The Fab 50: The People Shaping London’s Creative Culture Club

As director of the charitable organization founded by the late Lee Alexander McQueen in 2007, Trino Verkade has helped foster the careers of more than 280 of London’s foremost emerging artists and designers. Buzzy past and current Sarabande recipients could fill a book — or two — and include Craig Green; Molly Goddard; John Alexander Skelton; Stefan Cooke; Bianca Saunders; Henry Stanford; Torishéju Dumi; Paolo Carzana; Aaron Esh; Yodea Marquel Williams; Ivan Delogu Senes; Freddy Coomes, and Matt Empringham. 

In her role, Verkade ensures the health of the foundation and the artists it supports. In addition to providing the organization’s artists with scholarships and heavily subsidized studio spaces, Verkade advises artists on how to strengthen their business. She also oversees Sarabande’s public events, talks and House of Bandits, the foundation’s gallery and concept store. In November 2023, she opened Sarabande’s Tottenham studios, expanding the total number of spaces the foundation offers to 30. 

The ever-energetic and inventive Verkade’s connection to Sarabande is personal and professional: as Lee Alexander McQueen’s first employee, Verkade has been a pillar of London’s bubbling creative scene since the outset of her career. From 1994 to 2012, Verkade was Alexander McQueen’s managing director, licensing director, director of store planning and special projects, growing the small label into an international luxury brand. Following her time at McQueen, Verkade did stints as vice president of Thom Browne and as Mary Katrantzou’s chief executive officer. She has been in her current role since 2017. 

How does London inspire you? “London is a great city! There is something unique here that has always allowed creativity to flourish, it’s part of our culture to break rules and to find our own way. The strength of all our creative practices is much stronger when it’s joined together, and it’s during wild nights at bars and house parties across London that change happens and ideas flourish. Communities are built and that’s London’s strength. Sarabande has been able to tap into that place where art and fashion collide, and give a home to those who think differently.” — Violet Goldstone

Hans Ulrich Obrist, artistic director of London’s Serpentine Gallery, is approaching two decades in his role there and is still moving full steam ahead. “This year, we’re presenting a new exhibition by London-based artist Peter Doig, which offers a surprising perspective on his relationship with music,” Obrist said. “His work draws inspiration from sound systems, echoing the deep influence of London’s vibrant music scene. It’s a fascinating connection.” 

Obrist added that the Serpentine will also continue to host Park Nights, the museum’s platform for championing emerging artists, with singer Isabella Lovestory and performance artist Nile Harris on the docket.

Alongside his keen eye for new talent, curating influential exhibitions and panel appearances, Obrist is a creator in his own right. Since 2003, he has been publishing books filled with lengthy conversations between him and influential figures in the art world and beyond. He is also a talent-spotter. Some of the notable names that Obrist was first to celebrate at the contemporary institution include Klein, Bambi, Matt Copson, Josiane M.H Pozi and John Glacier.

Accompanying his primary activity of curating and teaching, his books feature conversations he has had with friends and collaborators over the past decade. His interviewees include famous artists Ai Wei Wei, Marina Abramović, Matthew Barney, Gilbert and George and Maurizio Cattelan, as well as trendsetting architects Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid.

How does London inspire you? “What excites me most about London, and has always excited me, is the artists. Artists across all disciplines are the lifeblood of this city.” — Violet Goldstone

Marc Newson and Charlotte Stockdale are a creative power couple, each having built a legacy in their respective industries. The couple’s individual achievements, and their shared aesthetic vision, have made them influential forces in the creative world.

Throughout his career Newson has delved into every aspect of design, from technology to furniture. His Lockheed Lounge has become a coveted piece of contemporary design, setting multiple auction records for a living designer’s work.

He has collaborated with brands including Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Apple, where he contributed to projects including the Apple Watch. Newson is the only designer represented by Gagosian Gallery and his works are held in the permanent collections of more than 40 institutions worldwide.

“What inspires me the most about London isn’t necessarily the city, but something I love doing here — walking,” Newson said. “I love to walk, not only because it’s often a more practical way to get around, but to spend precious moments in the many beautiful parks that the city is so famous for.”

Stockdale has made her mark in fashion and creative direction. In 2016 she cofounded Chaos, a luxury brand and creative consultancy, with her former British Vogue colleague Katie Lyall. The brand specializes in personalized tech accessories that merge fashion with function. Previously, Stockdale served as fashion director at i-D and contributed to V Magazine, U.S. Harper’s Bazaar and British Vogue, where she was a contributing editor for several years.

“London’s still one of the best places for creatives to thrive,” Stockdale said. “I think it’s down to the city’s diversity, its drive for innovation, and that typical English disregard for rules. It’s like a city-state — doing its own thing.”

The couple, who have two children, have a rare synergy that shapes the wider design landscape in bold and original ways. — Hanna McNeila

Dame Zandra Rhodes’ designs made her British fashion royalty in the ‘70s, and she’s remained an influential figure since. Rhodes arrived in London during the Swinging ‘60s to study design at Royal College of Art, and her peers included emerging artists David Hockney, Ossie Clark and Janice Wainwright. There she encountered attitudes and ideas that went on to inspire the rest of her career.

Her 1977 collection “Conceptual Chic” channeled the rebellious mood of those days, and helped to popularize the punk look. Using beaded safety pins, purposefully distressed and torn fabric, and sink chains, her clothing celebrated punk’s hardcore, DIY attitude with unusual materials and techniques.

She would go on to design textiles and clothing for a host of celebrities — Freddie Mercury, Natalie Wood and Princess Diana — and was a muse for Karl Lagerfeld and the sculptor Andrew Logan, who remains a close friend. She even won a Daytime Emmy Award for her “Romeo and Juliet on Ice” costumes.

In addition to her flourishing career as a designer, Rhodes founded the Fashion and Textile Museum in 2003, which has hosted exhibits including “The Biba Story: 1964-1975,” “Andy Warhol: The Textiles” and “Kaffe Fassett: The Power of Pattern.”

Now living in an uber-colorful apartment above the museum named the Rainbow Penthouse — which echoes her fluorescent pink hair and equally bright attitude — Rhodes still finds inspiration in London’s electric attitude.

How does London inspire you? “London is a melting-pot of inspiration. When I arrived here, the city was alive with new ideas and fearless self-expression. That London spirit of individuality and breaking the rules has shaped everything I do. The energy of the streets and people inspire me every day. London doesn’t just embrace eccentricity, it celebrates it. There’s nowhere else like it. I am proud that my namesake brand started here in the Swinging ‘60s and continues to this day.”— Violet Goldstone

Sadie Frost’s passion for the arts has led her to engage with the worlds of film and fashion as an actress, filmmaker and designer, and she’s right at home in London.

Frost started her acting career in the late ‘80s. Her first big role came in 1992 when she starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula.”

In 1999, she branched out into fashion and founded the clothing line FrostFrench, which she designed with her friend Jemima French. It showed during London Fashion Week, had its own stores and sold at places including Barneys New York, Scoop and Fred Segal in the early- to mid-2000s, during which Frost simultaneously dipped her toe into film production.

A mother of four, her family is also in the spotlight. Her children with ex-husband Jude Law include daughter Iris Law, who has modeled for brands including Burberry, Knwls and Versace, while her son is the actor and producer Rafferty Law. 

It was only after her children grew up and moved out that Frost fully returned to filmmaking and fashion design. In 2021 she directed a documentary on the fashion designer Mary Quant, titled “Quant,” and revisited design with her luxury yoga clothing line, Frost.

She’s not slowing down: Her documentary on supermodel Twiggy was released earlier this year, and Frost will be featured in the upcoming gangster biopic “The Chelsea Cowboy.”

How does London inspire you? “I love London for all of its creativity. It has pockets hidden all over, where different cultures and subcultures brew. The parks, the walks along the canals and traditional markets which have been established for years all make a fun day out. And all the art house cinemas and the wonderful theaters give us feasts of entertainment at night.” — Violet Goldstone

Phoebe Philo’s designs have earned her an army of fans known as Philo-philes, who love her chic, sharp-edged aesthetic and intellectual approach to design. For decades she has reshaped women’s wardrobes with her singular vision, from her transformative 10-year tenure at Céline, which she exited in 2017, to the launch of her namesake label in 2023. 

The Central Saint Martins graduate followed Stella McCartney to Chloé in 1997, and took the top job in 2001 when McCartney left to set up her own fashion house in a joint venture with Gucci Group. Philo’s eye for luxurious fabrics and modern yet feminine silhouettes got her the top job at Céline in 2009, where she engineered the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned brand’s rejuvenation. Season after season, she minted covetable clothes and distinctive handbags which spoke softly but authoritatively.

After stepping away from fashion for six years, Philo’s long-awaited return saw the launch of her eponymous line. With LVMH as a minority investor, her independent house’s mission has been to create clothing and accessories “rooted in exceptional quality and design.”

Considering her collections seasonless and part of a continuous body of work, Philo releases “edits” outside of the standard fashion calendar, and has put a new spin on direct-to-consumer models. The brand produces items in limited quantities in order to sidestep overproduction, one of the biggest blights of the fashion industry.

When asked about her views on leadership by WWD in 2024, Philo said: “Ultimately, it’s about what one sees and the vision. Staying close to that and trying to do it with as much care and passion as possible. Kindness, humor and an appreciation for everyday life including the simple stuff, alongside a good old-fashioned dose of hard work helps, too.” — Violet Goldstone

Craig Green made his runway debut in 2013 and shook up the London menswear scene with his utilitarian, yet whimsical, workwear staples. He added a jazzy dose of color and texture to boxy work jackets — inspired by delivery men’s uniforms — quilted shirts, wide-leg trousers, parkas and statement ponchos.

