The Vogue Business 100 Innovators: Next-gen entrepreneurs and agitators

This article is part of our Vogue Business Membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to Member-only reporting and insights, our NFT Tracker and TikTok Trend Tracker, weekly Technology and Sustainability Edits and exclusive event invitations, sign up for Membership here. Why do we champion growth at all costs? What should a circular economy look like in fashion? How does colonial history affect decision-making in the industry today? How can we stamp out racism and open up the path for brands in emerging markets to make their mark globally? Why do we design differently for men and women? These are just some of the questions driving the new wave of business founders and blue-sky thinkers. Arooj Aftab Social activist and consultant Social activist and fashion brand inclusion consultant Arooj Aftab created the campaign #DoneWithDiversity in January 2020, which encourages brands and publishing platforms to reconsider the limitations of the term “diversity”. She argues that diversity centres on the white, heterosexual, able-bodied norm, othering anyone who is considered diverse, which can lead to tokenism. The 26-year-old British-Pakistani Muslim grew up in Bradford in West Yorkshire and rose to notoriety after starring in a BBC Newsbeat documentary in 2018, My Tumour Made Me Trendy, about living with neurofibromatosis (NF) type 1 and how her condition affects the way she dresses — often wearing loose-fitting, oversized androgynous clothing to cover her tumours. Her own experience with tokenism and being the only brown woman behind the scenes of projects that were supposed to centre diversity inspired the launch of the campaign. Aftab hosted the finals of the third edition of the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge in 2022 and won the Asian Media Award in 2019. Omoyemi Akerele Founder and CEO | Lagos Fashion Week and Style House Files African fashion is working to break through to the international scene. At the forefront of those efforts is Omoyemi Akerele, the founder and chief executive of Lagos Fashion Week and Style House Files. Since 2011, Akerele has been working closely with Nigerian and West African designers and has played a vital role in exposing them to an international audience as well as boosting African fashion on a global scale — Akerele has helped brands showcase their collections at Italy’s Pitti Immagine, and has made Lagos Fashion Week an important event for designers and international onlookers. She established the fashion business development agency Style House Files, which has brokered opportunities for African creators globally on key platforms that contributed significantly to strengthening their business. Back in October, Akerele brokered a $1 million facility aimed at supporting designers and creatives in Africa. Her goal is to have African designers afforded the same opportunities as their western counterparts. So far, she has helped a number of high-profile designers, including Orange Culture, Lagos Space Programme, Kenneth Ize, Iamisigo, some of which have been recognised by global talent incubators like Woolmark and LVMH. Ben Barry Dean of fashion | New York’s Parsons School of Design New York’s Parsons School of Design is future-proofing its fashion curriculum, chiming with the updated desires and demands of socially and environmentally conscious students. As dean of fashion, associate dean of Parsons, and associate professor of equity and inclusion for fashion, Ben Barry is spearheading this new era for the university, with justice and decolonisation front and centre. The idea is to challenge what success looks like in fashion and equip students with the values and tools to build a better industry rather than just fitting into the current, broken system. This includes updating Parsons’ mission statement and hiring new faculty to help decentre whiteness; decolonise curricula; fostering design for people who are plus-sized or disabled; and embedding social justice in curriculum and culture. Key elective courses added recently include Indigenous Fashion and Disability Justice. Barry previously led Ryerson University through a similar transformation as chair of fashion, and has been awarded several grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, supporting his research into the intersectional experiences of disabled, fat, trans and queer people in fashion. Sinéad Burke Disability rights advocate and founder | Tilting the Lens Educator and disability rights advocate Sinéad Burke has disrupted the fashion industry narrative by swapping exclusivity for openness. Burke’s 2017 TED Talk, ‘Why design should include everyone’, brought her advocacy to the mainstream and kickstarted a speaking career that includes multiple appearances at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Since then, Burke has experienced several fashion industry firsts. In 2019, Burke was the first little person (she has achondroplasia) to grace the cover of British Vogue when she was one of 15 women chosen as “forces for change” by the Duchess of Sussex. The same year, she became the first little person to attend the Met Gala; her three-and-a-half-foot frame was adorned in custom Gucci. As a