Designing Beyond Logos
Her designs have been worn by Lady Gaga, SZA, Miley Cyrus and Sabrina Carpenter, and are stocked by retailers including SSENSE, Selfridges and Zalando. Yet her focus is not celebrity visibility or brand insignia. She creates for women priced out of traditional luxury but finished with fast fashion, serving a customer base aged roughly 16 to 45.
“These people don’t care about logos,” she says. “They care about the aesthetic.” For her, identity is expressed through design rather than branding. The appeal lies in recognisable creative signatures, not visible status symbols.
She is among the 30 honorees named to the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Art & Culture list, a cohort spanning fashion, food and the arts. All nominees were 29 or younger as of April 14, 2026, and were selected by a panel of industry leaders including Leomie Anderson, founder of LAPP The Brand; Copenhagen-based designer Cecilie Bahnsen; chef Asma Khan of Darjeeling Express; and Bengi Ünsal, Director of London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts.
Building New Creative Systems
Several honorees are reshaping how creative industries operate. Yi Ng, 29, left law school in Sydney at age 20, moved to London and founded SR_A, a design studio structured around joint ventures and shared intellectual property rights. The firm collaborates with companies such as Apple, Inditex and Hublot.
Ndioro Thiam, also 29, shifted from automotive engineering into the arts and launched SHELT in 2023. The platform produces immersive experiences across Paris and Dakar, often attracting more than 800 attendees while providing support structures for emerging artists.
Identity Shaped by Movement
Personal history and cross-cultural experience define many of this year’s honorees. Mario Henningson, 28, born in Lima and now based in Helsinki, co-founded Munchi, an AI-powered restaurant operating system integrating payments, loyalty programs and marketing into a unified platform.
Mathis Joubert, 28, adopted from South Korea and raised in France, founded The Balletbreak, blending classical ballet technique with breakdance to create a hybrid artistic expression rooted in dual heritage.
Craft, Illusion and Expression
Designer Petra Fagerstrom, 28, and cofounder Agnes Holm, 27, built a womenswear label where garments function as visual storytelling. Their Autumn/Winter 2026 collection draws inspiration from figure skating and explores themes of visibility and self-expression.
From Milan, Francesco Murano, 28, brings southern Italian craftsmanship into contemporary fashion. His designs have been worn by Zendaya during promotional appearances for A24’s The Drama in Rome.
Ambition Paired With Playfulness
The 2026 cohort reflects a blend of seriousness and levity. Many are intent on building credibility independently while shaping demand rather than following established patterns. For some, creative success is inseparable from experimentation and enjoyment.
“People my age — our sense of humor is just the best,” says Gorey. “We’re not serious. I just want to have fun with it.”
