Take Your Exclusive Seat on the
French Fashion Awards Panel
At the centre of the French Fashion Awards lies its Grand Jury Panel, a group of internationally renowned experts in the world of fashion and creativity. This panel is the guiding force behind the awards, representing a wide array of specialties within the fashion industry, including haute couture, ready-to-wear, accessories, and marketing.
Originating from various parts of the globe with varied backgrounds, these professionals offer impartial evaluations of each submission. Their assessments go beyond mere aesthetics of each design, celebrating creations that are visually stunning but also contributing meaningfully to the fashion industry and enhancing the way we experience style.
Discover the career paths and visions of these eminent panellists who are setting the benchmarks for global fashion excellence. They foster a culture of design that prioritises beauty, ingenuity, and ecological mindfulness, shaping the future of fashion with every decision they make.
United States
Xiaowu Zheng
Menswear Designer, United Legwear & Apparel
Xiaowu Zheng is a New York based fashion designer. Trained in fashion at Pratt Institute, Zheng's design experience spans from haute couture to ready-to-wear.
Zheng’s brand gained visibility at NYFW, receiving coverage from iconic magazines like Vogue and Elle. His intricate designs, highlighted by Nick Knight on SHOWstudio, have been showcased globally in venues such as the CICA Museum in Korea and Harvard University. In 2018, Zheng collaborated with '47 on a sustainable project, repurposing deadstock for shows in New York and Boston, followed by a 2023 collection with SHEIN. Currently, he works with United Legwear to refresh brands like Puma and Hurley for the mass market, drawing on his extensive experience with major retailers like Nordstrom and Macy’s.
Xiaowu’s style blends unconventional construction with modern relevance, using clothing to express complex, often dark themes. His work transforms casualwear into free-form pieces with bold details, redefining human form in thought-provoking ways.
Croatia (Hrvatska)
Sunčana Jozić Lučić
Creative Director/Designer, Gugabaga
Sunčana Jozić Lučić is a versatile designer from Croatia. Since her early days, she has been a member of various art groups. After graduating from the School of Applied Art and Design, she achieved the status of an arranger and scenography designer. Her further education also focused on design; after graduating from the Textile Technology College in Zagreb, she earned the title of fashion designer, and later, she became a makeup artist after completing her studies in Paris. From the outset of her career, she has worked as a multidisciplinary designer, makeup artist, and stylist, continually honing her skills in these fields and exploring various techniques. After opening her creative agency, she specialized in fashion, product and graphic design, illustration, scenography, and applied arts.
Recently, as part of a five-member Croatian team, she attended the international creative residency CODES in Thessaloniki, Greece, where she contributed to creating a new digital platform for designers. As part of her work, she established an Entrepreneurs Club in her town, which will soon host the event FURKA, showcasing and presenting local designers, creative professionals, and crafters. The event has received a very positive response, significantly impacting the local community, and is growing each year.
Australia
Carly Vidal-Wallace
Carly Vidal-Wallace Fashion Business Advisor, Carly Vidal-Wallace Fashion
Carly has a fifteen-year history working closely in the fashion industry having been based in Paris, Los Angeles and various States in Australia. Her titles have ranged from Fashion Editor, Stylist, Creative Director (having owned her own label) and Global Marketing Manager. Carly founded then sold Brisbane Fashion Month before her experience stretched into Fashion Curation in California. Working for global platform Not Just a Label she built a reputation for having an eye for the most likely to succeed fashion designers.
Having returned from overseas, now based in Noosa Heads, Carly consults to select fashion labels on their marketing and branding; and often lectures in Universities and Fashion Schools. She has consulted with businesses from university graduate start-ups, to strategically building campaigns for companies with a turnover in excess of $60m.
Carly leads the community “Women in Fashion”, as she also prepares for her next venture, SHE HER funded by an international tech company which is set to launch late 2021.