consultant and member of Gucci’s global equity council, Burke has aided the Kering-owned megabrand in becoming the first and only high fashion retailer to be a certified participant in the annual Disability Equality Index. It is now considered one of the “best places to work for disability inclusion”. The Irish advocate — whose experience includes podcast host and children’s book author — is also turning her hand to accessibility consultancy as founder and CEO of Tilting the Lens, with clients including Ralph Lauren, Pinterest and Netflix. Osama Chabbi Fashion critic Osama Chabbi is a French-Tunisian fashion critic based in Dubai, who turned to Instagram during the pandemic to comment on the fashion industry with a Middle Eastern lens. Celebrating representation of MENA culture within fashion, Chabbi is developing a unique voice on the platform based on his lived experience. His honest and insightful “Reviewed by Osa” Instagram fashion show reviews are fast becoming a go-to resource for impartial fashion criticism online: his account has over 21,000 followers and counting. And now, luxury brands are taking note: Chabbi regularly attends fashion shows from the likes of Jacquemus and Louis Vuitton, who are keen to hear his honest opinion on their collections. Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena Fashion designers | Chopova Lowena Chopova Lowena’s recognisable pleated skirts were spotted on attendees swishing through the crowds at London Fashion Week long before designers Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena made their runway debut in September 2022 (the model casting for which set a new bar for diversity). Matchesfashion picked up the brand in 2017 just as the designers were graduating with a MA degree from Central Saint Martins, and they have developed a cult following for their upcycled collections — made from recycled and deadstock materials, such as old pillowcases and aprons — that now also include shirts, blouses, outerwear and trousers. Chopova has a Bulgarian background, while Lowena is her English partner with a love for climbing, and they reference both in their designs. They employ female artisans in Bulgaria, with the aim of creating job opportunities in local communities and preserving traditional techniques — and ultimately ushering in a system of ethical consumption that focuses on appreciating the time taken to make garments, as well as their impact on the environment. Sharon Chuter Founder | Uoma Beauty Sharon Chuter, founder of Afro-inspired inclusive beauty brand Uoma Beauty, is known for challenging systemic racism and putting a spotlight on the beauty industry’s engagement with the Black community. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020, the Nigerian-born, LA-based beauty executive launched non-profit Pull Up For Change and the #PullUpOrShutUp initiative, which pushed companies to go further than posting a black square on social media; instead publishing the percentage of Black employees in their corporate office and leadership roles, and discouraging consumers from purchasing from brands until they disclosed those figures within 72 hours. Major brands, including Mac, L’Oréal, Glossier and Ulta Beauty, responded. Chuter also created the Make It Black campaign, which offers funding to Black entrepreneurs via the Pull Up For Change Impact Fund and asks brands to redesign product packaging in all black in a push to redefine the negative associations with the word. The campaign also asks consumers to sign a petition to update the dictionary definition of “black” to include positive associations. Simone Cipriani Founder | Ethical Fashion Initiative Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) founder Simone Cipriani works at the intersection of international development and the fashion and lifestyle sector. The organisation he set up in 2009, which is backed by the European Union, aims to create and strengthen social enterprises in emerging economies by connecting them to international fashion brands. Its primary focus is seeking to integrate African artisans into the global fashion supply chain. EFI has helped artisans across the continent produce bags, accessories and fabrics for several fashion brands — such as Vivienne Westwood and Gucci — as well as attracting international attention with orders coming from Japan, Europe, the US and Australia. In 2013, Cipriani launched an accelerator programme for African designers aimed at helping designers with quality production, financial support, and scalability. He is also chair of the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, which contributes to Sustainable Development Goals through coordinated action in the fashion sector. Clint 419 Founder | Corteiz Launched from his bedroom in 2017, British-Nigerian founder Clint 419’s London-based label Corteiz has disrupted the global streetwear space with a unique approach to community building and exclusivity. With its signature Alcatraz silhouette logo spotted on celebrities like Stormzy, Dave and Central Cee, as well as legions of young fans, Corteiz is known for spontaneous IRL drops in London and Lagos, announced on private Instagrams or passworded websites. Its Da Bolo Drop in January 2022 saw young people running around