Who will be the faces driving the industry in the years ahead? WWD spotlights 40 individuals β from designers to influencers to chefs (plus a few more for good measure) β who are helping lead the way.
Giuliano Calza, creative director of GCDS. The designer said he is committed “to grow GCDS as a brand with its own heritage leaving a mark in the audience.”
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Matty Bovan. Bovan has a delightful, exuberant vision that has been luring London industry leaders from the get-go.
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Shanel Campbell. Her mission is to center black women and having that focus early on gives Campbell a distinct point of view.
Lorenzo Bertelli. Eyes are on the son of Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, as he was appointed head of digital communication of the luxury company in September 2017.
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Arielle Charnas. Credited as Nordstrom’s “most successful launch,” Arielle Charnas of Something Navy is crashing the influencer space.
Adrian Cheng. Combing art and commerce to change the retail landscape.
Telfar Clemens. Telfar Clemens always said he wanted to be the next Michael Kors, and the designer is redefining what that could look like.
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Brooklyn Decker and Whitney Casey of Finery. The closet organization app puts users first, aiming to help them get dressed for dates, dinners and job interviews with their own clothes.
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Marta Ferri. From fashion to interior design, the Milanese creative mind has developed a signature hyper-chic style.
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Billie Eilish. The 16-year-old has 9 million Instagram followers, was named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list earlier this month and is signed to Next Management.
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Genieve Figgis. The Irish artist’s ascent has accelerated since she was discovered on Twitter; her work inspired the color palette of Marc Jacobs’ spring 2019 collection.
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Jenny Galimberti. The Oxford-educated Galimberti has filled the role left vacant by former ceo Simon Whitehouse, and is charged with building the profile of the JW Anderson label.
Michael Halpern. Halpern, a London-based New Yorker, took the industry by storm with his vision of extreme glamour.
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Ty Haney of Outdoor Voices. The brand offers performance products that are a more-gentle alternative to the macho active brands.
Gabriela Hearst. Hearst has more to show for her relatively brief time in business than most independent luxury designers do in a decade or more.
Francois Goize
Ari Heckman & Jonathan Minkoff, ASH NYC The design and real estate development firm has recently opened hotels in New Orleans, Detroit and Providence.
Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss. Kerby Jean-Raymond has established himself as not just a designer, but an emerging cultural force.
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Summer Fridays’ Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland. The duo’s brand has been a hit far beyond their social followings, thanks to user-generated content and key retail partners.
Olga Karput. The founder of concept boutique KM20 in Moscow, she has quickly became Russia’s ringleader in the luxury streetwear movement.
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Huda Kattan. Since it launched, Huda Beauty has expanded beyond false lashes to makeup and, more recently, to fragrance.
Sarah LaFleur of MM.LaFleur. The resource for professional women is also a diverse female-led company that encourages individuality.
Chris Kyvetos. Kyvetos has more in store for 2019, including the launch of his own sneaker line, Athletics Footwear, which will land in-store in May, and the creation of a footwear studio in Guangzhou, in southern China.
Juliette Lévy, Oh My Cream. The entrepreneur’s passion for skin care has translated into a burgeoning retail business and product line.
Brandon Maxwell. Three years after launching his label, Brandon Maxwell has shed his image as a celebrity stylist and emerged as one of American luxury’s most promising stars.
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Jane Lu, Showpo’s Maestro. Showpo’s largest market is Australia, followed by the U.S., New Zealand, Canada and Germany.
Ashley Merrill of Lunya. The founder and chief executive officer of the sleepwear brand isn’t capping growth, saying, “We haven’t even scratched the surface.”
Nick Molnar, chief executive officer and co-founder of Afterpay. How the payment plan from Down Under is building a new base in the States.
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Clara and John Molloy. The duo have conceptualized several niche fragrance lines — Memo Paris, Floraïku, and most recently, Hermetica.
Jon Neidich. The restaurant and nightlife proprietor runs downtown haunts such as The Happiest Hour, Acme and the recently opened lounge Recreation at the Moxy Downtown Hotel under his Golden Age Hospitality group.
Marine Serre. For the LVMH Prize winner, success came earlier than expected.
Francesco Ragazzi of Palm Angels. The creative director continues to excite the world of high-end streetwear with hip and cool projects.
Cyndi Ramirez. Ramirez is readying for Chillhouse’s next act: a new flagship location, and a broader product assortment.
Morgane Sézalory. The direct-to-consumer dynamo is behind one of France’s fastest-growing cult brands.
Jorja Smith. The 21-year-old English singer-songwriter has had a rapid rise in 2018 — with a fashion allegiance following.
Sarah Staudinger and George Augusto of STUAD. The cofounders and co-creative directors treat their brand like a personality that is ever-changing and emotionally connected.
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Jed Stiller and John McPheters of Stadium Goods. Stadium Goods’ cofounders have helped re-brand the sneaker reselling experience.
Catherine Saks and Barbara Potts of Saks Potts. The Danish duo has made a name for themselves with colorful outerwear and a newfangled Scandinavian sensibility.
Jean Prounis of Prounis. The young goldsmith relies on ancient alchemy and technique to craft jewelry with a personal touch.
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Giorgia Tordini and Gilda Ambrosio of The Attico. These two digital influencers just received an investment by Remo Ruffini to support the growth of The Attico brand.
Richard Quinn. Richard Quinn gets his message across season after season with collections that draw on history, sustainability, societal issues and the latest technology, all with subtlety and style.
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Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble. The Austin, Tex.-based company has grown from dating app to global, women-first social network aimed at empowering women.
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Rejina Pyo. Pyo is known for pioneering the contemporary category and developing her own modernist language based on elegant, yet fuss-free clothing.
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Wendy Yu. British fashion has found a new champion in Wendy Yu, a young Chinese investor with deep pockets, a passion for design — and an English education.
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Jessie Zeng of Choosy. How the founder of year-old Choosy is building a business with a design process that starts at the intersection of AI and social media.
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Edoardo Zegna. The son of Ermenegildo Zegna’s ceo Gildo Zegna, he is head of content and innovation and omnichannel at the family-owned group.
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