BoF VOICES is back!

From Dec. 1 to 3, 2021, we’ll bring the movers, shakers and trailblazers of the global fashion industry together with the big thinkers, entrepreneurs and inspiring people who are shaping the wider world at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, UK.

VOICES is more than a conference, it’s an experience. And after doing 15 hours of live programming for last year’s event, we learned we can also create an interactive experience for our BoF Professional community. So, VOICES 2021 will be our first hybrid gathering designed both for our in-person attendees, as well as 100,000 BoF Professional members in more than 125 countries.

Today, we are excited to make our first speaker announcement. As always, we have convened a stellar line up of experts from the worlds of technology, business, politics, finance, science, health & wellness, philanthropy, activism — and of course, fashion. Over three days, we will unlock multi-disciplinary learning and collaboration to challenge conventional wisdom, inspire innovation and reimagine the future of the post-pandemic fashion industry.

The conversations we have and the relationships we build at VOICES, are more critical now than ever before. We look forward to seeing you online — or in-person.

To apply for a place to attend VOICES 2021 in person, please click here. Space is extremely limited.

SPEAKERS CONFIRMED SO FAR:

ALOK is an internationally acclaimed gender non-conforming writer, performer and public speaker. As a mixed-media artist, their work explores themes of trauma, belonging, and the human condition. They are the author of “Femme in Public” (2017) and “Beyond the Gender Binary” (2020). They are the creator of #DeGenderFashion: a movement to degender fashion and beauty industries and have been honoured as one of HuffPost’s Culture Shifters, NBC’s Pride 50, and Business Insider’s Doers. Over the past decade, they have presented at more than 500 venues in 40 countries.

Cédric Charbit is president and chief executive officer of the Maison Balenciaga. Cédric began his career in 2001 at Printemps, where he held various positions until his appointment as general merchandising manager. In 2009, Cédric was appointed deputy chief executive for Pucci based in Italy. In 2012, Yves Saint Laurent hired Cédric as product strategy director and in 2016 he was promoted to executive vice president of product and communication. In July 2019 Cédric was appointed to Kering’s executive committee.

Gentry Lane is the founder and chief executive officer of ANOVA Intelligence. A scholar of military strategic logic, Gentry believes deterrence in the cyber domain is essential for the preservation of liberal democracies and free market economies everywhere. She is a frequent speaker on cyber national security, as well as an internationally recognised subject matter expert on cyberconflict strategy, and is an advisor to members of Congress, NATO and US defense and intelligence leaders. Previously, Ms. Lane was the creative director of Gentry de Paris Lingerie and vice president of marketing for Frédéric Molénac.

Rebecca Hui is a designer, social entrepreneur and the founder of Roots Studio. Her work aims to reverse cultural appropriation into celebration through an ethos of respect, reciprocity and remuneration. Rebecca is a Forbes 30 Under 30 member, Cartier Women’s Initiative Laureate, Chanel Foundation recipient, and Echoing Green Fellow. She has worked with numerous governments on cultural sustainability in India, Jordan, Africa, Malaysia, and China through MIT, UNESCO, and the World Bank. She began her journey as a Fulbright Scholar and National Geographic Explorer, documenting human-animal coexistence from rural to urban societies.

Rafat Ali is the founder and chief executive officer of Skift. The influential media company provides news, research, events and marketing services to the global travel sector. Previously, Rafat was the founder of paidContent, which he sold to UK’s Guardian News and Media in 2008, and managing editor of Silicon Alley Reporter. Rafat was the Knight Fellow at Indiana University, where he completed his Masters in Journalism, 1999-2000. Prior to that, he completed his BSc in Computer Engineering, from Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, India.

Richard Christiansen is a gardener, traveler and world-builder. As the founder of Flamingo Estate — a home and garden brand that champions botanical wellness and pleasure from Mother Nature — Christiansen believes in the power of green thumbs and middle fingers. As the founder of global creative agency Chandelier Creative, he leads teams in New York, Los Angeles, and Paris working on strategy, creative direction and campaign ideation for Hermès, Cartier, Lane Crawford, Calvin Klein, Madewell, Nike, Old Navy, Orient Express and AfterPay. Christiansen, who grew up in rural Australia, will release his first book this year, as well as a re-edition of essential books about the green world, science, conservation and lifestyle through his imprint Flamingo Editions and his bookstore Owl Bureau. He lives in Los Angeles with his dogs, chickens, goats and bees.

Daniel Lismore is an artist, creative consultant and climate change campaigner. He was the face of H&M Close the Loop campaign, and is an ambassador of the climate change charity Cool Earth, and has worked closely with Vivienne Westwood on her Climate Revolution projects. He is currently supporting LGBTQIA+ people who live in countries where it is illegal to be themselves and campaigning to raise public awareness of the discrimination within those communities. In 2019 Daniel gave a TED Talk, titled “My Life As A Work Of Art” where he spoke about the art of living sculpture which has been viewed more than 500,000 times. This year, Daniel opened Coventry’s UK Capital of Culture and will continue to support their programs throughout the year. He has been named by Vogue as England’s most eccentric dresser, selected as one of the Out 100 and was named number 56 in The Pride Power List 2021.