London’s central Soho district, finding Clint’s coordinates to trade in North Face and Moncler bombers for Corteiz ones. The mystery is all part of Corteiz’s DNA, as the founder wrote in 2019 on his Instagram: “Account was on private 95 per cent of the time for the last 18 months. Only way to find it was via someone you knew. No explore page. No seeding. No paid-for ads. No Pumplex Article, No Nothing. Just Us.” Colm Dillane Designer | KidSuper Colm Dillane, 30, is an up-and-coming force in fashion as the designer behind KidSuper, the New York streetwear brand known for a collective approach that mixes art, fashion, music and videos. With his emphasis on community-building, storytelling and exuberant men’s clothes, Dillane won the LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Prize in 2021 and was a CFDA nominee for the American Emerging Designer of the Year award. KidSuper stands out in a world of couturier names in a way that can be likened to Acne Studios, which was founded in 1996 in Stockholm as a creative collective. Dillane started KidSuper in 2011 and formally established it in 2018. He had his big break during Covid when he got accepted to the Paris Fashion Week calendar. Shows became fully digital, and Dillane produced some of the most innovative and creative videos of the period. He is now building a retail space and creative centre in Williamsburg, including a multi-brand retail store, cafe, gallery space, performance space and recording studio. Peter Do Fashion designer Peter Do was 25 years old when he launched his eponymous luxury label with four friends in 2018. Almost five years on and the Philo-era-Celine alum has carved out a unique space in New York luxury fashion, with over $6 million in sales and over 80 stockists. Do’s modern and sculptural tailoring has won him many accolades, ike the LVMH Graduate Prize in 2014. In 2022, he was an LVMH Prize finalist. As a Woolmark Prize 2022 finalist, the designer presented an innovative modular collection of 22 pieces to be styled in 365 ways to propose a solution to fashion’s constant need for newness, which he will launch as a capsule later this year. For Spring/Summer 2023, Do also introduced genderless/menswear pieces to his collection, furthering his vision for an inclusive industry. Tremaine Emory Fashion designer and founder | Denim Tears The founder of Denim Tears and current creative director of Supreme, Tremaine Emory, made his name by standing up to racial injustice through his work. Emory’s career began in 2010, when he cut his teeth working under Marc Jacobs in London for nine years, later becoming art and brand director at large for Stussy. Around the same time, he co-founded the music and fashion community brand No Vacancy Inn. In 2019, Emory founded Denim Tears, with the first collection exploring the history of cotton and slavery in America. The designer has distinguished himself by using fashion to address the Black experience in American politics. He has since collaborated with Off-White, New Balance, Levi’s, Champion, Our Legacy and Ugg. In 2021, an American flag-embroidered knit from Denim Tears was added to the Met Museum's Costume Institute's “America: A Lexicon of Fashion” collection. And this year, Emory partnered with Dior's Kim Jones on a co-designed capsule collection, shown in Cairo on 2 December. Antoine Gregory Creative consultant and founder | Black Fashion Fair Antoine Gregory is a New York-based fashion stylist and creative consultant, known by his online moniker Bibby Gregory, who works with brands including Pyer Moss, Fubu and Telfar. He is also the brand director of Theophilio, a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist and CFDA award winner for Emerging Designer of the Year 2021. Most notably, he is the founder of Black Fashion Fair, a media outlet, marketplace and online creative directory spotlighting Black designers, past and present, who he felt had been overlooked by the fashion industry. Founded in 2020, the idea for Black Fashion Fair came out of a Twitter thread he had been compiling since 2016, naming overlooked Black talent. In February 2022, Black Fashion Fair introduced its first issue, Volume 0. Aimed at preserving and documenting Black fashion and culture, it had the support of global creatives, including Kerby Jean-Raymond, Bianca Saunders and Mowalola. In September, Black Fashion Fair teamed up with live video shopping platform Ntwrk to curate a drop of pieces from emerging Black talent, including Antoine Manning (founder of Homage Year) and Nicole Zizi (founder of Nicole Zizi Studio). Proceeds were donated to Black Fashion Fair's community initiatives, such as the Brooklyn Sewing Academy, a programme dedicated to addressing systemic issues in the creative industry. Bryan Grey Yambao Social media creator and entrepreneur Bryan Grey Yambao, better known online as Bryanboy, started out as a fashion blogger and influencer. Having launched his blog in 2004, the same year Facebook was founded, he is among a generation of early content creators to monetise his creative output online. Filipino-born Yambao quickly amassed global followers for his candid tone and insightful fashion commentary. In 2008, Marc Jacobs named a Louis Vuitton handbag after Yambao, and in 2010, American