The women who redefined fashion and challenged conventions
Predictably, the appointment of Matthieu Blazy to the creative directorship of Chanel in December 2024, replacing the much-beleaguered Virginie Viard, reignited the debate on the lack of women's representation in fashion, both in creative and leadership positions. Maria Grazia Chiuri, who stepped down as the creative director of Dior, will further this conversation (Chiuri was the couture house's first female designer). Today, women remain underrepresented in fashion, including high-level design roles, and decision-making positions.
Despite fashion's historical association with women and its central focus on femininity, no evidence is quite enough to placate this ideological hysteria − notice that the mobile mob was silent when Sarah Burton replaced Matthew Williams at Givenchy in September 2024, becoming the brand's first female creative director in the couture house's 73-year history. From its founding in 1952 by Hubert de Givenchy to the present day, the French luxury house is mostly influential for its collaboration with fashion icon Audrey Hepburn.
Throughout history, women like Burton and Hepburn have played an instrumental role in shaping the industry, both as creators and influential figures who challenged norms and redefined aesthetics. From pioneering designers and trendsetters to cultural icons and business moguls, these women have transformed the way we perceive beauty, identity, and innovation. Their stories inspire generations and continue to influence the way women want to look today.
PILLARS OF FASHION
Don't forget that the quintessential fashion house Chanel, was founded by Coco Chanel in 1910, one of the most revolutionary figures in fashion. Chanel's designs ushered in a new era of simplicity and comfort, emphasising freedom and functionality for women of the Belle Epoque. The iconic Chanel suit and the little black dress defined timeless elegance, breaking away from the corseted, ornate styles of the previous century. Chanel empowered women by introducing practicality, an ethos that still echoes in today's fashion.
Meanwhile, Elsa Schiaparelli, Chanel's contemporary, represented embellishment and wonder, the opposite impulse of fashion, with her surrealist-inspired collaborations with Salvador Dali. Today, American designer Daniel Roseberry is serving up the TikTok iteration of Schiaparelli's unconventional use of materials and whimsical motifs, neither more or less feminine for having a male creator.
Chanel and Schiaparelli are twin mothers of fashion and represent the legion of female designers that have made fashion history. Just as influential was Madame Gres, the draping queen of Paris who opened Maison Alix in 1934, and gave the world her signature dresses of pleats and drapes fashioned after ancient Greek statuary. Naturally, no mention of Grecian dresses can now escape the invoking of Maria Grazia Chiuri, who by dint of sheer perseverance, has been making pleated caryatid dresses in her time at Dior. Christian Dior himself, who founded the house, had only designed a decade before he died tragically of heart attack.
Then there was the iconic couturier Madeleine Vionnet (1876 – 1975), famous for pioneering the revolutionary bias-cut dress, which changed the flat aspect of traditional women's fashion. Vionnet opened Maison Vionnet in 1912, and became synonymous with the bias-cut, a technique of cutting across the grain of a textile to produce a silhouette that clung to the body's curves. Her influence is still felt everywhere today. Widely imitated, today's designers often cite her as inspiration, including the legendary John Galliano, who has made the bias-cut the cornerstone of his creations.
AMERICAN SPORTSWEAR
American designer Claire McCardell invented casual sportswear for women in the 1950s, challenging Christian Dior's ultra-feminine couture of that era, defining a kind of apple pie-wholesomeness that characterises American fashion to this day. Diane von Furstenberg's iconic wrap dress of the 1970s, brisk and body-conscious, a symbol of feminism and practicality, owes something to McCardell's spirit, as does Donna Karan's work in the 1980s onwards. Karan was the queen of capsule wardrobes, and 'dressing for success.' Who would think that her successors would be the puckish Victoria Beckham, who dresses royalty like Kate Middleton, and the distressed Olsen twins of The Row?
SUPER SIGNORAS
Closer to recent fashion times, the Fendi sisters Paola, Franca, Carla, Anna, and Alda introduced couture fur to the world in 1946, and today Fendi, the Italian luxury house, is helmed by Anna's daughter Silvia Venturini Fendi, who gave the world the Baguette bag in 1997.
