepreneur Hailey Bieber also makes the cut, as does French ballet dancer Guillaume Diop.
Further additions include British designer and podcast host Bella Freud, Sara Moonves, editor-in-chief of W Magazine, and Thom Bettridge, editor-in-chief of i-D magazine. Kyle Smith, fashion editor for the NFL, is also recognised.
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