Vogue featured him in its ‘Power’ issue, lifting his international status. Yambao’s ability to evolve and diversify across different social media platforms garnered him over $40 million in media impact value in the first half of 2022, according to software firm Launchmetrics. Today, he is a front-row fixture at fashion shows, works with luxury brands like Gucci, Tod’s and Valentino, and counts millions of fans across social media, including TikTok and Instagram. In 2020, he was hired by Love magazine founder Katie Grand for her new content agency, Perfect. In 2022, he was promoted to editor-in-chief. Joy Howard Founder and CEO | Early Majority Degrowth is a controversial term in the fashion industry but a common sense principle to entrepreneur Joy Howard, founder and CEO of fashion’s first degrowth brand, Early Majority. The startup is chasing a managed reduction of the economy to bring it in line with planetary boundaries and meet climate goals. Its outerwear capsule was designed to buck the trend for product proliferation, making fewer materials go much further, and encouraging consumers to reconsider how much they buy. Howard says the functionality and aesthetic of each garment should be able to take you from the bike to the boardroom, or from the bar to the backcountry, a philosophy informed by her time as vice president of global marketing at Patagonia. She’s also hoping the gender-neutral line will challenge the predictable old mantra for so many male-dominated businesses creating outerwear for women: “pink it or shrink it”. The main challenge is how to make this work financially in a broader system that still pushes overconsumption. Early Majority is hoping a membership model — where those paying the £358 lifetime fee can access discounts, early access to new product updates and exclusive content — will guarantee its long-term survival by building a loyal community. Shelby Ivey Christie Fashion historian Fashion and costume historian Shelby Ivey Christie is one of the most refreshing and searingly honest voices shaping fashion criticism today. Christie makes the compelling case that fashion is fundamentally political, and shining light on the (often hidden) contributions of Black creatives is a critical tool in decolonisation. Her Twitter account — which has over 49,000 followers — turns complex and previously misrepresented histories into digestible and engaging tweet threads. Particularly popular threads have deconstructed the costumes and symbolism in Beyoncé’s 2020 film Black is King, and spotlighted former Yves Saint Laurent muse Mounia Orosemane, the first Black model to walk in an haute couture show. Christie has a tangible impact outside of social media, too, consulting with fashion, tech and luxury brands on their diversity, equity and inclusion strategies. Yin Jiahao Chairman | Chenfeng Group China is speeding up efforts to develop advanced manufacturing in a bid to gain a key competitive edge in the global market. As a result, traditional players are refining their vision and enhancing their technological capabilities to stay abreast with new trends. Chenfeng Group, founded in 1967, has emerged as one of the top players in the competitive textile and garment sector in China. Chairman Yin Jiahao is determined to create clothing that exceeds the global apparel industry's highest standards. In particular, he is extremely passionate about empowering the new generation of Chinese independent designers by offering them logistical support. While many other Chinese textile manufacturing companies shun orders from independent designers due to the low quantities, Chenfeng set up a dedicated production line for smaller orders. Jessica Jung and Dami Kwon Co-founders | We11done The worldwide phenomenon that is K-pop has helped Korea's fashion industry expand its international influence in a significant way. We11done, co-founded in 2015 by Jessica Jung and Dami Kwon (elder sister of K-pop artist G-Dragon), is one of the brands riding on this wave. The brand has become a Gen Z favourite thanks to its unisex streetwear, which fuses Eastern and Western aesthetics. But with investment from Sequoia China in early 2022, We11done’s ambition is to become more than a Korean celebrity-backed fashion label. The brand has embarked on a journey to boost its direct-to-consumer business in other key markets, such as China. Jung and Kwon know how to create a buzz: they are also behind the Seoul-based concept store Rare Market. Laureen Kouassi-Olsson Founder | Birimian For a number of African and diasporic brands, securing the funds needed to grow has become a common pain point. Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, founder of the investment fund Birimian, is looking to solve that problem for emerging designers on and off the continent. Launched in 2021, Birimian is the first operational investment company dedicated to scaling African fashion brands into global luxury houses. The goal is to provide around $30,000 to $3 million of investment, which will support high-potential brands with production, financial planning and distribution on the back end while giving them access to fashion stakeholders, working with Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, Institut Français de la Mode, trade show Who’s Next and fashion prize Andam. The investment firm is already working with a number of emerging African and diasporic brands, such as Ghanaian womenswear label Christie Brown, Ivorian unisex brand Loza Maléombho and Belgium-based leather goods brand Yeba. Grace Ladoja Co-founder | Metallic Inc A Londoner of Nigerian descent, Grace Ladoja has been a driving force for a new generation of creative talent and helped to raise greater awareness of African youth culture. Ladoja began her career working as a filmmaker for brands like Nike and Swatch before launching Metallic Inc, a full-service media and production company that operates in the intersection between music, marketing and youth culture, in 2010. She helped to propel the role of grime musician Skepta when she became his manager in 2014. She took the genre to new heights and was awarded an MBE by the Queen in 2018 for services to music. Today, she serves as a cultural connector, manager, curator and consultant to brands and institutions around the world, including Nike, Levi’s and Supreme (for whom she is an ambassador). She is also the founder of Homecoming, which hosts an annual festival in Lagos and seeks to build partnerships that help support creative infrastructure in Africa. Mandy Lee Fashion trend forecaster Freelance fashion writer and trend researcher Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn on TikTok) rose to popularity during the pandemic with a viral TikTok video explaining microtrends in fashion. She’s since become known for coining popular trends such as indie sleaze: the return of a rebellious, dark and moody aesthetic stemming from the indie subculture of the early to late 2000s. Lee has also predicted trends such as twee and avant apocalyptic, among others. Lee has been working in forecasting for six years and is a leading voice in a new generation of commentators leveraging the power of social media to share deep analysis of the fashion industry. On her TikTok, where she has grown a community of over 400,000 followers, the Brooklyn-based creator shares trend analysis videos, breakdowns of runway shows, and personal style highlights. Kalkidan Legesse Co-founder and CEO | Owni The global resale industry is booming — currently growing three times faster than the overall apparel market, according to Thredup’s annual resale report — but issues persist. Brands struggle to retain control over their products after the firsthand purchase, with limited data and traceability, and third-party multi-brand platforms often capture secondhand sales before own-brand marketplaces can. Newcomer Owni is solving this by creating an ecosystem of brands and consumers hoping to extend the life of products. The white-label resale service populates peer-to-peer resale listings with brand data and images, putting an end to the misinformation and patchy product descriptions that plague sites like Depop and Ebay. Partnering brands stand to profit from the platform, too: since launching in 2021, Owni has helped its partners grow net profit on products they’ve already sold by an average of 6 per cent, the company says. Co-founder Kalkidan Legesse — who also owns Exeter-based multi-brand sustainable fashion store Sancho’s — topped off her recent $320,000 funding round with a $100,000 investment through Google’s Black Founders Fund, ready to scale Owni across the UK. Brand partners to date include Birdsong, 69b Boutique, Immaculate Vegan, Komodo and People Tree. William Lhoest Casting director For Marine Serre’s Spring/Summer 2023 show in June, the designer sent Paralympic champion Alexis Hanquinquant, rugby player-turned-reality TV star Kelegh Moutome, former soccer player Djibril Cissé, rapper JoeyStarr, singer Jorja Smith and Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon down the runway alongside fashion models Erin Wasson, Hanne Gaby Odiele and more. Behind that inventive lineup was William Lhoest, the casting director who is also behind the casting of the Ester Manas shows, an inclusive fashion brand. The result is a “voluptuously gorgeous crew of women friends and models”, as described by Vogue Runway’s Sarah Mower. “Diversity is the natural way to go — it’s not tokenism,” Lhoest, 32, says. With art director and stylist Benoit Bethume, they make a groundbreaking Belgian duo. Lhoest started modelling at 19 before his eye led him to help his agent Hakim Felidj scout new faces. He became a scout and model agent himself until Marine Serre called him and asked him to become her casting director. He has worked with her since her second show. “There’s a great evolution when it comes to diversity. It has changed a lot since I started three or four years ago,” he says. As evidence of it, he has less need to use street casting outside of model agencies. Model agencies are getting better at representation of diverse bodies and age groups, according to Lhoest. Thebe Magugu Fashion designer On the frontier of connecting African fashion to an international stage is 29-year-old Johannesburg-based designer Thebe Magugu. Known for his intricate craftsmanship and highly creative collections that comment on history, culture and politics, Magugu is using fashion to document the hidden tales of South African history. He studied fashion