Imran Amed
Founder, chief executive and editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion
Imran Amed is the founder, chief executive and editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion (BoF), the London and New York based platform that has become a leading source of business news and analysis for the fashion industry. He matters because BoF, and the annual State of Fashion report it publishes with McKinsey, shape how executives understand the market, including the impact of AI.
| Role | Founder, CEO and editor-in-chief, The Business of Fashion |
|---|---|
| Founded BoF | 2007, London |
| Education | McGill University; Harvard Business School MBA (2002) |
| Previous role | McKinsey and Company, 2002 to 2006 |
| Known for | The State of Fashion report with McKinsey |
Who is Imran Amed?
Imran Amed was born in Calgary, Canada, in 1975. He studied at McGill University and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2002. In 2007 he started The Business of Fashion as a blog and occasional newsletter written from his flat in London, aiming to provide "an informed, analytical and opinionated point of view on the fashion business".
Career
After Harvard, Amed joined McKinsey and Company in London, where he worked from 2002 to 2006 before moving into fashion as an adviser and writer. BoF grew from a personal blog into a media company with a paid membership model:
- 2007: BoF founded in London
- 2013: first seed financing round
- 2015: Tim Blanks joins as editor-at-large
- 2016: first edition of The State of Fashion, published annually with McKinsey
- 2024: BoF reported more than 100,000 paying members
Today BoF also runs BoF Careers, a recruitment platform, BoF Insights for data and advisory work, the BoF 500 index of people shaping the industry and live events. Amed received the CFDA Media Award in 2016 and was appointed MBE in 2017.
Influence on the fashion business
Amed helped create a category: business journalism written specifically for fashion professionals, combining reporting, case studies and data. The State of Fashion has become a standard reference for executives planning the year ahead, and BoF's coverage of executive moves, earnings and strategy is widely read in boardrooms.
Imran Amed and technology
BoF was born digital and relies on subscriptions rather than print. The State of Fashion 2026 report, published in November 2025 with Amed listed as a collaborator, describes AI as shifting from a competitive edge to a business necessity and covers themes such as AI shopping assistants and agentic commerce.
Why it matters
For anyone following the economics of fashion, Amed's platform is a primary source of news and frameworks. His work shows how a specialist, subscription based publication can influence strategy across an industry, including how leaders think about AI.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Imran Amed?
Imran Amed is the Canadian founder, chief executive and editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion. He started BoF as a blog in London in 2007 after working at McKinsey.
What is The State of Fashion report?
The State of Fashion is an annual industry outlook published by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey since 2016. The 2026 edition focuses heavily on AI, describing it as a business necessity rather than a competitive edge.