It didn’t take the industry long to recognize his talent and he was awarded Emerging Menswear Designer at the London Fashion Awards a year after making his debut.

His spring 2015 show, which focused on the movement, structure and architecture of the clothing, made attendees think about the purpose of clothing, and in some cases, shed a tear. It was clear that he was not only a talented designer but a thoughtful one as well.

He won the Menswear Designer prize at the British Fashion Awards in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and the BFC/GQ Designer Men’s Wear Fund prize in 2016. In June 2018, he was the guest designer at Pitti Uomo and received an MBE, or Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, honor for his services to fashion.

He’s also turned his hand to film, creating costumes for the characters in Ridley Scott’s “Alien: Covenant.” Actors wore outfits based on Green’s fall 2015 collection, including hand-twisted jersey, long johns, skin-tight clothing and quilted vests.

His company is a rare one in London — it’s more than a decade old, financially stable and independent. “We do our own sales, production and distribution — and we enjoy doing things our own way,” Green told WWD in 2023.

Last year Green held his first physical show since 2022 in London, which was a tender tribute to his father, who had recently died. He will present his spring 2025 collection in Paris on June 29. 

How does London inspire you? “I grew up in London and have always lived here: London is a place where so many cultures, identities and aesthetics coexist. I find that really energizing. There’s no singular look or idea that defines London. It is never static, and that constant movement is what has always really inspired me.” — Violet Goldstone

Erdem Moralioglu has carved out a distinct space in British fashion with his own label that launched in 2005. Known for his romantic sensibility and his love of historical figures — especially the intellectual and artistic ones — the designer’s richly detailed collections regularly reference art and literature and draws inspiration from creatives, writers and social figures from the past. His cast of historical muses includes Deborah “Debo” Devonshire, the late Duchess of Devonshire, Maria Callas, the novelist Radclyffe Hall, and the artist and gardener Derek Jarman.

Moralioglu established his brand soon after graduating from London’s Royal College of Art in 2003. His flair for graceful silhouettes, floral prints, and lavish embroidery led him to win the BFC’s Womenswear Designer of the Year award in 2014, and the 2010 British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund Award. The designer was also awarded an MBE, or Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, honor in 2020 for his contributions to the British fashion industry. 

Moralioglu is as involved in the arts as he is inspired by them. He is a collector and his fashion shows have frequently been held in the British Museum, as well as The National Portrait Gallery, Sadler’s Wells and the V&A.

Last year he organized an exhibition at Chatsworth, one of England’s grandest and most famous residences that was once Debo’s home. Titled “Imaginary Conversations,” the exhibition featured Erdem’s spring 2024 collection, which was inspired by Chatsworth and the duchess, and shed light on how an individual’s life and legacy can be translated into a full fashion collection.

What inspires you about London? “London is a melting pot of inspiration. I’m drawn to its stories, its characters, from Virginia Woolf to Lady Ottoline Morrell. These figures often find their way into my collections, shaping the mood and narrative. Institutions like the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and especially the London Library, are where I feel creatively inspired. To me, London is where everything began. It’s where I trained and where I started Erdem, the city is such a huge part of what I do.” — Violet Goldstone

Like the look and feel of Apple products? Thank Jony Ive. 

Apple’s former chief design officer is responsible for creating some of the tech giant’s most iconic wares, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. In 2019, after 30 years at the company, Ive left to found his own creative collective, LoveFrom, with designer Marc Newson. 

Last year Ive founded io, an AI devices start-up, alongside Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan. On May 21, it was revealed that OpenAI was partnering with Ive, and would merge with the company in a deal that’s valued at around $6.5 billion.

Following the merger, Ive and his design company LoveFrom will assume deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO and cofounder, said the goal of the collaboration is to “develop, engineer and manufacture a new family of products,” and a bid to bring “delight, wonder and creative spirit” to the company. 

In 2004, Ive was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Benjamin Franklin Medal, and he was knighted in 2012. In 2019, he was presented the Professor Stephen Hawking Fellowship. 

Since leaving Apple he has also dabbled with the fashion industry on multiple occasions. Most notably, he launched an outerwear collection with Moncler last year. The collection was designed as a system of three shells — evolutions of the field jacket, parka and poncho — that connect to a central core through the magnetic “Duo button” featuring the Monduck and the LoveFrom bear logos.

The button is engineered from aluminum, brass, steel and a heat-resistant magnet, a fusion of tech and fashion that’s testament to Ive’s fluid creativity. — Violet Goldstone

Martine Rose has always taken an innovative and unconventional approach to fashion, blending elements of subcultures, such as rave, punk and hip-hop, with an avant-garde, tailored sensibility. She started out designing menswear, challenging traditional codes while remaining grounded in wearable, real-world designs.

Her aesthetic — and attitude — didn’t evolve overnight. She worked as a consultant for Balenciaga under Demna’s leadership and helped the brand pivot to streetwear and embrace subcultural aesthetics. Under the Martine Rose label, which launched in 2007, she has released several high-profile collaborations with Nike, Clarks, Napapijri, Stüssy and, most recently, Supreme.

She also has dressed Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna and, most recently, Timothée Chalamet for the London premiere of “A Complete Unknown” earlier this year. Chalamet wore a custom-made slim suit, which Rose had based on her “Bowie” silhouette. He paired it with a silky, marble-print shirt from the designer’s spring 2025 collection and a pair of Rose’s mules, which she admitted was a “high-risk strategy” given his chosen mode of transport — a rented Lime bike.

Rose has staged shows in Florence, Milan, Paris and her hometown London, where the locations always come with a personal link — a climbing and bouldering center for spring 2018; a residential street near Camden Market for spring 2019; a school where her daughter attended for 2020, and a North London community center for spring 2024.

On June 14, she will unveil the brand’s spring 2026 collection with an off-schedule runway show in London, and who knows what sort of location she’ll choose next? — Tianwei Zhang

Grace Wales Bonner has consistently pushed fashion’s boundaries by elevating the notion of luxury through a broader cultural perspective.

She launched her brand, Wales Bonner, right after graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2014 and over the past decade has amassed a slew of accolades for her coed collections that blend the craftsmanship of Savile Row tailoring with Afro Atlantic influences.

In 2016 she won the third annual LVMH Prize, and has collaborated with brands ranging from Adidas Originals and Anderson & Sheppard to Dior. In 2023 was tapped to curate an exhibition with the Museum of Modern Art in New York for its Artist Choice series.

Her work is known for its cerebral quality and an intimate connection to history, identity and art. She reimagines classic tailoring, incorporating textured embellishments, artisanal craftsmanship and cross-cultural elements.

She draws inspiration from art, film and the experiences of the African diaspora on both sides of the Atlantic. Ahead of her fall 2024 show last year, she did much of her research at Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, where she was looking at the institution’s sporting, musical and literary history. The show unfurled at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, and had a collegiate spin.

She described her fall 2025 men’s collection as “a romantic vision of the artist at work,” and drew inspiration from a real artist, the Chicago-based Theaster Gates, in addition to mining his extensive archive of vintage Ebony and Jet magazines for her cool photographic prints.

She worked once again with Anderson & Sheppard, and with Crombie, the storied British menswear brand best known for its elegant wool topcoats. She even added dashes of bright color — such as sizzling pink — from her Adidas Originals collection.

This year she’s marking a decade in business and plans to stage a celebratory runway show in Paris later this month. — Tianwei Zhang

The inaugural recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, Richard Quinn is known for his use of vibrant prints, bold silhouettes, and his ability to merge creativity and couture-grade craftsmanship. He’s also struck gold designing bridalwear, which keeps his business humming.

Born in South London, Quinn graduated from Central Saint Martins with a master’s degree in fashion design in 2016. He worked at Christian Dior and on Savile Row before establishing his label in 2017. Specializing in womenswear and printed textiles, his designs have striking prints — florals, geometric patterns and retro-inspired motifs — that are often juxtaposed with unexpected shapes and textures. He loves contrasts, too, often pairing latex tops, leggings, and hoods with ballgowns or cocktail dresses. His work evokes a sense of drama, and the shows often unfurl to classical music played by a live orchestra.

His fall 2025 collection featured lavishly embellished gowns and dresses with enough sparkle to fill the Milky Way. He played with two — and three — tone looks, as in the black-and-white prom style that opened the show, and a lineup of gowns with rosettes, bows, and capes in contrasting colors.

The designer also indulged his love of the ’60s, sending out embellished trapeze styles and dressing an iconic face of the era, 75-year-old Penelope Tree, in a snappy, sparkling shirt dress, black tights and flats. — Tianwei Zhang

Sarah Burton was never one for the spotlight, but it’s her home now. Following a decades-long career at Alexander McQueen, during which she designed Kate Middleton’s wedding gown in 2011, and now as creative director of Givenchy, she has emerged as one of Britain’s best-known — and most successful — designers.

Burton arrived at McQueen after one of her Central Saint Martins instructors, Simon Ungless, introduced her to the maverick designer in 1996. McQueen offered her an internship at his company and after she graduated in 1997, she became his design assistant.

In 2000 she was promoted to head of womenswear, and in 2011, following McQueen’s death, the brand’s owner Kering installed her as creative director. During her years in charge she preserved the house’s sharp-edged tailoring — eagle eyes can easily spot those strong McQueen shoulders and nipped waists — and added a softer, more romantic touch.

