22-05-2025
WWD to Present Awards at Saudi Fashion Awards
WWD, in collaboration with the Saudi Fashion Commission, will again present awards as part of the Saudi Fashion Awards taking place in Riyadh on Thursday.
The WWD Awards will recognize Alessandro Sartori, artistic director of Zegna, as International Designer of the Year; Matteo Tamburini, creative director of Tod's, as International Brand of the Year; Patrick Ta, founder of Patrick Ta Beauty, as International Beauty Innovator of the Year, and Glow Recipe as International Beauty Brand of the Year.
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Sartori has been spearheading a major stylistic shift at Zegna as its artistic director, boosting the company's business around the world. The fall 2021 collection was a watershed moment for the brand, establishing a precise and significant aesthetic change.
At the time, he called the collection 'The (Re)set,' pointing to an entirely new course for Zegna, acknowledging that traditional formalwear had run its course, and the designer proceeded to blur the lines between luxury and leisurewear, elevating both, creating functional and comfortable yet exclusive garments. This led him to receive the WWD award for Menwear Designer of the Year in 2022.
His knowledge of fabrics is encyclopedic and he has been lacquering jacquard tops; rubberizing leather and nylon, and using recycled paper, which telegraphs Zegna's focus on sustainability and its 'Oasi Cashmere' traceability project, increasing the use of wool and technical fabrics made from preexisting and postconsumer sources.
In fact, Sartori hails from Biella, Italy, not far from Zegna's Trivero headquarters, and received a degree in textile engineering in Biella, followed by a degree in fashion design at Istituto Marangoni in Milan. Sartori and Zegna go a long way back, as he began his career at the Italian group in 1989 as a menswear designer and became creative director of the Z Zegna line in 2003. In 2011, he was appointed artistic director at Berluti and left five years later to rejoin Zegna in his current role.
Other introductions that contributed to gel his vision for Zegna, include his shirt jackets and an innovative cashmere jersey fabric developed by Zegna — superlight yet reminiscent of felt — on fluid suits in generous silhouettes or on kimono-style belted jackets and oversize blazers with no internal canvas or linings — often in soft and dusty monochromatic palettes.
Tamburini's first collection for Tod's bowed in February 2024 and, as the brand's creative director, he has been in charge of both the women's and men's collections.
Born in 1982 in Italy's Urbino, he arrived at Tod's from Bottega Veneta, which he had joined in 2017. The two brands share a time-honed expertise in artisanal leather goods made by hand, and, to be sure, Tamburini has proved he is embracing Tod's world, aesthetics and values while pushing the envelop farther, experimenting with volumes, fabrics and fits, and evolving his designs with increasing confidence.
Most recently, his fall 2025 collection was a step further in his narrative as the designer was inspired by the PAC contemporary art museum in Milan, where he staged the show, and its history. As a space that showcases art, Tamburini looked to artists Carla Accardi, Alberto Burri and Lucio Fontana, exploring how they treated the fabrics. This led, for example, to a beautiful brushed alpaca coat with black-and-white swirls reminiscent of an Accardi abstract painting or Fontana's technical severity was reflected in the sharp and structured tailored coats.
Over the seasons, Tamburini has been offering sleek and sophisticated designs, yet with a modern touch, fluid shapes and a sort of nonchalant attitude. At the same time, he has further developed Tod's core leather goods business, from the signature Gommino mocassins to the handbags.
Ta began his career in Arizona before moving to Los Angeles, where he built up a client list that reads like a who's who of celebrity today — Gigi Hadid, Sydney Sweeney, Camilla Cabello, Ariana Grande and the Kardashian clan. But it's his ability to connect with all women, famous or not, that has propelled his brand to be one of the fastest growing in beauty today.
Women made up by Ta love his ability to create the most beautiful, radiant skin in the business, with a light that seems to glow from within. With a skin-forward approach that emphasizes a radiant complexion, his products, formulated for a wide range of skins tones, translate professional makeup techniques into everyday essentials — while capturing the playful and empowering spirit at the heart of his namesake brand. Across the collections, product names have a strong, uplifting voice with descriptions like 'She's Bold' and 'She's Vibrant.'
It's no surprise that the foundation, body products and blush have become the hero products in his business, which launched in the teeth of the pandemic and has gone on to become a top seller at Sephora.
More than a decade ago, two young L'Oréal executives decided to leave their corporate positions and take the ultimate leap of faith by starting their own brand. Under the leadership of cofounders and co-chief executive officers Christine Chang and Sarah Lee, Glow Recipe's considered approach to expansion (in terms of both geographies and categories) has culminated in a global powerhouse.
Now 11 years old, Glow Recipe has become one of the world's most successful independent skin care brands. Its blend of clinically effective, fruit powered products have become multigenerational favorites — with Watermelon Glow Dew Drops and Pore-Tight Toner achieving true hero product status. More recently, the brand has ventured into makeup — infusing its bestsellers with hints of color and forging the way for the skinification of makeup.
The brand recently ventured into Latin America, specifically in Mexico and Brazil with Sephora, and launched in Europe this past year. When it comes to deciding which market to enter next, Lee and Chang examine how they can build and sustain and strategize how to win.
Other awards being presented by the Saudi Fashion Commission on Thursday recognized achievements in the Saudi fashion industry include Fashion Stylist of the Year; Fashion Photographer of the Year, presented in collaboration with Hia Magazine; Menswear Brand of the Year; Womenswear Brand of the Year; Jewelry Brand of the Year, and the Elite Model Honorary Award for Model of the Year.
The judging panel includes Hollywood stylist Law Roach; Amanda Smith, CEO of Fairchild Media Group and WWD; Burak Çakmak, CEO of the Saudi Fashion Commission; Xavier Romatet, dean of Institut Français de la Mode ; Mohammed Aldabbageh, KSA managing director of Chalhoub Group, and Mai Badr, editor in chief of Hia Magazine.
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