She has a passion for sustainability and ethical fashion and hopes in every role she takes on, to have the biggest global impact. Her stand out career moments have been interviewing Jimmy Choo, chatting with Diane von Fürstenberg, and attending Paris Fashion Week scouting new fashion talent.
Malaysia
Jae Leong
Judging Committee Chairperson, International Awards Associate (IAA)
Jae Leong is the accomplished chairperson of IAA’s extensive judging committee.
As the chairperson, Leong assumes a leadership role, guiding the organization and spearheading initiatives to uphold quality and creative excellence in critical areas such as design, creative advertising, marketing communications, video production, and business. Additionally, she serves as a key award representative at IAA, consistently demonstrating success in overseeing assessments throughout her career.
She prioritizes the coordination of strategic arrangements among various jury panels, establishing herself as a standout figure in the industry. Demonstrating a keen sense of management, Leong has executed her role with precision, ensuring that each participant receives fair evaluations and unbiased assessments, underscoring the significance of integrity in maintaining the credibility of the judging outcomes. Furthermore, her collaboration with professionals globally has positioned her at the forefront of specialization, enabling the development of exceptional communication and relationship management skills.
United States
Hanwei Su
Chief Fashion Designer , M&M Design House
Residing in New York, VV Hanwei Su is the visionary force behind MAISON DE HOE, catapulting the brand into the global fashion limelight. As a Parsons School of Design award-winning alumna, her creations masterfully blend contemporary Chinese grunge culture with New York’s avant-garde vibrancy, painting a narrative that bridges world. Her creations have graced runways from New York Fashion Week to Paris Fashion Week, garnering features in a wide array of global press, including esteemed publications like Vogue, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, and Grazia USA. This extensive coverage highlights her innovative blend of tradition with modernity and underscores the international acclaim of her runway showcases.
Su’s portfolio is a beacon of global recognition and creativity. Under her leadership, Maison de Hoe has emerged as more than just a fashion label; it’s a revolution that champions the power of the female spirit and the enduring resilience of cultural legacies. Through her guidance, the brand embodies a vision where empowerment is woven into the very fabric of its creations, challenging the fashion industry’s norms and inspiring a new generation of designers. The brand’s showcase at Paris Fashion Week marked a milestone, bringing its unique narrative of empowerment and cultural fusion to the forefront of the international fashion scene. This appearance not only solidified Su’s standing in the fashion world but also highlighted her commitment to showcasing diversity and strength through design. Su's journey from Parsons to Paris exemplifies her relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation, setting a new standard for what fashion can achieve in terms of cultural storytelling and design.
United States
Rob Bacon
Designer, Rob Bacon + The 3rd Jewelry
Rob Bacon is an award-winning fashion and accessories designer renowned for his avant-garde creations. His signature designs have graced the pages of prestigious publications such as The New York Times, Vogue UK, Elle China, Taiwan & Russia, Marie Claire Italia and Taiwan, Lapalme, BET-UK, OUT, Instinct, People, Style Watch, and Details. He has earned notable media exposure, with features on Bravo and CNN, and has showcased his work on the runways of both London and New York Fashion Week. One of his standout moments was collaborating on the grand finale of Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week's Fall 2015 season.
Rob’s exceptional talent has attracted a diverse and high-profile clientele, including Tyra Banks, Demi Lovato, Sharon Stone, Rebel Wilson, Gary James McQueen, Lola Lennox, Annie Lennox, Zombie Boy, Christina Perri, Taryn Manning, Deborah Cox, Kelly Osbourne, Kelly Rowland, Pedro Capo, and Domino Saints, among others.
His work has been captured by photographers from across the globe, including Paris, New York, London, Madrid, Sydney, and even his hometown of Peoria, IL. Rob is honored to have worked with esteemed photographers such as Bernhard Deckert and long-time collaborator Jeremy Byrd.
Rob's designs and influence have been further immortalized in various renowned publications, including New York Fashion Week by Eila Mell, Project Runway: The Show That Changed Fashion, and How to Win at Shopping, available on Amazon.