Rosita Missoni, of the iconic Missoni knitwear, died earlier this year on Jan 2, at age 93, bequeathing to fashion the zany, vivacious, intricate knit patterns beloved and unforgettable. Which brings us to Miuccia Prada, 76, arguably the most famous designer of them all. The creative giant behind Prada and Miu Miu (which displaced Loewe as the hottest brand of 2024 on the Lyst rankings), is newly relevant and the coolest she's ever been. Her avant-garde approach and ugly-beautiful aesthetic have influenced contemporary fashion, making Prada a symbol of cerebral sophistication and non-conformist design. Phoebe Philo, the much-lauded British designer, is Mrs Prada's aesthetic heir.
Last month, Prada acquired Versace in a landmark deal, consolidating the Italian luxury rivals. Donatella Versace has led Versace's creative vision for nearly three decades, in comparison, the label's founder, Gianni Versace, designed for only 19 years before he was murdered in 1997.
DAMES OF THE EMPIRE WAIST
The 1960s dawned when Mary Quant (British) invented the mini skirt as a symbol of youthful rebellion and sexual liberation. It sparked off a mania for all things futuristic and 'modern,' a tradition that begot proto-minimalist Jil Sander. When Sander launched her eponymous label in 1968, she gained acclaim for incisive lines, understated elegance, and a stripped-away approach that revolutionised tailoring, inspiring the minimalist movement of the 1990s. Sander's legacy endures in the later minimalists like Jonathan Anderson and Raf Simons.
The boho genre of fashion was born in the 1970s by British designers like Zandra Rhodes, who brought a romantic, avant-garde flair with bold prints and wafting New Romantics silhouettes. In today's context, boho is synonymous with the label Chloe, which was founded by Gaby Aghion, an Egyptian designer, in 1952. The Chloe aesthetic has been carefully shaped by a long line of British girls, including Martine Sitbon, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, Claire Waight Keller and Hannah MacGibbon.
No mention of women in fashion can leave out the magpie visionary Dame Vivienne Westwood. Launching her first collection in 1981, Westwood injected punk into fashion, reflecting youth culture and politics, street culture and historical references. Later in her career, she brought environmental campaigning to fashion, proving that fashion can be a form of activism. Westwood died in 2022, and her fashion heirs are Galliano and Alexander McQueen.
THE PHOENIX AND THE BUTTERFLY
Asian women have also made significant fashion history; Hanae Mori became the first Asian woman to participate in Paris haute couture in the 1950s, earning recognition for her elegant designs that blended French with traditional Japanese aesthetics. Mori's ability to fuse cultural motifs with modern fashion, paved the way for the Japanese wave of the 1980s. Mori ushered in Rei Kawakubo, the founder of Comme des Garcons. Kawakubo is known for challenging conventional notions of beauty and form. Since establishing her brand in 1969, she has pushed the boundaries of design with unconventional silhouettes, deconstructed garments, and experimental use of materials. Her vision has profoundly influenced the fashion industry, inspiring a new wave of designers to pursue radical departures from traditional fashion making.
Among others, Kawakubo made possible the likes of Anna Sui, whose 1990s dresses made grunge pretty, and Chitose Abe (founder of Sacai) who creates hybrid garments merging streetwear and high fashion, as well as Guo Pei, renowned for her opulent gowns that combine traditional Chinese craftsmanship with haute couture techniques. She made worldwide headlines (and memes!) when Rihanna wore her yellow cape to the 2015 Met Gala. The Lanvin label, founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889, was revived in 2001, by Taiwanese businesswoman Shaw-Lan Wang, when she acquired Lanvin, and hired Elber Albez.
QUEEN AMONG QUEENS
Even though Anna Wintour is not a fashion designer, she is generally known as the queen of fashion. You might think that that title would belong to the beheaded Queen Marie Antoinette, who invented the fashion game as we know it today by modelling the astonishing creations by her Minister of Fashion, dressmaker Rose Bertin (1747-1813), but no. For in the realm of fashion influence, Wintour has been a pivotal industry figure since her 1988 debut as editor-in-chief of Vogue, far outstripping Diana Vreeland (the empress of fashion to many) who was her predecessor, in shaping how we see fashion, beauty, and celebrity in our times. Wintour's effect goes beyond the fashion industry and exemplifies how women in fashion influence global culture.
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