A reserved woman who prefers to toil in the workrooms rather than seek attention, Burton is a bona fide couturier and a true heir to McQueen, experimenting with cuts, volumes and draping to create clothes for strong, statement-making women.

The designer is now applying that craftsmanship, emotional depth and modern tailoring to Givenchy, where her first collection was for fall 2025. It was an exhilarating display of dramatic hourglass coats and jackets, geometric babydoll shapes and austere gowns with triangles or squares of leather descending from the throat.

“The overall feeling I wanted was very, very stripped back to just the silhouette — almost like a fetishization of each object,” Burton told WWD following her latest show. “It’s not overly styled so there’s a purity to it, which I think is what I liked about [Hubert de Givenchy’s] first collection.” — Tianwei Zhang

David Belhassen has proved to be a powerful engine behind some of the best-known lifestyle companies today.  

As founder and managing partner of Neo Investment Partners, a London-based private investment firm, he has invested in a slew of luxury fashion and lifestyle brands, including Victoria Beckham, Valextra, Tom Dixon, Diptyque, Miller Harris and Ladurée.

Under Belhassen’s leadership, Neo Investment Partners’ strategy has been to focus on one-off brands and premium consumer experiences, and the firm has built a reputation for championing creativity, quality and durability over fast fashion or trends.

The turnaround effort at Victoria Beckham has been particularly impressive. The brand saw revenue and profits climb in fiscal 2023, with the company reporting “substantial” growth in wholesale, online and in the Mayfair flagship.

“Our approach centers on the understanding that our brands, being comparatively smaller players, can capture market share and grow, even amid a broader market slowdown. While the wholesale segment has seen some impact due to more cautious retailers, our increasing focus on direct-to-consumer channels has protected us from this slowdown,” he told WWD last year.

In 2023, Neo successfully concluded the sale of its chocolate business, Pierre Marcolini, to VM2 Holding, owners of Godiva Japan and part of a Korean investment fund. It also sold Vuarnet, which it had relaunched from scratch, to Thélios, the eyewear subsidiary of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

How does London inspire you? “What inspires me most about London is its tension between heritage and rebellion, tradition and reinvention. It’s the most cosmopolitan city in the world, alive with creativity and powered by a rare spirit of tolerance. That contrast fuels everything.” — Tianwei Zhang

Having spent four years at Selfridges earlier in his career, fashion retail veteran Judd Crane returned to the store in 2023 to lead the buying team, and was promoted to executive director of buying and brand a year later.

Today he oversees buying and merchandising for all product categories, including ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, jewelry, travel and kids and also has an eye on beauty, and advertising.

In March, the store launched windows dedicated to people’s quirky obsessions, including chess, hot sauce, martinis, matchsticks, paper and long weekends.

“We had great fun coming up with our Selfridges Obsessions list. We’re hoping to bring people together and open a lighthearted conversation around the things we love — and why we love them,” Crane said.

He added, “Obsessions have become social tender; a means of exchange and connection between like-minded people; the start of a friendship or a community.”

In an interview last year, Crane noted that smaller, lesser-known brands, such as Victoria Beckham Beauty, have been clocking the biggest growth on the Selfridges beauty floor. 

That wider view over merchandise and the Selfridges brand comes as the store’s new owners, Central Group and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, map out their future strategy for the store. 

During his first stint at Selfridges, Crane oversaw the refurbishment of the store’s designer womenswear floor, and was a champion of British talent. 

He left in 2016 to become CEO of Proenza Schouler, and has also served as senior merchandising director at Pedder Group, the accessories division of the Lane Crawford Joyce Group in Hong Kong. More recently, he was senior vice president, brand, merchandising and retail at Joyce.

How does London inspire you? “From first visiting London in 1994 through today, London has always felt to me the most international of cities, with this vibrant mix of people — visitors and residents alike — with diverse origins and backgrounds. Moving to London as a buying director in 2012 was incredibly freeing creatively and stylistically, because the entire world is your customer. Unlike stores in New York or Hong Kong, for example, there are all these opportunities for a London store to engage very deeply and regularly with an audience from every part of the world, a fan base with wildly divergent interests, wants and needs.” — Tianwei Zhang

Less than a year after arriving at Burberry, fashion management whiz Josh Schulman has made steady progress in placing the brand back on track in his role as CEO.

He has been going farther, and faster, with his Burberry Forward plan, which was unveiled last November to “reignite our designers, reconnect with our core customer segments and focus again on our core outerwear and scarf categories.” 

His medium-term goal is to restore the company to its golden days of 3 billion pounds in annual revenue, with an operating margin in the high teens. Once he achieves that goal, Schulman wants sales and profitability to go far beyond those numbers.

“It’s very clear what needs to be done. The customer loves Burberry, and there is pent-up demand” for the brand to just be itself, Schulman told WWD last year. “And we need to love the customers we have as much as the customers we want.”

A well-rounded, forthright leader known for building brands and also restoring them to health, Schulman was previously CEO of Michael Kors and Coach, where he also served as brand president. Prior to that, at Neiman Marcus Group, he was president of Bergdorf Goodman for five years.

From 2007 to 2012, Joshua was CEO of Jimmy Choo in London. Earlier, he was executive vice president, worldwide merchandising and sales at Yves Saint Laurent and worldwide director of women’s ready-to-wear at Gucci. 

Schulman’s career started at a small clothing store in Beverly Hills where Kris Kardashian and Kathy Hilton shopped among other celebrity moms, and where he learned retail operations, curating product, and display. 

He later interned for Marc Jacobs and Robert Duffy at Perry Ellis and worked at Richard Tyler before joining Gucci. — Tianwei Zhang

Before Michael Ward arrived at Harrods, management was a big merry-go-round under the mercurial and controversial Mohamed Al Fayed, who eventually sold the store to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund for $2.22 billion in 2010.

Ward, who joined Harrods as managing director in 2005, is a diplomatic executive with a nose for numbers and a passion for product. He helped Harrods transition successfully to Qatari ownership and has been instrumental in attracting and accommodating tourists from China, the Middle East and Africa.

Under his leadership Harrods has undergone extensive refurbishment projects, including upgrading its fashion spaces to meet evolving standards of luxury retail, and investing in technology and digital platforms to enhance omnichannel experiences.

Of late, Harrods has opened The Penthouse on the Sixth Floor, an invitation-only, private shopping service for its Platinum Tier-clients.

Ward started his career in chartered accountancy, training with Ernst & Young in 1980. He later became group finance director for Bassett Foods plc in 1986, while simultaneously gaining an MBA. In 1989, he took up a similar finance role at the drinks company H.P. Bulmer Holdings plc.

In 1994, he became managing director of Lloyds Chemists plc, and later held retail roles at companies including the private equity group Apax Partners. Ward has also served as chairman of Walpole, the British luxury industry lobby, since 2016.

How does London inspire you? “London has long stood as a center of culture and creativity with an undeniable authority in shaping global taste across every creative industry. The city’s rare ability to be both timeless and ever-evolving without losing its distinctive character keeps it as a source of inspiration. London continually renews itself while staying true to its heritage — a living masterpiece that inspires endlessly.” — Tianwei Zhang

Andy Lightfoot isn’t keen on cashing in on the booming beauty market in the U.K. — he’s keen on driving it.

The Space NK CEO is focused on winning in Space NK’s home market, especially since selling the beauty retailer’s U.S. wholesale division to PCA Companies last year. At the WWD Beauty CEO Summit in May 2024, Lightfoot said the company had doubled in size since before the pandemic.

“You add brands that people want to buy, that’ll attract customers, you look after and care for those customers to grow your customer base, and that will attract more brands,” Lightfoot said at the time. “This cycle is continually accelerating, and that’s what’s driving our business.”

He speaks about growing the retailer the same way he speaks about the capital of its home market.

Also on the docket for Lightfoot is physical expansion, having grown Space NK’s store fleet by seven doors last year. At that time, he said his business grew two-and-a-half times faster than the U.K. prestige premium market.

Space NK plans to open 11 stores in the U.K. and Ireland in 2025. Even before it unveils its new Oxford Circus concept in the former Topshop space, it will open its largest store outside London, at the Bullring in Birmingham, this summer.

Lightfoot also has his sights set on fragrance expansion, while decisions around the brand matrix are made with the consumer at the forefront. The product mix “is not about age or demographic. It’s about demand,” he said. “People who love beauty want to find these brands, to touch, play with and experience them.”

How does London inspire you? “London is a hub of creativity and progress, anchored in history that generates an energy that’s both constant and ever-evolving. It’s a melting pot of cultures and ideas, providing an ever-shifting perspective on what’s mainstream. From the Caribbean influences of Notting Hill to the alternative scene in Camden, you are challenged to see beyond your normal but in an environment of inclusion, acceptance, and respect. The blend of old and new, tradition and innovation, forms a unique city that continually fuels my passion and creativity.” — James Manso

Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre Elba wear many hats: She is an entrepreneur-philanthropist, while he is an acclaimed actor. Together they make for a powerful commercial force in the shape of S’Able labs.

The skin care range draws inspiration from Dhowre Elba’s philanthropic work in Africa. Products such as her Okra Face Serum or Qasil Cleanser use ingredients sourced directly by the brand from the continent and also tell the stories of the farmers that grow them.

Most recently she traveled to West Africa with World Vision to highlight ethical sourcing and rally for an end to child labor in cosmetics supply chains. 

Just as recently, they’ve introduced a foray into music called “No Lip Service,” an album meant to explore “Black identity and creative wellness,” a statement from the brand said. 

