The looks that shook the world: A celebration of the 20 most influential designers on the planet
By Susannah Frankel
Sunday, 21 September 2008 ndependent.co.uk
A rich seam: Christopher Bailey has reversed Burberry's fortunes
If it was in the 1980s that designer fashion sensed the potential of its power, it was not until the mid-1990s that its full might was realised. Today, a handful of immensely wealthy luxury goods conglomerates own many of the biggest names, while the individually owned designer brands boast sales figures of millions, and even billions, of pounds. This is not something the British, in particular, feel comfortable with. Given our basically Protestant mindset, we mistrust both the idea of spending hundreds, let alone thousands, of pounds on a single outfit, not to mention being dictated to regarding what we should be wearing. Fashion is a vain and frivolous creature is the overriding view – and not one to be taken overly seriously.
Like it or not, however, and despite the burgeoning presence of street-inspired fashion, it is the big-name designers who change the face of fashion. And that applies to everything from skinny jeans and wrap dresses to extreme heels and status handbags – even though the way their work filters down may be circuitous.
There is no great conspiracy at play here. We all know that fashion magazines – and to a lesser extent, our national newspapers – rely on fashion advertising to boost revenue. At magazines, in particular, there are people employed specifically to ensure that major advertisers are featured extensively in editorial pages and, depending on the nature of the title or indeed the brand they are working with, the result of their labours may be discreet or overt. But is that really any different from any other form of media – from politics to entertainment? The relationship between subject and press is a fragile one and, if it is to be developed, or even just maintained, a certain amount of co-operation from both sides is necessary.
In this country, though, we appear to take great pride in the fact that our high-street giants offer up reasonably priced and thinly veiled copies of designer garments and even head-to-toe looks. Often these are published in magazine articles alongside the originals that inspired them, and with prices to boot. While some designers appear to be quite happy with this process – their ideas are thereby democratised and have a more widespread impact – more are riled. This is hardly surprising. Only in fashion would such an infringement of intellectual copyright be tolerated. The fact is that it is very difficult, and indeed very expensive, to take any plagiarists to task.
Over the following pages, we set the record straight, presenting a celebration of the most influential fashion designers in the world – from the lifestyle giants such as Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren, to the silent gurus on the scene – namely Comme des Garçons and Martin Margiela. A designer's influence may be in the genius of their showmanship, in the modernity of their aesthetic or even in the images they produce for ground-breaking advertising campaigns.
As diverse as the following list may be, everyone included shares one important attribute: throughout their careers, they have not only enriched the contemporary wardrobe, but have also proved hugely entertaining. With this in mind, and broadly grouped into areas of influence, these are the 20 most important designers of our time. '
Miuccia Prada: The innovator
It is only very rarely that a brand as well-known and powerful as Prada retains the cachet of a fashion insider's label. Prada is a household name – if ever anyone was in any doubt about that, the title of the Hollywood blockbuster The Devil Wears Prada proves it. More than that, though, the fashion fraternity worships at the altar of Miuccia Prada, who changes her aesthetic – and, indeed, her mind – as often as most of us have breakfast and has the rest of the fashion world running to keep up with her as a result. As well, then, as informing the high street, many of Prada's ideas appear on other people's catwalks, seasons and even years down the line.
The ubiquity of strange and elaborate shoes, even stranger colours, the A-line and dirndl skirt and, this season in particular, lace (as worn most beautifully in the current Prada ad campaign by Linda Evangelista), are all thanks to this designer. Because her viewpoint is difficult to pin down she is labeled "intellectual" but while her intelligence is clearly a force to be reckoned with, she has the instincts of a wildcat when it comes to predicting what people might like to wear six months down the line.
Marc Jacobs: The maverick
Like Prada, Jacobs woos those with a passing interest as well as the more committed fashion-follower. Both designers are also essentially maverick – in positions of great power but nonetheless happy to take considerable risks. Jacobs is one of the most plagiarised designers on the high street and, while the powers that be at Louis Vuitton, which he designs alongside his own label, are not amused by the deluge of knock-off bags on the market, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery for the designer himself – it serves only to raise the profile of the brand.
