The BoF 500 Gala attracts international stars and fashion insiders

The industry, in partnership with Snapchat, descended on the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris on Saturday night to present The BoF 500, the definitive index of the people shaping the global fashion industry. Old friends and new contacts gathered in the hotel’s grand lobby, designers and C-suite executives, editors and entrepreneurs, models, movie stars and activists.

This year’s gala was the most international yet, with members from over 35 different countries. Among the participants were BoF 2022 cover stars Indian actress Deepika Padukone, Malaysian entrepreneur Vivi Yusof, French designer Simone Porte Jacques, Senegalese-Italian TikTok star Kabi Lame, RTFKT founder Benoit Pagotto and American model Paloma Elsesser.

“It sounds so crazy, it’s such an honor,” Elsesser said. “I feel like I can add to my legacy to be fixed and valued on the list of 500 people in this global community.”

“BoF is celebrating inclusion and representation, which I’m very grateful for,” said Yusuf, who apparently traveled from Kuala Lumpur to Paris for the gala. She said she was “speechless” after seeing the cover. “I should have been here.”

The rooms are buzzing with conversation as the BoF community mingles over champagne and cocktails. Some posed in front of Snapchat mirrors, taking photos with AR filters that turned their faces into cartoon avatars. Actors Jared Leto and musician FKA Twigs joined BoF 500 members, as did Ukrainian designer Anna Oktober, footwear designer Amina Muadi and Harper’s Bazaar US editor-in-chief Samira Nasser.

“It’s great to be here with everyone,” Nasser said.

Later in the evening, BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed took to the stage to welcome hundreds of guests. Then he introduced Oliver Sim – the first solo album of the former singer of the xx Hidden bastard It dropped last month – giving it a close performance. In a dramatic move, BoF editor-in-chief Tim Badons joined the crowd on stage to the delight of the ecstatic audience.

DJ duo Chambord and new BoF 500 member Benji B (the latter known as a frequent musical collaborator of design star Virgil Abloh) also performed.

“It’s like a school reunion with all the upperclassmen or classmates you don’t respect or meet,” says designer Harris Reed. “I just feel special.”

On October 1, 2022, BoF hosted the #BoF500 Gala in Paris in collaboration with Snapchat, Arezzo and Company, Shangri-La Hotel And Oboe.

Click here to see all the red carpet looks.