design, fashion photography and fashion media at Stadio (formerly LISOF) in Johannesburg and launched his namesake label at age 22. The young designer quickly rose to fame after winning the LVMH Prize for emerging talent in 2019, making him the first African designer to be awarded the prize in its history. Magugu has since gone on to collaborate with industry giants from Valentino to Adidas. Earlier this year, Magugu became the first guest designer to design a collection for AZ Factory, the Paris-based fashion company founded in 2019 by the late Alber Elbaz. Julio Ng Executive director | Seiya Nakamura 2.24 INC Julio Ng is a unique talent in fashion: with an ability to seamlessly combine Western and Eastern perspectives, Ng is able to strike a balance between creativity and commerciality as the executive director of Seiya Nakamura 2.24 INC, a creative brand development agency. In his role, he helps brands such as Song for the Mute, Courrèges and Namacheko find their voices and break into the market while also helping scale established brands. His background as a designer means he’s spent time on both the business and creative sides. After graduating from Central Saint Martins, he founded womenswear brand ID in 2016. Now, he applies his deep understanding of the creative process to brand consulting. Kyle Ng and Ed Davis Founders | Brain Dead They have 120 global stockists for their graphic hoodies, T-shirts and accessories. But Brain Dead founders Kyle Ng and Ed Davis are building more than a streetwear brand. With pieces created by its network of in-house artists and creatives, the LA-based label was launched in 2014, born of skate and post-punk culture. Ng and Davis are unafraid to collaborate with more niche communities, from rollerblading to wrestling, in order to build out their network of engaged fans. Sales topped $10 million in 2021 after soaring 200 per cent in 2020, according to the company. And as they grow, the founders are building out multiple verticals to the business, using the money from apparel sales to fund projects like the Brain Dead Studios Cinema in LA, a film produced in collaboration with indie production studio A24 and BrainSlam wrestling, the company’s wrestling event series, which has held matches in Milan and Paris. “People need our stuff because it’s connected to something they love,” Davis told Vogue Business. “Our apparel is all just merchandise for a culture.” Michelle Francine Ngonmo Founder and co-founder | Afro Fashion Week and We Are Made In Italy Exclusivity should never be exclusionary. In Italian fashion, nobody has been more central to spreading that message — and actioning real change — than Michelle Francine Ngonmo. Born in Cameroon and raised in Ferrara, Italy, Ngonmo founded the non-profit Afro Fashion Association in 2015 as a vehicle for building cross-cultural dialogue and opportunity. In 2017, as Italy became increasingly riven by racial tensions, she founded Milan’s Afro Fashion Week. Three years later, she partnered with Stella Jean, at that time the sole Black designer on the Milan Fashion Week womenswear schedule, to create We Are Made In Italy (WAMI). Along with co-founder Edward Buchanan, Bottega Veneta’s first-ever design director, Ngonmo and Jean have shaped WAMI into a thriving and influential showcase of Italian BIPOC design talent embedded within the official Milan Fashion Week calendar. In September 2022, WAMI designers presented their collections in a live runway format for the first time as part of Stella Jean’s first return to the schedule since 2020. Through her work, Ngonmo has skilfully and tirelessly ensured that the conversation about exclusion and opportunity for people of colour within the Italian fashion system is no longer itself marginalised. Odunayo Ojo Fashion Roadman Fashion’s legacy media continues to tie itself in knots, working out how to effectively appeal to Gen Z, the holy grail demographic of the moment. Meanwhile, Gen Z is finding its own fashion authorities who are emerging through digital and social media. Odunayo Ojo, 24, is a part of a new category of informed influencers, having amassed over 90,000 subscribers and 3 million views on his YouTube channel, Fashion Roadman. His work is a fascinating fashion-specific example of what happens when you combine core journalistic values — enthusiasm, research, rigour, and a yen for storytelling — with a talent for Gen Z audience engagement and an independent sensibility. Ojo’s video work inhabits a space between the ephemeral (and often factually dubious) fashion rhetoric on social media channels and long-form written journalism. Carefully scripted and fact-checked, his field of interest is often retrospective, delving into fashion history in order to inform his contemporaries who are nostalgic for periods of fashion they never themselves experienced. Ojo is currently working on the second edition of his self-published magazine (his first sold out in one day) and finishing his BA in fashion journalism at Central Saint Martins. Lisa Ou Yirou Co-founder | Maia Active A Parsons graduate who gained design experience with international fashion brands like J.Crew and Badgley Mischka, Lisa Ou Yirou spotted a gap in the market in China for trendy, high-performance activewear tailored to