Louis Vuitton is still the star of the French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH's (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) stable. Despite economic downturn, it continues to chart spectacular growth, which has been boosted by recent collaborations with the American Pop artist Richard Prince and, before that, the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
We all know the bags, and who could fail to be impressed by iconic ad campaigns featuring everyone from Catherine Deneuve and Keith Richards to Mikhail Gorbachev ?
Ralph Lauren: The elder statesman
There was a time when Ralph Lauren's catwalk shows were among the most influential. Now, though, America, if not the world's, most famous designer has become something of an elder statesman. It's worth noting that his most recent womenswear collection, boasting the Anglophile tendencies that go hand-in-hand with his aspirational aesthetic, chime perfectly with the look of the day; more importantly, though, Ralph Lauren dresses America, from the US Olympic team to any schoolboy in mufti in his Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, complete with instantly recognisable dancing horse.
The "lifestyle" concept was pretty much invented by this designer – not bad, considering he started out selling ties. His company, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, recently boasted annual worldwide sales of a massive $12bn, unprecedented even by the designer-fashion industry's highly lucrative standards.
Giorgio Armani: The king of lifestyle
Giorgio Armani is the other great lifestyle designer and is to Italy what Ralph Lauren is to the US. His name is also more wrapped up with the emergence of designer fashion as a juggernaut of immense commercial value and power than perhaps any other. Armani revolutionised tailoring, loosening up the formal jacket to suit men and women of style who continue to wear his fluid, minimally-minded designs to this day.
His name is also the one behind today's symbiotic relationship between film and fashion. Armani famously dressed Richard Gere in American Gigolo, and has long seen the virtue of placing the world's superstars in his front row. In return, no red carpet is complete without his designs. The current Armani poster girl is none other than Cate Blanchett – quite a coup, as every designer wants her.
Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana: The glamour gurus
"Molto sexy" indeed are the Italian design pairing of Dolce & Gabbana, who continue to expand, ensuring their joyfully feminine aesthetic influences everything from the red carpet to any young stylish man or woman on the street who knows their designer labels. The irreverent – and more reasonably priced – D&G label carries more clout than most second lines put together.
The quintessentially Italian Dolce & Gabbana aesthetic – think curvaceous tailoring and corseted dresses loaded with floral and animal prints, then scattered with rhinestone for good measure – is unsurprisingly loved by celebrities. Dolce and Gabbana have dressed Kylie Minogue and, of course, Madonna. Significantly, the duo are in possession of that rare thing, a sense of humour, a fact borne out this season by the D&G collection, which taps into the wardrobe of the Queen. That's Her Majesty as played by Helen Mirren in the 2006 film version, the real thing being not quite glamorous enough.
Christopher Bailey: The master of reinvention
Since Christopher Bailey took over at Burberry in 2001, he has reversed the brand's fortune to the point where "doing a Burberry" has become the holy grail for every other British designer label with a heritage. Bailey's secret? He is a designer who understands the value of the familiar in fashion, particularly in troubled times, and is not afraid to play with that to thoroughly modern and timely effect. The reworking of the label's iconic trench coat every season is, of course, central but just look at how copies of any number of Burberry dresses, say, find their way into British high-street stores.
Also part of the formula is the comparative democracy of this brand, which can be spotted everywhere from the football terraces to the school gates and every high-end shopping thoroughfare in-between. Bailey's initial move was to play down the check in the more fashion-forward Prorsum line, but it's still all present and correct elsewhere. And so it should be – it's a classic as heartily embraced in its time by Liam Gallagher, Pete Doherty and Sienna Miller as by American tourists.
Frida Giannini: The lady of luxury
The days when Tom Ford made Gucci the designer tag to see and be seen in may be gone, but that hasn't stopped Frida Giannini, who is primarily an accessories designer, from maintaining the label's status as a byword for luxury.
Although fashionable eyebrows were raised when Giannini first took the helm, the move makes sound business sense. Founded in 1921 by the marvellously named Guccio Gucci, the company was always associated with leather goods as known and loved by the international jet set. The aforementioned Ford put the sex into Gucci, turning up the heat with deliberately decadent ' campaigns featuring lithe young things in various states of disarray photographed by Mario Testino. Giannini – who is, after all, a woman – has a more discreet view of both male and female sexuality. Gucci clothing is still high-octane but now has a more bohemian twist.