Harris Reed is a pioneering designer and creative director of his namesake brand. Fighting for the beauty of fluidity, the half-American, half-British designer was able to quickly understand the transformative power of clothing and its correlation with identity and liberation. While studying at Central Saint Martins, Reed caught the attention of Harry Styles, Solange, Alessandro Michele and Ezra Miller. His work has been described as “Romanticism Gone Nonbinary,” as it puts the wearer and their fluidity — in whatever way it manifests — front and centre. Harris believes that fashion has a huge role to play in pushing the world to a more expressive and accepting place. He is also known for his campaign and relationship with Gucci, as well as being an innovative key figure within the new generation of young creatives, whose work marries genres from fashion, film, beauty, culture and the digital world through a gender fluid lens.

Roger Frampton is a movement coach and the creator of the Frampton Method. His training techniques place emphasis on conscious movement, combining bodyweight exercises with aspects of gymnastics and yoga to better understand the natural functionality of our bodies, with the aim of preventing pain and returning us to the fluid way we moved as children. Roger’s new book “STRETCH: Seven daily movements to set your body free” provides a daily programme of seven essential movements focusing on key areas of the body to counter the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, boost energy levels and improve wellbeing. His TED Talk, “Why Sitting Down Destroys You” has been viewed over 4 million times. His book, “The Flexible Body,” offers mindful movement solutions to do at home and has been an Amazon bestseller several times since it was published in January 2018.

Kai-Isaiah Jamal is a spoken word poet, performer, model and trans visibility activist. Their work both as a performer and writer pulls from classical literature, lyrics, pop culture, neologisms, slang and internet-speak, seamlessly blending both high and low vernacular. Their main focus is shining a light on marginalised voices and perspectives, with a specific focus on the narratives of trans/queer, black and working-class folk. Kai has become a new kind of online hero, uplifting, and championing their community through meme culture, performance art and grassroots activism. Their voice, while heavy with the weight of being a marginalised body in today’s society, is also irreverent, joyful, hopeful, inspiring and evidently, infectious.

Vanessa Kingori MBE is the chief business officer, style at Condé Nast. With over 15 years of experience in the media industry, Vanessa has a special focus on business transformation, digitalisation and change management. She is British Vogue’s first female business lead in its 105-year history and is Condé Nast’s first and only Black chief business officer. Vanessa’s role at British Vogue has involved a significant shift in the brand’s purpose and business strategy with an emphasis on diversity of perspective, social responsibility and female empowerment. Her body of work and services to British media led her to be awarded an MBE on the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours Lists, 2016.

Martin Raymond and Christopher Sanderson are co-founders of The Future Laboratory. Known for their definitive work on futurism delivered through their global conferences, media events and trend briefings in London, New York, Sydney and Melbourne, their clients include luxury group Kering, the European Travel Commission, Retail Week, Selfridges, Marks & Spencer, Chanel, Harrods, Aldo, H&M, General Motors, BBDO, Design Hotels, Condé Nast Media and Omnicom. They are regular contributors on trends and business for the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV.

Andrew and Simon Salter are co-founders of DIRTEA. The brothers’ mission is to strip down misconceptions of mushrooms by educating the world about the importance of mushrooms to our wellbeing and the future wellbeing of our planet. Their pure, delicious and potent super mushroom extract powders are proven to give you natural energy, strengthen your immunity and help you feel calm and focused. Previously, they co-founded Limelyte, an incubator which that has unearthed, built and amplified media, entertainment, luxury and wellness brands, generating over $200 million for clients including Rolls-Royce Whispers, Universal Music Group and Southbank Centre.

Merlin Sheldrake is a biologist and a writer with a background in plant sciences. Merlin received a Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama, where he was a predoctoral research fellow of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He is a research associate of the Vrije University, Amsterdam, and sits on the advisory board of the Fungi Foundation and the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks. His book, “Entangled Life” is an international bestseller, winner of the Wainwright Prize 2021 and was Book of the Year in The Times, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times, New Statesman and TIME, among others. It has been translated into twenty languages.

Mohsin Zaidi is an award-winning author and former barrister. His critically acclaimed memoir on sexuality, race and class, “A Dutiful Boy” (2020), won a Lambda Literary award and was named a Guardian, GQ and New Statesman Book of the Year. The book, which is currently being adapted for screen, is described by The Guardian as “a profound meditation on the power of the human heart, providing a lesson of acceptance for us all, and for the future of our multicultural society.” An advocate for LGBT rights, BAME representation and social mobility, Mohsin sits on the board of Stonewall and is listed by The Financial Times as a top future LGBT leader. He was recently listed in The Lawyer Magazine Hot 100 and Attitude magazine named him a trailblazer changing the world.

VOICES 2021 is made possible in part through our partners McKinsey & Company, Shopify, Clearco, Klarna, Brandlive, Flannels, Snap, Getty Images and Soho House.