BoF VOICES 2023 Is Coming: First Speakers Announced

BoF VOICES 2023, our annual gathering for big thinkers, is now live! Join us on the global livestream to experience a transformative programme of provocative talks and unforgettable learning moments examining the groundbreaking innovations and cultural forces shaping the global fashion, luxury and beauty industries.

The Business of Fashion is pleased to announce the early speaker lineup for BoF VOICES 2023, our annual gathering for big thinkers, where we unite the movers, shakers and trailblazers of the global fashion industry with the thought leaders, entrepreneurs and inspiring people who are shaping the wider world.

Across three days, from November 28 to November 30, at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, we’ll convene expert speakers from the worlds of science, technology, health and wellness, food, film, politics, the arts, philosophy and philanthropy – and, of course, fashion – to unlock cross-industry collaboration, challenge conventional wisdom and inspire innovation.

For the most up-to-date list of speakers, and to register for the BoF VOICES 2023 global livestream, please click here.

Speakers confirmed so far include:

Leena Nair - global chief executive of Chanel
Matthieu Blazy - creative director of Bottega Veneta
John C. Jay - president of global creative of Fast Retailing
Jonathan Mildenhall - co-founder and chair of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand
Misan Harriman - photographer, entrepreneur and social activist
Charithra Chandran - actor
Shiza Shahid - co-founder and co-CEO of Our Place
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy - filmmaker at SOC Films
Halla Bint Khalid - artist
Abdulnasser Gharem - artist
Dr Ahmed Zaidi - co-founder and chief executive of Hyran Technologies

BoF VOICES 2023 is made possible in part by our partners Snapchat and McKinsey & Company.

Leena Nair is the global chief executive officer at Chanel. Prior to joining Chanel, Nair spent 30 years at CPG giant Unilever, including as the company’s chief human resources officer and a member of its executive committee from 2016 to 2021. Nair is a highly respected visionary leader whose ability to champion a long-term, purpose-driven agenda is matched with a consistently strong record of business outcomes.

Matthieu Blazy is the creative director of luxury fashion brand Bottega Veneta. Blazy started his fashion career as the men’s designer for Raf Simons and then joined Maison Margiela to design the Artisanal line and women’s ready-to-wear. In 2014, he became senior designer at Céline, before working again with Raf Simons at Calvin Klein from 2016 to 2019.

Matthieu Blazy is the creative director of luxury fashion brand Bottega Veneta.

John C. Jay is the president of global creative for the retail holding company Fast Retailing, the parent company of international fashion brands such as Uniqlo, J Brand, Comptoir des Cotonniers and Theory. He’s worked across brands and agencies, including at creative agency Wieden + Kennedy, where he worked on Nike’s 1994 “City Attack” campaign.

Jonathan Mildenhall is the co-founder and chair of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand, a consulting company that helps founders and chief executives realise the full potential of their brands through purpose-driven brand positioning work and values-driven marketing. Mildenhall counts companies such as Pinterest, Instacart, Netflix, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s company, Archewell, as clients.

Misan Harriman is a Nigerian-born British photographer and social activist. In 2020, he became the first Black man to shoot the September issue cover of British Vogue, with a spread featuring model Adwoa Aboah and English soccer player Marcus Rashford. During the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Harriman began his project “Lost in Isolation,” where he photographed neighbours in his hometown of Woking in Surrey, England. Harriman is also known for his images of the Black Lives Matter movement and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex’s 2021 pregnancy announcement.

Charithra Chandran is an actor best known for her performances in “Bridgerton” and “Alex Rider.” Chandran has been performing from a young age, starting out in touring productions of West End musicals. She graduated from the University of Oxford in 2019 with a bachelors in philosophy, politics and economics.

Shiza Shahid is the co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Our Place, a mission-driven start-up reimagining kitchenware for the modern, multi-ethnic, global kitchen. Our Place was founded in 2019 on the belief that home cooking has the power to bring people together.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is a journalist and filmmaker based in Karachi, Pakistan. She is a two-time Academy Award-winner for her documentary shorts “Saving Face” and “Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.” In Hollywood, she has also directed two episodes of “Ms. Marvel,” a series about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first Muslim superhero, and she will be the first woman and person of colour to direct a “Star Wars” movie.

Halla Bint Khalid is an artist, children’s book author and illustrator based in located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Bint Khalid is also a partner in Gharem Studio, a non-profit arts organisation that encourages self-expression, with artist Abdulnasser Gharem. The Museum of Modern Art in Tbilisi, Georgia hosted the artist’s first international solo exhibition “Tasleemah” in 2019. That same year, Bint Khalid also showcased her artwork at the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art.

Abdulnasser Gharem is a former lieutenant colonel in the Saudi army, founder of non-profit arts organisation Gharem Studio. He is also the co-founder of the Edge of Arabia, an independent arts initiative focussed on appreciating Arab art and culture. In April 2011, his installation Message/Messenger sold for $842,500 at a Christie’s auction in Dubai. Gharem’s work is on display at the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture and Information.

Dr Ahmed Zaidi is chief executive officer and co-founder of Hyran Technologies, an AI platform that helps brands and suppliers respond to consumer demand, increase profitability and reduce waste. Zaidi’s passion for solving the fashion industry’s overproduction problem, derived from his first-hand experience with his family’s knitwear manufacturing business in Pakistan.