The company, which is owned by French luxury goods conglomerate PPR, was last year voted the world's most coveted luxury brand for the second time by market research firm The Nielsen Group. Guccissimmo!
Nicolas Ghesquière: The purist
Balenciaga's heritage dictates that its name is probably the most determinedly elitist in fashion and Nicolas Ghesquière, who has been at the label since 1995, understands that well. His designs are rigorous in the extreme, executed to a standard that is unparalleled and uncompromising, whatever the retail climate.
Although Balenciaga is often copied – the famous Lariat bag, leggy trousers, jodhpurs, blazers – the intricately worked nature of the original makes it difficult to do so well. Ghesquière, like Prada, is way ahead of his game. However extreme the Balenciaga look, though, rest assured that it will filter down; past landmarks have included combat trousers crafted in luxe fabrics, neoprene leggings, patch-worked waistcoats, deconstructed little white dresses and more.
As well as its main line, Balenciaga produces a trouser collection (there are no more flattering designs in the business), a knitwear collection, a series of designs that are reworked interpretations of the great couturier Cristobal Balenciaga's finest moments, and more.
Stefano Pilati: The modernist
Not only was Yves Saint Laurent alive until very recently (he died aged 71 earlier this year and a day of mourning was declared in France), but the respect afforded to his name decreed that anyone who attempted to follow in his footsteps was labelled an upstart – and that included Tom Ford at the height of his popularity. Today, finally, it appears that Stefano Pilati has risen to the challenge.
Pilati's impact has been stealthy; beginning with an injection of youthful Left Bank spirit, moving on to nail the haute bourgeois elegance that was also the house's signature, and finally offering more radical interpretations of themes which relate to Saint Laurent's own contribution only in an abstract sense.
Pilati's collections are both influential and saleable – the current ubiquity of the tapered three-quarter length trouser originated with him, and his accessories are some of the most imitated and bestselling each and every season. Like the master himself, Pilati bears pragmatic as well as aesthetic needs in mind, and remains at the top of every fashion insider's list to boot.
By Susannah Frankel
Sunday, 21 September 2008 ndependent.co.uk
A rich seam: Christopher Bailey has reversed Burberry's fortunes
If it was in the 1980s that designer fashion sensed the potential of its power, it was not until the mid-1990s that its full might was realised. Today, a handful of immensely wealthy luxury goods conglomerates own many of the biggest names, while the individually owned designer brands boast sales figures of millions, and even billions, of pounds. This is not something the British, in particular, feel comfortable with. Given our basically Protestant mindset, we mistrust both the idea of spending hundreds, let alone thousands, of pounds on a single outfit, not to mention being dictated to regarding what we should be wearing. Fashion is a vain and frivolous creature is the overriding view – and not one to be taken overly seriously.
Like it or not, however, and despite the burgeoning presence of street-inspired fashion, it is the big-name designers who change the face of fashion. And that applies to everything from skinny jeans and wrap dresses to extreme heels and status handbags – even though the way their work filters down may be circuitous.
There is no great conspiracy at play here. We all know that fashion magazines – and to a lesser extent, our national newspapers – rely on fashion advertising to boost revenue. At magazines, in particular, there are people employed specifically to ensure that major advertisers are featured extensively in editorial pages and, depending on the nature of the title or indeed the brand they are working with, the result of their labours may be discreet or overt. But is that really any different from any other form of media – from politics to entertainment? The relationship between subject and press is a fragile one and, if it is to be developed, or even just maintained, a certain amount of co-operation from both sides is necessary.
In this country, though, we appear to take great pride in the fact that our high-street giants offer up reasonably priced and thinly veiled copies of designer garments and even head-to-toe looks. Often these are published in magazine articles alongside the originals that inspired them, and with prices to boot. While some designers appear to be quite happy with this process – their ideas are thereby democratised and have a more widespread impact – more are riled. This is hardly surprising. Only in fashion would such an infringement of intellectual copyright be tolerated. The fact is that it is very difficult, and indeed very expensive, to take any plagiarists to task.