How does London inspire you? “London is the heartbeat of culture. It’s cultural, emotional, communal, it’s a place that supports artists, creators and storytellers,” Dhowre Elba said. “London and the communities within it inspire everything we do.”

“London is creativity. We just created an album for our brand, S’Able Labs, here at Koko. It speaks to the tension in between strength and vulnerability in wellness, that it isn’t just physical; it’s emotional, spiritual and creative. That’s London,” Elba said. — James Manso

Isamaya Ffrench parlayed years of behind-the-scenes makeup artistry into her brand, Isamaya Beauty, which spans as many geographies as the globetrotter might travel to in any given month.

She’s been busy tending to her brand, which industry sources anticipate has a global retail sales volume of $25 million. Among her retail partners are Sephora in the U.S. and Canada, Cult Beauty in the U.K., La Rinascente and 10 Corso Como in Milan, Dover Street Parfum Market in Paris and Mecca in both Australia and New Zealand.

She entered all of those markets earlier this year in tandem with the launch of her core collection, telling WWD at the time, “The core line, we’re now getting into serious beauty territory. It’s been fueled by my passion for products that I use and the way I like to do makeup.”

Among frequent collaborators are brands like Thom Browne and Junya Watanabe. She has also worked as Burberry’s beauty director and as Off-White’s beauty curator, both roles she took after designing Byredo’s makeup range. 

As for why she went off on her own — and entered the market with phallic lipstick bullets — she said it was about swimming freely.

“I just finally felt like I really wanted to do something that was an uncompromised view on my aesthetic and thought process,” she told WWD at launch. “I’ve been doing this for like 10 years now, and at some point, it’s just important to live and speak your truth in how you feel about, in this case, the makeup and beauty industry.”

How does London inspire you? “I love that London has the best of both worlds, arts and culture and wild nature. I especially love wild swimming.” — James Manso

James Dyson is a serial inventor, starting with his reimagining of the vacuum and most recently the hairdryer, with the likes of hand dryers, lighting, earphones and fans launched in between. Dyson’s lifestyle brand has game-changing technology and remarkable aesthetics.

The entrepreneur, who was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1998 and is former provost of his alma mater, Royal College of Art, most recently moved into the beauty category with tools and products.

“The shock of going into the beauty business was the enthusiasm for beauty products after vacuum cleaners and hand dryers,” Dyson said during a fireside chat at the recent WWD Beauty CEO Summit. “We love it, people are enthusiastic.”

Dyson, who also farms millions of strawberries on his high-tech farms in the U.K., is a proponent of failure. At his company, perseverance is a core tenet.

“Failure is an important part of life,” Dyson said at the summit. “Failure is really much more interesting than success, because of my 5,127 [vacuum] prototypes, all of them are failures. And you learn something from them. It’s a great visceral way of learning about things.”

His ethos is, and has always been, to iterate, re-iterate and improve. His family motto, translated from Latin, is “Never give up trying.”

“The thing we hate is being satisfied, so we’re always dissatisfied — it’s a feature of creative engineers. They always want to go on fiddling, or completely changing, and doing things in a different way. We reinvent ourselves, and kill the old product,” Dyson said.

How does London inspire you? “In the 1960s, London had many independent colleges of art and universities. After the privations and grimness of the war and postwar 1940s and 1950s, the postwar generation came to London as students to change things, to create a cultural revolution. Hockney with painting, [Richard] Rogers and [Norman] Foster with architecture, Ossie Clarke with fashion, Leonard with hair and the London School of Economics with politics. The postgraduate Royal College of Art and Design, where I was a student, was in the vanguard. Even today, the Royal College of Art degree showcase of students’ design and art work is the most visited summer attraction in London. London attracts creative talent, students who are determined to be different and radical.” — Jennifer Weil

Millie Kendall, a seasoned beauty executive, founded The British Beauty Council in 2018 as a consumer-facing industry organization seeking to reach the broadest possible audience. 

It was groundbreaking — the first forum in the U.K. representing the voices, opinions and needs of the beauty industry, including the assistants who sweep the salon floor, at a government level. 

Kendall serves as CEO of the nonprofit organization, which is aiming to future-proof the beauty industry, with initiatives focusing on policy and influence; trade and export; investment, innovation and technology, and talent and careers.

Most recently, Kendall has been the BBC’s voice on the trade issues roiling the world. 

Last year, the council unveiled its theme “A Beauty Industry That Looks Like You,” along with a census.

“Beauty really does ‘look like you,’ and we need to know what you think, so we can address the problems, maximize the opportunities and make the industry better for those who work on it and its customers,” Kendall told WWD last year.

She is also an entrepreneur. In 1998, Kendall and the British makeup artist Ruby Hammer kicked off what was the largest British cosmetics launch since Mary Quant introduced her eponymous line 30 years earlier. The 300-sku, mass-market line was called Ruby & Millie. 

“We’re British, modern and we’re launching something completely new,” Kendall told WWD at the time. “Everyone has gotten so professional they’ve forgotten about the consumer.”

Kendall was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2022 for her contribution to the spa and beauty industries.

How does London inspire you? “It’s big and green, and it’s hard to conquer. And as Samuel Johnson famously stated in 1777: ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.’” — Jennifer Weil

One of London’s most enduring creatives, Stephen Jones has spent a career crisscrossing the English channel, designing hats for his own brand and for designers including Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Claude Montana, Azzedine Alaïa and his good friend John Galliano, who made him directeur création chapeau at Christian Dior.

The breadth of his work is unmatched: His work ranges from heavy, pharaonic headdresses and paint-splodged artists palettes for John Galliano’s runways to woolen, bobbled winter caps for everyday wear.

He’s concocted full-length, marabou yeti outfits with matching hats for Giles Deacon, while for Comme des Garçons, he’s had a gentler touch, twisting metal into delicate crowns. Those designs and more were on display in “Stephen Jones, chapeaux d’artiste,” a show at the Palais Galliera last year.   

For Jones, even the most classic of designs – be it a beret, fedora or fisherman’s cap — is as magical, and powerful, as the Harry Potter Sorting Hat. He’s always said that hats are cheaper, and often more effective, than a facelift. They command immediate respect and can often propel a person straight to the front of the queue.

For his latest collection, Jones looked at how hats connect to the senses. He created a black felt hat with a squashy band; a gold headphone tiara with feathery insulation, and even an edible chocolate hat made by the Paris-based pastry chef Jana Lai.

What inspires you about London? “The people. They are from all over the world, but somehow they become Londoners. It’s a unique cultural mix, London feels like a crossroads of the world.” — Samantha Conti

One of London’s longest-standing and commercially successful indie designers, Sir Paul Smith is still working with the joy — and industry — of his early years in business. That includes doing the Saturday shift on the shop floor of his Albemarle Street store.

He built the business on colorful tailoring and a passion for classic menswear fabrics, and has always used his wider interests in photography, fine art, furniture and design as inspiration.

His enthusiasm is boundless. Earlier this year, during his fall 2025 menswear presentation in Paris, Smith regaled a small audience of reviewers with tales of fabrics and photography — and a large dose of humor. He talked his audience through the origins of thornproof fabrics, space-dyed wool and Prince of Wales check patterns. He also showed off a Friesian cow print from his new collaboration with Barbour, pulling out one of those children’s toys that makes a loud “moo” sound when it’s turned upside down.

He continues to propel the brand into new territory, with plans to stage his first show during Milan Men’s Fashion Week later this month.  

In 2022, Smith joined an elite group of accomplished Britons, becoming a Companion of Honour to the British Monarch. He was the first fashion designer to receive the honor, which is limited to 65 people at any one time. Other Companions include Sir Elton John, Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Paul McCartney.

Not bad for a boy who left school with no qualifications, and who started the 55-year-old business from a tiny shop in Nottingham. 

Most of that success is down to hard work, but the rest might be due to the bunnies. Smith has a collection of miniature rabbit figurines, a personal good luck symbol, which his wife Pauline continues to give him before every show.

What inspires you about London? “The people. London is bursting at the seams with a diverse art, fashion, food and design scene. It’s known as the global hub of where these different cultures collide and its people at the heart of it. London has changed and evolved over the years, which has been wonderful to see and to be a part of…it’s why I am proud to call it home.” — Samantha Conti

Having built her company on a no-leather, no-fur foundation, Stella McCartney has expanded her ambitions, creating collections with recycled fabrics, fibers and other materials, and investing in the companies that produce them.

At the start of her career she pursued her environmental agenda with shareholders Kering and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, but now she’s going it alone, and investing in the development and scaling of next-generation, innovative materials and processes through SOS, a $200 million sustainable investment fund which she cofounded with a venture capital partner.  

The fund has supported companies such as Natural Fiber Welding, which makes a plant-based alternative to leather; Keel Labs, which makes seaweed yarn, and Protein Evolution, which uses AI and enzymes to turn plastic textile waste into infinitely recyclable polyester.

To mark Earth Day earlier this year the designer took a look back at some of her biggest achievements over the past 24 years ago. On display at the brand’s Old Bond Street store was the vegan Falabella bag and Elyse platform shoes, which launched in 2009 and 2014, respectively. 

There were also bags made from Hydefy fungi-based vegan leather and fluffy chubbies done in Peekaboo recycled and recyclable nylon yarn.

“Material innovation is something I have always done, not because I had to, but because we need to if we are going to leave anything good for future generations,” she said in April. “We self-police here at Stella, which is why we are not only cruelty-free but also PVC-free, animal glue-free, zero-deforestation and against all forms of human subjugation in our supply chain.”

Two years ago she picked up a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, for services to fashion and sustainability, from King Charles, with whom she works on environmental projects.

