The power mongering by the global fashion industry is a fascinating game to observe, and few people do that better than the industry moniting website Business Of Fashion, who every year compiles its #BoF500 list of the fashion world’s most impactful people around the world. The newly released 2018 edition of the list feature 11 people from the Arab world.
The list features regular UAE powerbrokers Khalid Al Tayer (the luxury brand and retail magnate who can count brands including Armani, Bottega Veneta and Harvey Nichols as part of his portfolio) and Mohamed Alabbar (head of Emaar and the man trying to spearhead the fashion e-commerce drive in the UAE). The former retaining his place on the list he has held since its inception in 2013.
There are also new entries from the Gulf, notably Saudi Arabia where Badr Al Deghaither and Marriam Mossalli. Al Deghaither is the Chief Executive of Saudi Jawahir Trading, and oversees the distribution rights for many luxury brands in the Kingdom including Givenchy and Alexander McQueen. Leading her field in a different way, Mossalli is an entrepreneur and journalist who founded Saudi’s leading luxury communications consultancy.
Across the Gulf there the Lebanese trio of Alain Bejjani (Chief Executive, Majid Al Futtaim Group); Tony Salame (Chairman of Lebanon’s first luxury multi-brand store, Aishti); and designer Rabih Kayrouz.
Elsewhere there Egyptian-Sudanese model Anok Yai makes the list, as does the Dubai-based Syrian founder of Souk.com, Ronaldo Mouchawar – who is a new entry.
The BoF500 is described as “the definitive professional index of the people shaping the $2.4 trillion fashion industry”. Each entrant is hand-selected by the editors of the website based on “hundreds of nominations received from current BoF500 members, extensive data analysis and research.”
The website states that the 2018 edition of the BoF500 list focused on ‘agents of change’, highlighting the people who are addressing fashion’s most critical issues during a period of great flux and tumult within the industry and the wider world.
The latest edition is more diverse than ever before with 96 new names and 63 nationalities.