OXFORDSHIRE, United Kingdom — Following three days of thought-provoking conversations sparked by speakers sharing bold ideas, fresh perspectives and urgent calls to action on topics from sustainability to creativity and AI, fashion leaders and tastemakers celebrated 10 years of BoF VOICES.

The Business of Fashion’s annual gathering for big thinkers culminated in a gala dinner in a cavernous greenhouse at Soho Farmhouse, remade in the image of Cecil Beaton’s iconic indoor winter garden.

“I see the range of age groups, of backgrounds, of nationalities, of perspectives, of different disciplines, different industries, different points of views that all come together in this way that is really quite unique,” said actor Riz Ahmed.

Guests and speakers — and friends old and new — came together in black tie beneath a canopy arranged by floral artist Hamish Powell.

“I was looking through Cecil Beaton’s archive of work and reading about him and what we tried to emulate is representative of all of BoF this week,” said Powell.

The intimate atmosphere encouraged conversation, reflection and connection late into the evening.

“VOICES is definitely unique in that it’s such an eclectic, wide variety of voices speaking about different things, personal or bigger picture, and that makes it feel very personal and enriching,” said model Jean Campbell.

Empowering female creatives in a time of socio-political uncertainty, as well as championing sustainability as it falls down executive agendas, were among the key issues debated by guests.

June Sarpong, who spoke onstage during VOICES’ first session on Tuesday, was struck by the panel discussion on How To End Waste Colonialism: “My family are from Ghana and I had no idea that these communities existed where all those clothes drift onto the shore,” she said.

Chief marketing officer of Marni, Chungaiz Khan-Mumtaz, had been mulling over a talk featuring designers Clare Waight Keller and Maria Cornejo, and their “words about female creative directors — designing for women, by women.” The topic is timely for Marni, which hired creative director Meryll Rogge to succeed Francesco Risso earlier this year.

Over dinner created by chef and culinary creative Pierce Abernathy, guests reflected on opportunities for progress amid rapid change and global instability, noting that the way forward will require deeper dialogue between creative and business leaders.

“I think emotions and connections have been one of the key themes this VOICES,” said Patrick McDowell. “It’s certainly a core part of my work as a designer: to keep telling stories, conveying emotions and believing that the more you can connect with people, the more people can come on a journey of circularity and beauty with you.”

Returning members of the VOICES community reflected on the draw of the event, and its role in building meaningful dialogue and lasting connections.

“What [VOICES] does is, it doesn’t just have people from the fashion industry [attend]. We’ve got musicians, performers, mathematicians, scientists — an entire spectrum of people, and it’s not even done in a cliche way of being: ‘See, this is about fashion’,” said Alok Vaid-Menon.

As temperatures dipped in the Oxfordshire countryside, guests made their way to the dancefloor for a special after-party performance from DJ Lou over late-night cocktails.

Go Inside the BoF VOICES 2025 Gala

BoF VOICES 2025 is made possible in part by our partners McKinsey & Company, Amazon Fashion, Pixel Moda, Value Retail, Certilogo, Swap Commerce, Soho House, Wheely and Getty Images.