In 2021, she represented the fashion industry at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, and became a member of the king’s Coalition of the Willing, a group of company chiefs and world leaders demanding “coordinated action” to tackle climate change. — Samantha Conti

A pillar of the London art world, Yana Peel was named Chanel’s first global head of arts and culture in 2020, and launched the Chanel Culture Fund to support emerging talent a year later.

A philanthropist and former CEO of the Serpentine Galleries in London, Peel leads the fund, which supports artists, and works with curators, museums and institutions on what she describes as “long-term, transformational” projects.  

“Often the metabolism of arts is so frenzied. Artists and institutions are often looking for support quarter by quarter, show by show, project by project,” said Peel, whose priority is to buy creatives — and curators — time to create, research, discover — and future-proof their institutions.

The fund has partnered with the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on a project called Contemporary DNA, which aims to highlight artists from the Global South. Last year, on Peel’s watch, Chanel returned to the Art Biennale in Venice for the first time since 2008, supporting the multimedia artist Julien Creuzet.

Peel has also installed “The Window,” a 24-hour public installation showcasing innovative digital art commissioned by Chanel. The Window adorns the facade of the Time & Life building, on the corner of Bruton and New Bond streets in London’s Mayfair, which is currently serving as Chanel’s headquarters.

A Russian native, Peel was born in Saint Petersburg, and later moved to Canada with her family. She attended McGill University as an undergraduate, and earned a postgraduate degree in economics at London School of Economics before starting her career at Goldman Sachs. — Samantha Conti

Since taking the helm of Watches of Switzerland in 2014, Brian Duffy has turned the British luxury retailer into a global corporation. 

On Duffy’s watch the group has diversified in multiple directions, launching flagship locations in London and Las Vegas, snapping up five watch and jewelry retailers, securing the U.S. distribution rights for high-jewelry brand Roberto Coin for $130 million in 2024 and acquiring the cult watch media platform Hodinkee.

Although he’s now synonymous with high-end horology, Duffy didn’t set out to conquer the world of watches. Born in Glasgow, he qualified as a chartered accountant at 21, rising quickly at KPMG before becoming chief financial officer of Playtex, aged 28. 

In the 1990s he presided over a great moment in marketing history, overseeing the famous Wonderbra “Hello Boys” campaign that starred Eva Herzigova — and supercharged her career.

In 2003, Duffy joined Ralph Lauren as group president for Europe and the Middle East, driving major international expansion. A decade later, his personal passion for timepieces met professional opportunity when he returned to the U.K. to lead Watches of Switzerland.

A born marketeer with a dry sense of humor, Duffy also heads up Calibre, the retailer’s podcast that delves into all aspects of watch history, culture and business. 

What inspires you most about London? “The diversity, the energy, the humor, the heritage and history rolled up as one. As a retail destination, London has everything, from fashion to the best in luxury and, of course, the best luxury watch retailer in the world.” — Hanna McNeila

Standing at the crossroads of craftsmanship, style and innovation, Anda Rowland has redefined what it means to lead in British tailoring.

As vice chairman of the Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard, Rowland has carved out a distinctive role in what has long been a male-dominated industry. Since assuming leadership of the tailoring house in 2004 she has been instrumental in transforming the business from a traditional bespoke tailor into a dynamic luxury goods operation.

With a background in marketing at Estée Lauder and Parfums Christian Dior, and an MBA from the French business school INSEAD, Rowland brought a fresh, global perspective to the family-owned firm that her father, Roland “Tiny” Rowland, acquired in the late 1970s.

She spearheaded the launch of Anderson & Sheppard’s first website and blog, enhanced its digital presence, and played a pivotal role in relocating the business from its historic Savile Row premises to its current home on nearby Old Burlington Street.

A passionate advocate for craftsmanship, Rowland has also created a robust apprenticeship program, supporting five to six trainees at a time. This initiative ensures the preservation of the exacting standards and artisanal skills that define Savile Row tailoring.

In 2012 she further expanded the firm’s reach with the launch of Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery, a complementary ready-to-wear collection featuring trousers, knitwear, outerwear and accessories that bring the spirit of bespoke to everyday luxury.

Men from around the world fly in to visit the tailor, and the haberdashery, with clients ranging from King Charles to Bryan Ferry. Daniel Craig wore a bougainvillea pink Anderson & Sheppard dinner jacket to the “No Time to Die” premiere in 2021, sparking a trend for the color, while Grace Wales Bonner and Giles Deacon are among the designers who regularly collaborate with the tailor.

What inspires you most about London? “I’m inspired by our remarkable museums, and the dedicated teams behind them, working tirelessly to keep their collections freely accessible to all. Despite limited government funding, they remain welcoming to Londoners and visitors and produce groundbreaking exhibitions that honor the past, and envision the future.” — Hanna McNeila

Solange Azagury-Partridge, who started making fine jewelry at her kitchen table, is now known around the world for her blazingly colorful designs and her rainbow of sensual Hotlips rings. 

After studying French and Spanish at Central London Polytechnic, it was a stint working as a PA to the 20th-century antiques dealer Gordon Watson, as well as her experience making her own engagement ring, that helped her realize her dreams and become a jeweler.

She’s a celebrity favorite with clients including Dua Lipa, Sarah Jessica Parker, Helena Bonham Carter and Kate Blanchett, and is known for her playful irreverence and cultural depth.

In 2024, she celebrated 35 years of her brand with the publication of “Solange: Jewellery for Chromantics,” a book that chronicles her career and showcases her thought-provoking designs, including sharp-edged earrings made from star-shaped diamonds and a curling gold serpent ring, complete with a fig leaf and apple and made with emeralds, rubies and coral.

Her work is featured in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and Les Arts Décoratifs at the Louvre in Paris. Her Hotlips and Hotglyph rings are proof of her commitment to creating jewelry that is striking, wearable and affordable.

What inspires you most about London? “I never feel crushed by concrete in London. We’re lucky to have enormous verdant parks as well as incredible culture and architecture. When I walk the parks, I’m filled with peace and space and can order and structure my thoughts. Walking through the markets brings noise and energy and a visual chaos that I find stimulating and thought provoking.” — Hanna McNeila

One of London’s top gallerists who represents 20th and 21st century greats including Alex Katz, Kiki Smith and Antoni Tàpies, Timothy Taylor has always stayed true to his mission. “One of the things I have always wanted to do as a gallery is to bring generations of artists, either younger or older, to a new audience,” he told WWD in 2022.

Taylor opened his gallery in London’s Mayfair in 1996, establishing an influential presence in the contemporary art world. It quickly became a launchpad for a new generation of artists defining the 1990s London scene, among them Fiona Rae, Sean Scully and Richard Patterson. Taylor earned a reputation for championing both emerging voices and overlooked postwar masters.

Over the years Taylor, a father of four who is married to Lady Helen Taylor, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, has worked closely with several major artist estates, including those of Philip Guston, Diane Arbus and Jean Dubuffet. He has also expanded internationally. In 2023, he unveiled a bold new flagship on Leonard Street in Manhattan’s TriBeCa, a move that reaffirmed his commitment to thoughtful, ambitious programming on both sides of the Atlantic.

The current exhibition at his London gallery is “Pictures for Happy Existentialists,” a series of works by Jonathan Lasker, which runs until Sunday. On June 12 he’ll be staging a show of Hilary Pecis’ paintings inspired by her daily excursions. — Hanna McNeila

Throughout his career the Tunisian-born Tom Dixon has always found a way to blur the boundaries of creative and commercial, and in doing so has become one of Britain’s most successful furniture and lighting designers.

His career began with a motorbike accident. Wanting to fix the vehicle post-crash, he took the DIY route and began welding in his free time. This led him to create his first designs — industrial scrap transformed into quality furniture.

His distinctive S-chairs put him on the design world’s map. They were the fruit of a collaboration with Italian designer Giulio Capellini, whose company manufactured and distributed Dixon’s distinctive creation.

When the ‘90s rolled around, Dixon joined the mainstream, taking a job as head of design at Habitat. He would later become its creative director and in 2002, he started his own brand.

Dixon’s work is included in collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Vitra Design Museum in Germany and the M+ in Hong Kong.

This year Dixon was among 35 U.K. designers to sign a letter to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, urging the government to reconsider its plans to allow AI companies to train their models on copyrighted work, without permission. — Hanna McNeila

The unstoppable Jonathan Anderson, who was confirmed as Dior’s eighth couturier earlier this week, and will design both the women’s and men’s collections, is London fashion’s biggest success story of the 21st century.

His attention to shape and drape, his focus on craft and the importance of the hand, have fueled his signature JW Anderson collections as well as those at Loewe, where he served as creative director for more than a decade.

In 2022, Anderson told WWD that sometimes the idea of luxury “can be quite frightening” to some, “and I feel like craft is a very good way of breaking down the realities of it, and showing the process. I think the more that we understand how things are made the more we can ultimately” see their value and merit.

The designer, who established the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize in 2016, has described himself as an “obsessive collector” of ceramics and wood-turning pieces. He said his focus on craft and handmade objects at Loewe was also a way of putting a personal stamp on a brand that does not bear his name.

Born in Northern Ireland in 1984, Anderson studied menswear at the London College of Fashion, graduating in 2005 and going on to work in visual merchandising at Prada under Manuela Pavesi. He consulted for several brands before launching JW Anderson in 2008.

He quickly attracted attention for provocative and androgynous designs and his womenswear shows became the most sought-after ticket of London Fashion Week, with top brass from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which owns a large majority stake in the label, stacking the front row.

