LBS alumni on fashion award shortlist high

LBS alumni are celebrating after being shortlisted for the Fashion Futures Awards in partnership with the British Fashion Council

The inaugural Fashion Futures Awards saw LBS alumni Misa Zahar and Nimesh Thakrar (both MBA2011s), Co-Founders of 3D printed fine jewellery marketplace, Banneya London, shortlisted for an award at an event featuring the likes of Burberry, Yoox and Farfetch. 

The Fashion Futures Awards, by Decoded Fashion in partnership with the British Fashion Council, celebrated how the fashion and retail industries are evolving through tech-based ideas, solutions and tools. On 21 May, 12 accolades were awarded to recognise the achievements of disruptors, visionaries, and innovators that have pushed the boundaries in fashion and retail.

Being selected, along with three other companies in The Big Idea category for the most innovative new digital project, marks an impressive milestone for Zahar and Thakrar, who started the business in 2013. “We are getting recognised for good quality. We are showing the luxury industry that we are serious players to be reckoned with,” said Zahar who wore her Banneya-born customised striped earrings to the event, showcasing product-personalisation at its best.

Embedded in a fashion industry which is teeming with new ideas and brand new tech, the pair see London Business School (LBS) as a place of ideas. 

Zahar said: “LBS is a home for entrepreneurship. We talked to an executive from a mobile payments company at the awards who said: ‘It seems like LBS is the entrepreneurship business school.’

“There’s a huge opportunity for young players who don’t have the history of the old fashion houses. We can behave like a tech company and that’s what we do. We apply things that we’ve learnt along the way to this grand old lady of an industry.”