Asian body shapes. In 2016, she established sportswear brand Maia Active, which mixes technical materials with fashionable components and colours. Most importantly, it sells sportswear that truly fits Asian female consumers. International labels such as Lululemon and Nike have achieved huge success in the Chinese market, but demand for local designers is rising, and consumers are constantly on the lookout for new brands, which gives Maia Active an opportunity to grow. As a local brand, Maia Active has developed agile local marketing campaigns and localised products. Josephine Philips Founder | Sojo Josephine Philips first recognised a lack of easy and accessible clothing repairs after she became a top seller on Depop in 2018, buying and selling one-off vintage garments. To fill this void and keep clothing out of landfill, Philips launched Sojo in January 2021, an app that has become known as the Deliveroo of clothing repairs. In September 2021, 24-year-old Philips secured £300,000 in pre-seed investment, including from Depop’s founder Simon Beckerman. That October, Sojo won the Santander X Entrepreneurship Awards pitch competition, receiving £50,000 in equity-free funding and £25,000 in business support. Sojo gained momentum in April 2022 with a $2.4 million pre-seed round led by tech fund investor CapitalT. And in June 2022, Sojo was one of 40 European startups to earn $100,000 plus mentorship from Google’s Black Founders Fund. Sojo has leveraged a growing trend towards mending that has seen brands such as Levi’s, Patagonia and Hermès expand their repair offerings. Its blueprint of connecting independent local makers and menders with sustainability-conscious Gen Z customers has resonated with brands as well — partners include Ganni, vintage stores Beyond Retro and Traid, and rental platform Hurr. Gianluca Russo and Shammara Lawrence Founders | Power of Plus From size-inclusive clothing to the tribulations of fashion weeks, Gianluca Russo and Shammara Lawrence both played pivotal roles in progressing the conversations around size-inclusivity within the fashion industry before they joined forces. Russo, a fashion journalist, has written for publications including GQ, Nylon and Teen Vogue, collaborated with New York-based public speaker and writer Lawrence to launch Power of Plus, a size-inclusive and body-positive digital community, which hosts a series of virtual panels and networking events. Launched in 2019, the platform has created a safe space for the plus-size community to interact as well as engage in conversations around the topics of fashion, body positivity, fat politics and acceptance. Together they are campaigning for authentic inclusivity within the fashion industry and encouraging difficult conversations. Russo also released his debut book, The Power of Plus: Inside Fashion's Size-Inclusivity Revolution, earlier this year. Feng Chen Wang Fashion designer Since debuting at New York Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2016 and earning a nomination for the LVMH Prize, fashion designer Feng Chen Wang has emerged as a frontrunner in a wave of creative talent coming from China. Wang has built a profitable business producing technical outerwear and gender-neutral clothing that punches above its weight, despite the challenges that many emerging Asian designers face breaking into the global fashion industry. Wang designed the official uniforms for the flag bearers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, a feat not many independent designers have achieved and has also undertaken several successful collaborations with companies like Levi’s, Nike, Ugg and Converse. After many seasons presenting her collections in London, she is now a fixture at Paris Fashion Week. She counts athletes like Russell Westbrook as fans. Sara Ziff Founder | Model Alliance Pushing for models’ rights and looking to transform the modelling industry is American film producer, activist and fashion model, Sara Ziff. Her career in the modelling industry spans over two decades, during which she worked for luxury names including Prada, Stella McCartney, Dolce & Gabbana and Chanel. In 2012, she founded Model Alliance, a non-profit organisation that aims to encourage fair treatment and equal opportunities as well as create more sustainable practices in the fashion industry. Model Alliance tackles key problem areas within the fashion and modelling industry, from protections against workplace sexual harassment and pressures to engage in starvation dieting. The Model Alliance has partnered with institutions such as the Legal Clinic at Fordham Law School and the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders at Harvard University to release reports that help the industry better understand issues affecting models. Ziff oversaw efforts to pass the Child Model Act in New York State and the Talent Protections Act in California. Beyond her work at the Model Alliance, Ziff’s filmmaking career also shines a spotlight on the issues affecting the modelling industry. In 2009, she released a documentary named Picture Me: A Model’s Diary, which details her and other models’ experiences of their industry. To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.

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