The list is “the definitive professional index” for the fashion industry.
The Business of Fashion has released its annual list of people shaping this year’s fashion industry, and this year, five Arab women have made the list. Here’s everything you need to know about them.
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Marriam Mossalli
Saudi national Marriam started her career as a journalist, before founding the luxury consultancy agency Niche Arabia in 2011. The company has been integral to the growth of the Saudi Arabian fashion industry and has been a key player in the industry throughout the GCC. Marriam still continues to write, and has published a book called Under The Abaya, focused on Saudi Arabian fashion and another book called Glamour Globals which examines mankind’s relationship with material wealth.
Anok Yai
One of the youngest women on the list is Egyptian-Sudanese national Anok. The accolade from the Business of Fashion is one of many successes for the 19-year-old model this year. In February the teen opened the Prada runway show, the second black model ever to do so for the fashion house, following Naomi Campbell in 1997, coincidentally, the year Anok was born.
Ghizlan Guenez
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The Algerian-born Founder and CEO of internationally acclaimed fashion website The Modist has been awarded a spot on this year’s BOF 500 list. The website is often described as the Net-a-Porter equivalent for woman who want to dress modestly. The company has offices in both Dubai and London and ships to 120 countries worldwide.
Jamila Halfichi
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The fashion editor of the pan-Arabian newspaper Asharq Alawsat has been named as one of the most decisive names in fashion for 2018. The editor launched the newspaper’s first fashion section in 2008, and since then has seen the section go from strength to strength. Previously she also worked for Dubai-based TV channel MBC, as the fashion producer when the station was based in London in the early noughties.
Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch
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Named as one of the people having a key impact on the 2.4 trillion fashion industry is Moroccan entrepreneur, Salwa. She is the CEO and founder of Morocco’s leading luxury goods company, the Aksal Group. The company is the sole franchise for many international luxury brands in the country, including Gucci, Ralph Lauren and Fendi.