Tickets to his Dior debuts will be the hottest in Paris, beginning with his men’s show on June 27, with spectators eager to see what he’ll do with the brand that turns 80 next year.

“For me, fashion is exciting, and it should be exciting whether you get it wrong or right,” he told WWD in a 2015 interview. “You have to be slightly uncomfortable with what you’re doing, and you have to be able to try to find moments of newness.” — Samantha Conti

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is a British institution. She has worked with Marks & Spencer for more than a decade, collaborating on makeup and lingerie collections for the retailer, and has appeared in campaigns, and on the runway, for Burberry and a host of other British and international brands.

Recent partnerships have been with brands including Waterdrop, Anine Bing, Gia Borghini and Hunza G. She has supported a range of causes — from fundraising for The King’s Trust to working with UNICEF to champion the rights and well-being of women and girls globally.

When she’s not modelling, she is making her mark in beauty. In 2018 she launched the beauty and wellness platform Rose Inc. and three years later followed it up with a collection of multitasking, eco-conscious color cosmetics of the same name.

“I think a lot of the time people would associate me with fashion, which I love, but with beauty, there’s an aspirational aspect and there’s also an accessibility bit,” she told WWD’s Beauty Inc in 2021.

Last year she became a partner in The Equity Studio, a specialist investment firm backing the next generation of top consumer brands across beauty, wellness and lifestyle.

She plays an active role in supporting the firm’s mission to combine investment with the strategic support and amplification of the real founders, creators and operators shaping today’s consumer landscape.

What inspires you most about London? “For me, it’s the creativity and collaboration that truly define London. There’s a unique energy in the way the city brings together forward-thinking ideas and bold innovation. What excites me most is the incredible potential for partnerships — people and organizations coming together to create something genuinely original and impactful.” — Samantha Conti

Anna Sweeting believes it takes a village to succeed as an investor. As founder of The Equity Studio, an investment firm backing brands across wellness, beauty and lifestyle, she has built a community of experts to exchange ideas, offer their expertise and ensure that the companies in her portfolio succeed.

The Equity Studio partners with the next generation of consumer companies across the U.K., Europe and the U.S., and Sweeting’s approach has been to combine capital with “strategic support and cultural amplification.”

She has spent more than 15 years spotting trends and identifying breakout brands early, and her global portfolio has so far generated billions of dollars in enterprise value.

That portfolio includes Trip, which creates vitamin and plant-powered beverages and supplements; the honey-based hair care brand Gisou; Vestiaire Collective; 111Skin; Axel Arigato; Little Spoon, and DeMellier.

“Our philosophy at The Equity Studio is built on the idea that capital is only part of the equation. We believe true, lasting impact for brands comes from creating meaningful connections between the audiences they inspire and the wider cultural landscape,” said Sweeting, whose network of industry experts is broad, and includes Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, partner at The Equity Studio.

Earlier in her career Sweeting was CEO of British furniture and interiors brand Linley, which she led through a successful sale. She began her career in financial markets, holding C-suite roles, and is a qualified chartered accountant.

She has held more than 15 board seats, and says she is passionate about supporting founders as they scale. She is also a founding patron of the British Fashion Council Foundation, which supports designers and students through mentoring and financial support grants.

What is it about London that inspires you the most and why? “I’m constantly inspired by the community of founders here in London, visionaries who are not only reimagining entire categories, but doing so with purpose and unwavering conviction. It’s the unique blend of global perspective and local grit that makes London such a powerful and magnetic place to build from.” — Samantha Conti

Kate Moss at the Saint Laurent fall 2025 fashion show in Paris.

An enduring symbol of London cool and an international household name, Kate Moss is still hard at work modeling, running her eponymous talent agency and promoting her Cosmoss beauty and wellness brand.

She is unique in the world of high-achieving models, standing apart from the crowd due to her cross-generational and international appeal — and her everywoman image. She is short by model standards, has a gap between her front teeth and was once known as the greatest smoker of all time. But glossy imperfection is her vibe and the photographers and advertisers love her for it. She turned 50 last year and, as of late, has worked with brands as diverse as Diet Coke, Calvin Klein, Supreme and the Italian label Elisabetta Franchi.

She walked with her daughter Lila in the latest Victoria’s Secret campaign and is able to pull crowds young and old. She created a party wear collection for Zara last year, and did myriad collaborations with Topshop from 2007 until 2010, when it was the high street’s hottest store.

In 2014 she returned to Topshop for a one-off collection, and did so in style. On the day it launched she appeared in the window of the retailer’s Oxford Circus flagship wearing a black and gold tuxedo suit, drawing hordes of shoppers hoping to catch a glimpse of her. 

Although she’s still going full-throttle, Moss also knows how to create moments of calm. She meditates under a red light, and enjoys potting at her Cotswolds country mansion.

“I’m a member of the gardening center,” she said during an interview at Paris’ La Samaritaine department store in 2022. “I buy flowers and pots when I’m not working — and play with my dogs. That’s my balance: crazy fashion, then potting and dogs.” — Samantha Conti

Harris Reed joins a long list of young London talents to cross the English Channel as the creative director of a heritage Paris fashion house. 

The British-American designer, known for his theatrical flair, exaggerated silhouettes and sense of showmanship, has been creative director at Nina Ricci since 2022, although he remains committed to his own, colorful label.

His unapologetic approach has led him to dress celebrities including Beyoncé, Adele, Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, who performed at his fall 2025 presentation at Tate Modern for his own brand.

He has also staged shows at Tate Britain, although “show” might be a reductive word. The museum has been a particular inspiration and he regularly goes against the grain, inviting musical guests and orchestras to perform, and sets the mood with dim lighting and candles.

“It was the first museum I went to when I moved to London eight years ago, and I’ve always had a deep fantasy” about showing there, he told WWD.

He said showing there was a “very important step to remind people that Harris Reed will still very much be here in British fashion, and we’re not going anywhere,” the designer added. 

In September last year, the British Fashion Council finally put him on the official London Fashion Week schedule despite his not meeting the council’s requirements of having at least 10 stockists for his signature label.

In addition to designing for Nina Ricci and his own line, Reed is a longtime collaborator of the London jeweler Missoma, and has also worked with Mattel on Monster High dolls, and with Royal Salute whisky.

What inspires you most about London? “London is home, home for the dreamers, the weirdos, the misunderstood, the ones who always dared to push the limits and create what wasn’t once there.” — Hikmat Mohammed

Bella Freud is part of the fabric of London fashion: her witty knits with seemingly random words and slogans such as “1970,” “Ginsberg is god,” “Slave to Love” and “Starman,” have become a marker of cool, and helped to power the fashion business she founded 35 years ago.

“I think about Andy Warhol quite a lot when I’m making T-shirts and sweaters — the kind of nihilistic vibe and how it’s so meaningful. I want to create something that people can find a way to use for themselves. It’s not a directive and sometimes I revert back to David Bowie quite often, that’s where the ‘Starman’ is from,” she told WWD in an interview.

Freud’s slogan collections have a fan base that includes Zadie Smith, Sienna Miller, Olivia Wilde and Kate Moss. Her sense of irony and knack for tailoring caught the attention of Marks & Spencer last year, and she developed a collection for the retailer that featured some of the slogan sweaters, as well as suits, jeans, scarves and totes. The collection sold out within hours, leaving M&S managers regretting that they hadn’t ordered more for the stores.

The label, known for its skinny, 1960s-flecked tailoring, now offers homeware, beauty and bridal wear (with a focus on suits). Freud, a daughter of Lucian Freud and a great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud, has also ventured beyond the design studio and into podcasting, hosting a show called “Fashion Neurosis With Bella Freud.”

She has asked people including Rick Owens, Courtney Cox and Haider Ackermann to lie back on a cream couch and dive into subjects including love, identity, culture, anxiety and politics. Listeners can also watch the podcast in a video format.

What inspires you most about London? “London is moody and impenetrable, and half the fun of it is the challenge of finding your way in. When you succeed — which always happens — it is full of revelations and wonderful people doing amazing things.” — Hikmat Mohammed

It’s hard to keep track of the high-profile figures who’ve sat in Sam McKnight’s chair — and been transformed — over the past 48 years.

He was responsible for Princess Diana’s short, slicked-back hairstyle in the 1990s after her divorce, and worked closely with the royal for the better part of a decade.

During his career he’s worked with many other high-profile ladies, giving Tilda Swinton a buzz cut; styling Madonna’s platinum blond hair for her “Bedtime Stories” album cover, and blasting volume into Lady Gaga’s hair for the cover of her album “Born This Way.”

“The most high-profile person I have transformed in a radical way are probably Tilda Swinton. The next person would be Princess Diana, in 1990, whose hair I cut very short and it gave her a new image,” McKnight told WWD in 2016.

He has styled the hair for runway shows including Burberry, Balmain and worked closely with Karl Lagerfeld at Fendi and Chanel. The late designer wrote the foreword to McKnight’s book “Hair by Sam McKnight.”

What inspires you most about London? “What keeps me inspired in London is the mix of chaos and calm — you can go from a mad fashion week fitting to a walk in Regent’s Park’s Rose Garden in minutes.  I’ve been part of London Fashion Week since it started, and this city has always been a breeding ground for proper creatives — people like Vivienne Westwood who didn’t follow the rules, they rewrote them. And then the green spaces, and now my garden, provide me with a quieter inspiration. London doesn’t try to be cool, it just is.” — Hikmat Mohammed

Naomi Campbell has continued to redefine what it means to be a supermodel, venturing into acting, music, activism and curation.

