If there is one list enumerating the most influential people around the world in the fashion industry, it would be Business of Fashion’s BoF 500. Each year, the magazine hand-selects “the people shaping the $2.4 trillion fashion industry” through “nominations received from current BoF 500 members, extensive data analysis and research.”
This year, one Filipino made the cut: Mark “Jappy” Gonzalez, the founder and managing director of H&F Retail Concepts.
He is described by Business of Fashion as “the man responsible for bringing Balenciaga, Lanvin, and Comme des Garçons into the Philippines.”
Gonzalez got his start in 1995 when he opened Homme et Femme, which currently stocks luxury brands like Acne, Margiela, Marni, and Dries Van Noten.
In 2011, he opened Univers, which combines up-and-coming labels from streetwear and luxury brands, and established ones like Comme des Garçons.
He is also behind the opening of the first Laduree store in the Philippines.
Congratulations, Jappy!
