Believe it or
not, Anna Wintour is not the only person who shapes the fashion
industry. Thousands of editors, designers, stylists, business owners,
and makeup artists influence fashion in a big way. To show exactly who these
people are, Business of Fashion has put together an initiative called the BoF 500
that lists the current top 500 industry influencers all around the globe.
As it stands right
now, the list is pretty incredible. But what's especially fascinating about the
BoF 500 is how many of the list are not household names. There are a lot of
people doing incredible people doing incredible things for fashion, and yes,
many of them are women. Here are some of the ladies you may not have heard of
who keep fashion moving and thriving.
1. Joan Burstein (founder, Browns):
You're more likely to have heard of Joan Burstein if you live in the U.K. She
is the founder and owner of one of London's most popular boutiques,
Browns. But even if you've heard of her, you might not realize just how
influential she is. Her boutique has been the first to carry designs by
Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Gareth Pugh, Hussein Chalayan, and
Christopher Kane. She has also introduced innumerable international designers
to the U.K.
2. Costanza Pascoloto (writer, Vogue
Brazil): BoF calls Pascoloto "Brazil’s reining grand dame of
fashion." The 74-year-old badass has been integral to the development of
Brazil's fashion scene, and she also runs her own fashion blog.
3. Pat McGrath (makeup artist): Despite
having no formal training, Pat McGrath is one of the world's leading makeup
artists. She does make up for shows and spreads, designs beauty lines, and has
worked with basically everybody.
4. Angelica Cheung (Editor-in-Chief, Vogue
China): Cheung is the youngest of the Vogue queens, and has a haircut that is
similar to Anna Wintour's, but way cooler. She has paved the way for China's
fashion industry, and is largely the reason the country has gotten attention
and respect from the international fashion community.
5. Omoyemi Akerele (founder, Style House
Files): Style
House Files is an organization that supports designers in Nigeria, and
Akerele actively works to expand and promote the country's quickly growing
fashion industry.