Last year, the London-born model was the subject of “Naomi: In Fashion” at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was the museum’s first, major solo show dedicated to a Black woman and looked closely at her influence on the catwalk, and how she broke racial boundaries as the only Black supermodel.

For years she had to listen to an industry telling her that Black cover models didn’t sell magazines, and yet she persisted. After learning that this year’s Met Gala raised a record breaker at $31 million compared to $26 million last year, she told WWD that she doesn’t “ever want to hear that Black doesn’t sell. We sell.” 

The V&A show told the story of Campbell’s decades-long career through a variety of looks. There was a Kenneth Ize striped dress from the designer’s fall 2020 runway show; a Yves Saint Laurent feathered cocktail dress from his fall 1987 collection, and an embellished Alexander McQueen gown that she wore to the Fashion Awards in 2019.

“My kids will see this one day and that’s why I’m telling the stories clearly, it’s important they understand what mummy used to do, and who she worked with,” said Campbell, who has two small children. 

The exhibition also touched upon some of the big moments in her career, including meeting Nelson Mandela; joining the Black Girls Coalition in 1989; campaigning for the Diversity Coalition with Iman and Bethann Hardison; her support for Arise Fashion Week, and spotlighting Emerge, the global platform for creative talent that she started in 2022 as part of her (now dissolved) Fashion for Relief charity, which raised funds for health, education and lifting people out of poverty. — Hikmat Mohammed

David and Victoria Beckham at Highgrove House, King Charles’ private home in Gloucestershire, England, earlier this year.

London’s enduring power couple have spun their early success in entertainment and sports into gold. 

Since leaving their respective earlier careers behind, the pair have ventured into several businesses across fashion, beauty, sport, lifestyle and consumer goods, and created a family empire.

The couple, who’ve been married for nearly 26 years with four children, have an estimated net worth of 500 million pounds, according to the latest Sunday Times of London Rich List.

That’s partly thanks to David Beckham’s lucrative sponsorships, and a major deal with Authentic that spans product and entertainment. Victoria Beckham’s fashion and beauty business has turned profitable with support from Neo Investment Partners and is on a growth trajectory.

Her beauty business continues to outperform. The brand was Selfridges’ biggest beauty launch of 2023, and the brand’s Satin Kajal Liner remains the number-one eyeliner across the Selfridges London beauty hall.

The couple also share a love of art. “Collecting [art] is about more than just investing or acquiring beautiful objects. It’s about finding pieces that bring us real joy. The more I delve into art history and progress on my journey as a collector, the more captivated I am by it,” Victoria Beckham told WWD earlier this year.

“I feel that, as I get older, art is something that I’m really enjoying with my husband, something that we’re educating ourselves about,” she added. — Hikmat Mohammed

With two women at the helm — Sandra Choi and Hannah Colman — Jimmy Choo is the embodiment of female empowerment. The pair have worked together for decades, and well before current owners Capri Holdings purchased the brand in 2017.

Colman joined Jimmy Choo in 1996, and was one of the company’s first employees, serving as store manager of the first Jimmy Choo boutique on Motcomb Street in London’s Belgravia neighborhood. Choi, a niece of the brand’s namesake founder Jimmy Choo, has been with the firm since its inception. She became sole creative director in 2013.

“Hannah and I have worked together since the start of our fashion luxury house. We share the same vision for the future of this brand that we both love,” Choi said following Colman’s appointment as CEO in 2020.

Under Capri’s ownership the two women have worked closely to build momentum at Jimmy Choo, dressing celebrities on- and off-screen; adding variety to the footwear mix, and building up the handbag category, which now accounts for a large part of the business.

They’ve also been focusing on craft and bringing in young design talent. 

In February 2024, the brand collaborated with the Parisian embroidery house Les Ateliers Vermont, which works with more than half of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton brands, for its signature Bon Bon bags.

Earlier this month, they reissued styles from the brand’s archives, and specifically the years spanning 1997 to 2001. They worked with the fashion designer Conner Ives, and fashion journalist and archivist Alexander Fury, on the project, which includes the revival of Carrie Bradshaw’s feathery Jimmy Choo heels from “Sex and the City.”

“We looked at three decades of work and dialed back to the first five years. Why? Because those years truly represent the heart and soul of Jimmy Choo — they’re our roots, where it all began,” said Choi.

What inspires you about London? “London constantly inspires me — it’s a city that thrives on contrast. There’s an incredible tension between heritage and modernity, tradition and rebellion. It’s a place where etiquette and eccentricity coexist, where creativity is fearless and constantly evolving. I love how open the city is to self-expression and new ideas; it gives you the freedom to break boundaries while still honoring craftsmanship and culture. That dynamic energy is at the heart of everything we do at Jimmy Choo,” said Choi. 

What inspires you about London? “London is a cultural and creative hub where you are spoilt for choice when it comes to creative expression. This comes in many forms, from art to music, theatre to fashion, food to poetry and beyond. The city manages to feel both innately British and cosmopolitan, I think this is down to the blend of tradition and modernity. I like to think London has a strong sense of community and feel this is fueled by creativity,” said Colman. — Hikmat Mohammed

Scott Malkin, the founder and chairman of Value Retail, has built his career on thinking differently. 

Thirty years ago, at a time when designer outlets were out-of-town strip malls without much personality, he dared to be different.

He built Bicester Village in Oxfordshire, England, as a luxury off-price shopping mall with an accent on hospitality and experiences and, in doing so, has redefined outlet shopping. Customers are referred to as “guests,” there are personal shopping services, buzzy restaurants and grand, hotel-like suites for special events or for VIP customers to shop privately.

Bicester soon became the template for a network of high-end fashion outlets that now stretches from Europe to China to New York. Today, some of the brands in those villages have begun selling in-season merchandise and driving business to their full-price stores in city centers.

In the beginning, there were many who argued that Malkin was just chasing rainbows, but he’s proven them wrong. 

Today, with brands including Dior, Fendi, Armani, Manolo Blahnik and Prada, Bicester has become one of the most popular destinations for international tourists in England. It even has its own train station, which is less than an hour’s ride from central London. The sister villages in Europe and China have had similar success.

“Going back in history, the notion of great, personalized and, in some ways, customized experiences are always what made the spectacle of retail, the energy of the experience, relevant,” Malkin told WWD in 2018.

In October 2024, Malkin gambled once again and opened Belmont Park Village on Long Island. Only part of the village is open, and the brands on board include Thom Browne, Rene Caovilla, Aquazzura, Orlebar Brown and Vivienne Westwood.

Malkin has compared his vision for Belmont to what Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager did at Studio 54. 

Success, Malkin said, “requires hardware, software and an embrace of guest-facing hospitality. But, most importantly, it requires a commitment to curation and to the same dedicated focus that Rubell and Schrager defined at Studio 54. That doesn’t happen by chance. It requires a passion for delivering special moments, great experiences and memorable achievements,” he said. — Hikmat Mohammed

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, the hybrid skin care, makeup and fragrance brand, launched in the U.K. in late 2013 and has become the motor of the makeup category at Puig, which acquired a majority stake in the label in 2020.

Tilbury, a celebrity makeup artist, is not just identifiable by her flaming red hair and penchant for sky-high pumps, but has personified a generation of beauty entrepreneurs who have been rewriting the rules of marketing, and are as adept at building online communities as making in-store appearances. These founders are as comfortable spearheading next-generation product development as reading a P&L sheet.

Her brand — with icons such as Magic Cream and Pillow Talk Matte Revolution Lipstick — successfully represents the convergence of all of Tilbury’s worlds. She specializes in creating “looks” and attendant products, based on her professional work as a makeup artist. 

“London’s limitless spirit of creativity and self-expression is so inspiring! From the early days of my career as a makeup artist setting beauty trends at the seminal shows of London Fashion Week through to launching my first counter at Selfridges, the city has played such an integral part in my career. In London, you can dare to dream it, dare to believe it and dare to do it!”

Demetra Pinsent, a former partner at McKinsey and a graduate of Oxford and Harvard, has served as the brand’s CEO from Day One. She has been instrumental in helping Tilbury rank first among makeup brands in the U.K., and first globally for influencer advocacy by year-end 2024, when Puig announced it would assume full ownership of the label by beginning 2031.

How does London inspire you? “London has always set the bar for innovation in retail,” said Pinsent. “Executive teams from all around the world come to London to witness the latest and greatest in new customer experiences. Oxford Street, Bond Street, the King’s Road, Carnaby Street and more are all on the map. As a thriving epicenter for tech innovation, too, London is often where physical and digital experiences dovetail into the best of omnichannel retailing.” — Jennifer Weil

Sean Harrington has seen it all, from Stringfellows to collagen-focused skin care and everything in between.

Leaving school at 17 years old, Harrington landed his first job at Stringfellows, an adult entertainment club in London. Soon after, he began driving a London black cab in the daytime to supplement his income. He eventually knuckled down and began working with his father, who had a product distribution business in the U.K. — until the 1989 recession struck.

At that point he changed course, and decided he wanted to have his own brand. He soon teamed with Linda Steiner, Noella Gabriel and Oriele Frank to launch Elemis spa and retail onboard cruise ships in 1994.

The group went public through an IPO as Steiner Leisure Ltd. in 1996 and eventually went private almost 20 years later when L Catterton acquired Steiner Leisure for about $925 million in 2015. Four years later it changed hands again when L’Occitane International SA bought the British premium skin care and wellness brand for $900 million.

Since then, Harrington has been focused on expanding the business internationally, launching in Sephora U.S. He has also been focused on expansion in Greater China with 350 Sephora doors and other retail partners, even moving to Hong Kong to oversee the Asia business at one point.

