Stig Harder

Stig Harder launched FASHION NET — the world's first fashion site — on January 1st, 1995.

In 1996, DoubleClick made fashion.net a founding member of its ad network. Soon, major fashion brands and publications like vogue.com, and later elle.com and style.com, had their initial traffic sourced from fashion.net.

Coinciding with FASHION NET's 20th anniversary, the annual FASHION NET Awards were established in 2015 by Stig Harder in order to encourage, recognize and celebrate excellence and vision across the industry. Winners at the inaugural, exclusively online event included Tom Ford, Kendall Jenner, Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood.

In April 2016, Harder founded the Academy of Fashion Arts and Sciences (AOFAAS) whose members, composed of prominent leaders and influencers in the fashion industry, select the nominees and winners for the ACADEMY OF FASHION AWARDS®.

In May 2020, Harder was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Stig Harder, a vegan and a certified pilot, is an executive member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences along with luminaries including Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington and internet pioneer Vint Cerf, as well as a judge for the Webby Awards.