The British Fashion Council Names Its 50 NEW WAVE: Creatives For 2026

By Jessica Ye (Jessica Yap)

When we talk about fashion, the conversation usually starts with the designer, the collection and, if we are lucky, a particularly good pair of shoes.

But think about the images that stay with us after a show. The casting, the make-up, the hair, the styling, the photograph that ends up everywhere the following morning. There are usually plenty of creative minds involved before a collection reaches the runway, and many of them never get the same attention as the person whose name is on the invitation.

The British Fashion Council is putting 50 of them in the spotlight with its 2026 NEW WAVE: Creatives list, recognising talent across photography, fashion styling, beauty, casting, creative direction and several other disciplines.

The recipients will be celebrated at The Fashion Awards 2026 on 30 November at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

This year’s selection also introduces beauty commentators and show producers to the programme, broadening a list that already covers photographers, hair and make-up artists, nail artists, stylists and cultural commentators.

And that range is worth paying attention to.

A fashion image depends on more than the clothes in front of the camera. A stylist decides how those clothes are put together. A photographer determines how we see them. Hair, make-up and nails can change the entire mood of a look, while casting influences the faces and personalities through which a collection is presented. Then there are the people working with sound, production and creative direction, helping to bring the wider idea to life.

It is a considerable amount of work behind what might eventually become a single photograph or a few minutes on the runway.

Among the 50 recipients are photographers Salomé Gomis-Trezise, Wendy Huynh, Jebi Labembika and Winter Vandenbrink, alongside 10 others recognised in the same category. Photography is the largest group on this year’s list, reflecting how important image-making has become to fashion, from editorial shoots and campaigns to the pictures that circulate online long after a collection has been shown.

The stylists include Seyon Amosu, Tess Herbert and Chino Castilla (featured image), while Chani Ra, Biz Sherbert, Antonio Padilla and Shuang Bright are recognised as cultural commentators. Their inclusion gives the list room for people whose work involves interpreting fashion and its place in culture, rather than creating the clothes or images themselves.

Beauty has a strong showing, too. Make-up artists Valentina Li, Ruben Masoliver and Joe Brooks are among the recipients, with hairstylists including Louis Souvestre, Gabriel De Fries and Vera Mai Ha. Nail artists Nikki Panic and Ema Maeda also make the list.

There are some less expected disciplines here, which I rather like. Julia Campbell Gillies is recognised as a florist, while Baby Cousland is named in sound design. Both serve as a reminder that the work surrounding fashion can extend well beyond clothing, particularly when a show or campaign calls for an environment, an atmosphere or an idea that reaches beyond the runway itself.

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The full list also includes casting directors Lina Eldaly and Lisa Dymph Megens, creative directors Bevan Agyemang and Jess Canje, and producers Michelle Smith and Shay Johnson.

The final selection was made through a process that began with nominations from the previous year’s NEW WAVE: Creatives cohort. Those nominations were then reviewed by an industry panel that included photographer and filmmaker Aidan Zamiri, stylist and creative director Ib Kamara, designer Simone Rocha, fashion editor and stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, and i-D editor-in-chief Steff Yotka, among others.

The list is intended to do more than recognise its recipients at an annual event. The BFC has also developed an online directory where people can explore profiles by discipline, country and year, giving brands and creative teams a way to discover talent for future projects.

That practical side is important. Recognition is one thing, but the opportunity to be found by someone looking for a photographer, stylist, casting director or make-up artist can be just as valuable.

For anyone working in fashion, the 50 names are worth keeping on the radar. And for the rest of us, they offer a useful look at the many different people who help determine how fashion looks, feels and reaches an audience.

Here is the complete 2026 NEW WAVE: Creatives list.

BEAUTY COMMENTATORS
August, Kicki Yang Zhang, Mei Pang

CASTING DIRECTORS
Lina Eldali, Lisa Dymph Megens

CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Bevan Agyemang, Jess Canje

CULTURAL COMMENTATORS
Antonio Padilla, Biz Sherbert, Chani Ra, Shuang Bright

FASHION STYLISTS
Chino Castilla, Milena Aggaba, Natasha Ribas, Seyon Amosu, Tess Herbert

FLORIST
Julia Campbell Gillies

HAIR STYLISTS
Carlo Avena, Gabriel De Fries, Jadis Jolie, Louis Souvestre, Rebecca Chang, Vera Mai Ha

MAKE-UP ARTISTS
Joe Brooks, Leana Ardeleanu, Ruben Masoliver, Thierry Do Nascimento, Tina Khatri, Valentina Li

NAIL ARTISTS
Ema Maeda, Nikki Panic

PHOTOGRAPHERS
Aleks Soroka, Ana Garcia, Ava Van Osdol, Ayaka Endo, Chessa Subbiondo, Elliot Hensford, Jebi Labembika, Julius Bohlin, Salomé Gomis-Trezise, Steve Ney, Tre Koch, Wendy Huynh, Will Bruce, Winter Vandenbrink

PRODUCERS
Michelle Smith, Shay Johnson

SOUND DESIGNER
Baby Cousland

The 50 recipients will be celebrated at The Fashion Awards 2026 on 30 November at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Designers may have their names on the labels, but fashion has never been made by designers alone. This list gives some of the people behind the pictures, the styling, the beauty and the atmosphere a little more room in the conversation.