Gabriel is an aromatherapist and beauty therapist by training, but always had a knack for retail. She opened a health food store in her native Ireland when she was just 20 years old. 

She has always relied on her training to inform decisions around skin care. “Your skin is how it is because of your lifestyle choices yesterday — the red glass of wine last night or the odd cigarette today,” Gabriel told WWD. 

She has always been focused on the customer, and on training her staff to pay attention to them. “Don’t miss that moment when the customer comes up to the counter,” Gabriel added.

How does London inspire you? “Born and raised in London, I’ve spent over 30 years traveling the globe with Elemis, proudly flying the flag for British distinction with London at its heart,” said Harrington. “It’s a city that never stands still. London has taught me to move fast, stay dynamic and never compromise.”

How does London inspire you? “Though not born here, London has been my home for over 40 years,” said Gabriel. “Its cultural richness and strong sense of community continually push me to break boundaries and embrace the idea that one size doesn’t fit all, a philosophy we apply every day at Elemis, where we recognize that no one’s skin is the same.” — Kathryn Hopkins

After initially finding fame as one half of the BBC television series What Not to Wear, Trinny Woodall launched her namesake beauty brand in 2017, initially with makeup and an interactive online tool that’s able to match colors accurately to a person’s complexion. 

She has expanded into skin care and launched stand-alone stores and shops-in-shop on both sides of the Atlantic. She has developed a cult-like following of women who love watching her kooky Instagram videos where she she scrubs her face, shows off her latest styling tricks, or bounces up and down in her jazzy silk dressing gown to get the endorphins flowing.

Two years ago, she put those Instagram suggestions down on paper with “Fear Less” (HarperCollins), her first solo book. It offers a wide variety of advice ranging from makeup, styling and skin care to wellness and mental, physical and emotional well-being, drawn from her experiences in rehab, years of therapy, family trauma and single motherhood. 

“In life, we’re either stuck in the headlights or feeling fearless — and there is a whole gamut in between. I wanted to look at those things that I do in my life to help me navigate the fear,” she told WWD.

The brand opened its London flagship in Chelsea in 2024 and followed it up with a corner at Liberty (which is perpetually packed with customers). Bestsellers include the cult BFF Collection, which has built-in SPF, evens out skin and adds a glow, and the new Just Joyous lipsticks.

Last year the brand opened a pop-up in SoHo, New York, its first store in North America, offering personalized one-on-one appointments for makeup and skin care customization. The brand is understood to be searching for its next pop-up location in the city.

What inspires you most about London? “It is home to so many cultures and yet has its own strong identity — it feels both international and village-like. Its greenery inspires me.…I get the best ideas walking through Kensington Gardens (the town I grew up in).  It celebrates individuality and has inspired creativity around beauty and fashion for generations.” — Kathryn Hopkins

Becoming chairman of Pentland Brands wasn’t in Stephen Rubin’s grand plan. He graduated from University College London in 1958 with a degree in law and planned to become a barrister (a lawyer who argues cases in the courtroom).

Then, in 1959, he stood for a seat in the House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament, in an election where Winston Churchill was the oldest candidate. He, at 21, was the youngest.

He didn’t make it into Parliament. Instead, he joined the family business, Liverpool Shoe Co., which was founded by Rubin’s parents, Berko and Minnie. He worked alongside his father for 10 years as joint managing director, and upon his father’s death assumed the role of chairman in 1969, five years after the company went public.

In 1973, the firm officially became Pentland Group, named for luck after a successful maritime business in the family’s portfolio, and to prevent the company from being associated with just shoes. Rubin became internationally known when, in 1981, Pentland spent $77,500 for a majority stake in the struggling British athletic footwear brand Reebok. A decade later, the company sold those shares for $770 million — proving how savvy a spotter of brands he is.

Over the years the company has bought — or become the licensee — for other brands including Berghaus, Canterbury of New Zealand, Speedo, Mitre, Kickers, Kangaroos, Red or Dead, Endura and Ellesse under the Pentland Brands division. The firm also has a 51 percent controlling share in JD Sports, a publicly traded athletic retailer with more than 800 units.

As chairman of the Pentland Group, Rubin still presides over his empire from the Pentland offices in Finchley, North London. Rubin privatized the company in 1999, and handed over the CEO reigns to his son, Andy in 1998.

What inspires you most about London? “The international vibe and multinational background.” — Stephen Garner

It was just a few years ago that Manolo Blahnik was marking the 50th anniversary of his brand.

And while Blahnik celebrated big, the shoe legend found it hard to believe that it had been five decades since he started the business. “Everybody says the same thing, that this milestone is quite extraordinary. It seems to me like 50 days — or months,” Blahnik told WWD sister publication FN in 2021. “I’ve been having such a divine time — bad times, too. In my mind, 50 years is a lie.”

Still, the stylish, charismatic designer with a penchant for history, classical architecture and immense love of cinema has at least 50 years worth of hilarious antics, exhilarating friendships, unforgettable runway shows and sleek shoes made for women around the globe.   

As for his niece Kristina Blahnik, it has been more than 15 years since the former architect joined Manolo’s footwear business. Preserving the family legacy is the priority for Blahnik, the daughter of Manolo’s sister Evangelina, who helped him build a profitable business with more than 100 million euros in turnover.

“I walked into something that my mother and my uncle built from the ground on their own, at a very gentle, organic, natural pace. The roots of this tree are so deep and they are something that we need to protect. Making those roots grow wider and wider isn’t an intention. Manolo does one thing beautifully, and that is what we want to keep nurturing,” Kristina Blahnik told WWD in 2016.

Since joining she has been expanding the company’s retail footprint, and moving into new territory. In November, Manolo Blahnik marked a milestone and began doing business in China, opening its first store in Shanghai after winning a decades-long trademark battle in the region.

Blahnik described the Shanghai opening as “very emotional, for so many different reasons. It’s been a long time coming. We’ve listened and learned about the market and it’s now become a reality.” — Stephen Garner

In Neil Clifford’s 35 years of experience in retail, half have been spent with Europe’s largest luxury shoe and accessories retailer, Kurt Geiger Ltd.

Clifford, who has held the position of CEO since 2004, has led several management buyouts including the company’s most recent one earlier this year. In February, Steve Madden revealed it would snap up Kurt Geiger for 289 million pounds in cash from the company’s private equity parent Cinven.

Cinven bought Kurt Geiger in 2015 in a deal with Sycamore valued at $372 million. Since then the company has focused on building its namesake brand, with major expansion in the U.S. and other markets.

“While we’ve delivered remarkable growth in recent years, we believe we are in the early stages of our growth journey, with significant expansion opportunities available to us,” Clifford said at the time. “We believe Steve Madden is the right strategic partner to help us reach our potential.”

In his years at Kurt Geiger, Clifford expanded the business beyond the U.K. for the first time, entered new international partnerships, and successfully launched an online business.

Clifford has also made it his mission to give back. In April, the British accessories brand’s educational program, Business by Design, celebrated its second graduating class in east London.

The program is part of the Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation, and encourages talent from underrepresented groups to get into the creative field. The program started off being limited to London, but will now be available to young people from across the country. — Stephen Garner

Editor-turned-stylist Tabitha Simmons dipped her toe back into the footwear industry last year via a collaboration with London-based footwear brand Malone Souliers. The collection marked Simmons’ return to shoes after going quiet during the pandemic.

Her inspirations are very British. She’s made shoes — feathery sandals, Victoriana lace-up boots and flat military styles — based on the famous hoax photos of the Cottingley Fairies. She has also partnered with a 300-year-old English silk mill to develop exclusive fabrics in delicate floral prints and jacquards.

“I love Victorian, feminine things, Edwardian things. I really do pull a lot from my English roots,” said the designer in an interview with WWD sister publication FN in 2018.

Throughout her design career Simmons has been on a mission to create elegant, versatile and hardworking footwear — the sort that she wants to wear.

“Women are getting busier,” she said. “Like with me: [I have] a baby, two teenage boys; I’m styling and also running a shoe company. We want something to wear during the day and carry on through to the night. I put my shoe on, wear it, and I’ll be in it until I come home.”

In April Simmons released a collection with Blazé Milano that featured textured fabrics and a palette inspired by natural earth tones. It blended her deep-rooted love for the English countryside, where she was born, with urban influences of her on-the-go lifestyle and current home, New York. — Stephen Garner

JD Sports was already a retail powerhouse when CEO Régis Schultz came on board in 2022.

Since taking the helm of the U.K.-based sportswear retailer, Schultz has been applying JD Sports’ European business model to North America, offering a brand-focused, immersive, head-to–toe shopping experience.

His strategy has been a success. In 2024, North America became the largest market for the retailer, generating 37 percent of total revenues in fiscal 2025. Europe accounts for 31 percent, the U.K. 28 percent, and Asia-Pacific 4 percent.

The company ended fiscal 2025 with 4,850 stores, up from 1,533 from the start of the fiscal year. The increase reflects the 1,485 stores acquired through JD Sports’ purchase of Hibbett in the U.S. and Courir in France.

As for the company’s future plans, Schultz said JD Sports will continue to invest in growth opportunities across North America and Europe.

Schultz is also a proponent of the wider footwear world, describing Dick’s Sporting Goods’ multibillion-dollar plans to acquire Foot Locker a “positive” for the industry.

“If it’s good for the market, it’s good for us,” the JD CEO said on the company’s fiscal 2025 earnings call last month. “And having a competitor is always great. It forces us to be better and pushes us.” — Stephen Garner