Over the following pages, we set the record straight, presenting a celebration of the most influential fashion designers in the world – from the lifestyle giants such as Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren, to the silent gurus on the scene – namely Comme des Garçons and Martin Margiela. A designer's influence may be in the genius of their showmanship, in the modernity of their aesthetic or even in the images they produce for ground-breaking advertising campaigns.
As diverse as the following list may be, everyone included shares one important attribute: throughout their careers, they have not only enriched the contemporary wardrobe, but have also proved hugely entertaining. With this in mind, and broadly grouped into areas of influence, these are the 20 most important designers of our time. '
Miuccia Prada: The innovator
It is only very rarely that a brand as well-known and powerful as Prada retains the cachet of a fashion insider's label. Prada is a household name – if ever anyone was in any doubt about that, the title of the Hollywood blockbuster The Devil Wears Prada proves it. More than that, though, the fashion fraternity worships at the altar of Miuccia Prada, who changes her aesthetic – and, indeed, her mind – as often as most of us have breakfast and has the rest of the fashion world running to keep up with her as a result. As well, then, as informing the high street, many of Prada's ideas appear on other people's catwalks, seasons and even years down the line.
The ubiquity of strange and elaborate shoes, even stranger colours, the A-line and dirndl skirt and, this season in particular, lace (as worn most beautifully in the current Prada ad campaign by Linda Evangelista), are all thanks to this designer. Because her viewpoint is difficult to pin down she is labeled "intellectual" but while her intelligence is clearly a force to be reckoned with, she has the instincts of a wildcat when it comes to predicting what people might like to wear six months down the line.
Marc Jacobs: The maverick
Like Prada, Jacobs woos those with a passing interest as well as the more committed fashion-follower. Both designers are also essentially maverick – in positions of great power but nonetheless happy to take considerable risks. Jacobs is one of the most plagiarised designers on the high street and, while the powers that be at Louis Vuitton, which he designs alongside his own label, are not amused by the deluge of knock-off bags on the market, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery for the designer himself – it serves only to raise the profile of the brand.
Louis Vuitton is still the star of the French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH's (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) stable. Despite economic downturn, it continues to chart spectacular growth, which has been boosted by recent collaborations with the American Pop artist Richard Prince and, before that, the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
We all know the bags, and who could fail to be impressed by iconic ad campaigns featuring everyone from Catherine Deneuve and Keith Richards to Mikhail Gorbachev ?
Ralph Lauren: The elder statesman
There was a time when Ralph Lauren's catwalk shows were among the most influential. Now, though, America, if not the world's, most famous designer has become something of an elder statesman. It's worth noting that his most recent womenswear collection, boasting the Anglophile tendencies that go hand-in-hand with his aspirational aesthetic, chime perfectly with the look of the day; more importantly, though, Ralph Lauren dresses America, from the US Olympic team to any schoolboy in mufti in his Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, complete with instantly recognisable dancing horse.
The "lifestyle" concept was pretty much invented by this designer – not bad, considering he started out selling ties. His company, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, recently boasted annual worldwide sales of a massive $12bn, unprecedented even by the designer-fashion industry's highly lucrative standards.
Giorgio Armani: The king of lifestyle
Giorgio Armani is the other great lifestyle designer and is to Italy what Ralph Lauren is to the US. His name is also more wrapped up with the emergence of designer fashion as a juggernaut of immense commercial value and power than perhaps any other. Armani revolutionised tailoring, loosening up the formal jacket to suit men and women of style who continue to wear his fluid, minimally-minded designs to this day.
His name is also the one behind today's symbiotic relationship between film and fashion. Armani famously dressed Richard Gere in American Gigolo, and has long seen the virtue of placing the world's superstars in his front row. In return, no red carpet is complete without his designs. The current Armani poster girl is none other than Cate Blanchett – quite a coup, as every designer wants her.
Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana: The glamour gurus
"Molto sexy" indeed are the Italian design pairing of Dolce & Gabbana, who continue to expand, ensuring their joyfully feminine aesthetic influences everything from the red carpet to any young stylish man or woman on the street who knows their designer labels. The irreverent – and more reasonably priced – D&G label carries more clout than most second lines put together.
The quintessentially Italian Dolce & Gabbana aesthetic – think curvaceous tailoring and corseted dresses loaded with floral and animal prints, then scattered with rhinestone for good measure – is unsurprisingly loved by celebrities. Dolce and Gabbana have dressed Kylie Minogue and, of course, Madonna. Significantly, the duo are in possession of that rare thing, a sense of humour, a fact borne out this season by the D&G collection, which taps into the wardrobe of the Queen. That's Her Majesty as played by Helen Mirren in the 2006 film version, the real thing being not quite glamorous enough.
Christopher Bailey: The master of reinvention
Since Christopher Bailey took over at Burberry in 2001, he has reversed the brand's fortune to the point where "doing a Burberry" has become the holy grail for every other British designer label with a heritage. Bailey's secret? He is a designer who understands the value of the familiar in fashion, particularly in troubled times, and is not afraid to play with that to thoroughly modern and timely effect. The reworking of the label's iconic trench coat every season is, of course, central but just look at how copies of any number of Burberry dresses, say, find their way into British high-street stores.
Also part of the formula is the comparative democracy of this brand, which can be spotted everywhere from the football terraces to the school gates and every high-end shopping thoroughfare in-between. Bailey's initial move was to play down the check in the more fashion-forward Prorsum line, but it's still all present and correct elsewhere. And so it should be – it's a classic as heartily embraced in its time by Liam Gallagher, Pete Doherty and Sienna Miller as by American tourists.
Frida Giannini: The lady of luxury
The days when Tom Ford made Gucci the designer tag to see and be seen in may be gone, but that hasn't stopped Frida Giannini, who is primarily an accessories designer, from maintaining the label's status as a byword for luxury.
Although fashionable eyebrows were raised when Giannini first took the helm, the move makes sound business sense. Founded in 1921 by the marvellously named Guccio Gucci, the company was always associated with leather goods as known and loved by the international jet set. The aforementioned Ford put the sex into Gucci, turning up the heat with deliberately decadent ' campaigns featuring lithe young things in various states of disarray photographed by Mario Testino. Giannini – who is, after all, a woman – has a more discreet view of both male and female sexuality. Gucci clothing is still high-octane but now has a more bohemian twist.
The company, which is owned by French luxury goods conglomerate PPR, was last year voted the world's most coveted luxury brand for the second time by market research firm The Nielsen Group. Guccissimmo!
Nicolas Ghesquière: The purist
Balenciaga's heritage dictates that its name is probably the most determinedly elitist in fashion and Nicolas Ghesquière, who has been at the label since 1995, understands that well. His designs are rigorous in the extreme, executed to a standard that is unparalleled and uncompromising, whatever the retail climate.
Although Balenciaga is often copied – the famous Lariat bag, leggy trousers, jodhpurs, blazers – the intricately worked nature of the original makes it difficult to do so well. Ghesquière, like Prada, is way ahead of his game. However extreme the Balenciaga look, though, rest assured that it will filter down; past landmarks have included combat trousers crafted in luxe fabrics, neoprene leggings, patch-worked waistcoats, deconstructed little white dresses and more.
As well as its main line, Balenciaga produces a trouser collection (there are no more flattering designs in the business), a knitwear collection, a series of designs that are reworked interpretations of the great couturier Cristobal Balenciaga's finest moments, and more.
Stefano Pilati: The modernist
Not only was Yves Saint Laurent alive until very recently (he died aged 71 earlier this year and a day of mourning was declared in France), but the respect afforded to his name decreed that anyone who attempted to follow in his footsteps was labelled an upstart – and that included Tom Ford at the height of his popularity. Today, finally, it appears that Stefano Pilati has risen to the challenge.
Pilati's impact has been stealthy; beginning with an injection of youthful Left Bank spirit, moving on to nail the haute bourgeois elegance that was also the house's signature, and finally offering more radical interpretations of themes which relate to Saint Laurent's own contribution only in an abstract sense.
Pilati's collections are both influential and saleable – the current ubiquity of the tapered three-quarter length trouser originated with him, and his accessories are some of the most imitated and bestselling each and every season. Like the master himself, Pilati bears pragmatic as well as aesthetic needs in mind, and remains at the top of every fashion insider's list to boot.
