A-Z of Females in Fashion

All human beings enjoy celebrations. Especially women.
Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers.
Because of the gentle, yet strong nature of the female gender and the restrictions we have faced because God gave us a vagina, after many date alterations, in 1914, 8th of March was chosen to be the International Women’s Day.

In honor of these magical beings called women, here’s an alphabetic order of some women who changed and shaped the world of Fashion.

A – Alberta Ferretti – the Italian fashion designer is famous for her twisting, tucking and draping techniques. Her erotic, romantic and boho clothes are designed for the brave ones.

B – Bouchra Jarrar – the minimalist French designer is proud to be of the “Haute Couture” group. She worked for Balenciaga and Lanvin and thinks that “High fashion must be reflection of the streets.”

C – Coco Chanel – she doesn’t need an introduction. The couturier whose designs liberated women is one of the most iconic woman ever. Her strength, will, hard work and style impressed the world. The inventor of the little black dress, had an affinity for pearls, camellias and perfumes.

D – Diana Vreeland – the visionary of this little group of women. The editor-in-chief of the Mecca and Medina of Fashion (American Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar) was famous for making people famous. She saw their flaws and celebrated them. Diana was known for her futuristic visions about the world, once stated that the bikini is the most important thing since the atom bomb. She later worked as a curator for the Costume Institure of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. Read more about this extraordinary woman here.

E – Elsa Schiaparrelli –  Coco Chanel’s greatest nemesis, was a true artisan, who collaborated with Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau numerous times. She draped fabric directly onto the body, sometimes using herself as the model. Schiaparelli is one of the designers credited with offering the first clothes with visible zippers in 1930. Rather than being concealed, zippers became a key element of her designs.

F – Diane Von Futsenberg – the most fearless woman of them all, Diane came a long way, from being a daughter of a Holocaust survior, to becoming a princess. She became known and admired for her wrap dress shown on the pictures below.

G – Grace Coddington – the former model, now creative director for Vogue, is known for implementing fantasy in her photographs. She changed Vogue’s editorials, making the models resemble a character from a childrens’ book, and took baroque into the 21st century.

H – Carolina Herrera – the most elegant of them all. Her style and grace can be seen in all of her collections. She was adviced by Diana Vreeland to start making clothes. Her personal style, a clean white shirt and a skirt, changed the way woman dressed up.

I – Ines de la Fressange – is a model, aristocrat, fashion icon, fashion designer and perfumer. She began her career as a model at 17, and later, she became the first model to sign an exclusive modeling contract with Chanel. In 1991, Ines created her own brand, named after her, and designed a collection for Uniqlo.

J – Jacquelline de Ribes – another blue-blooded woman, who employed people to create custom dresses for her, including a young flamboyant Valentino Garavani. The epitome of style, beauty and grace, whose personal wardrobe was displayed at an exhibition in the Met.

K – Donna Karan “DKNY, oh my, I’m jiggy” is the lyrics of Junior Mafia’s “Players Anthem” sung by Lil Kim. Donna Karan quicky rose to prominence by earning the likes of rap, pop stars and celebrities. She creates urban and body conscious garments. Her designs are very frequent on the red carpet.

L – Jeanne Lanvin – before Alber Elbaz, there was Jeanne Lanvin. The clothing she made for her daughter began to attract the attention of wealthy people who requested dresses for their daughters. That marks the beginning of the respectable fashion and beauty house “Lanvin”.

M – Madeleine Vionnet – the architect among dressmakers. She was known for her beautifully structured gowns with precise architectural proportions. A favorite of Azzedine Alaia, many couturiers find her work as an inspiration. A true professionalist and a fashion legend.

N – Naomi Campbell – the most famous black model of all times. The Londoner was a favorite of the late Azzedine Alaia, Gianni and Donatella Versace. At the age of 47, she is still active, participating on runways, and from 2017 is British Vogue editor. What a life!

O – Olga Erteszek – a Polish-American undergarment and lingerie designer. She made sleeping sexy. Gping to bed was not the same after her. After her death, her daughter took the creative wheel of the company and now makes massaging bras for healthy breasts.

P – Miuccia Prada – a red carpet favorite. There has not been any Oscar, BAFTA, or AMA without Miuccia’s designs. She runs Prada and MiuMiu. Her clothes are urban, sexy and feminine, and everybody would kill for a Prada bag.

Q – Mary Quant – the Welsh designer who brought sexy back! She is responsible for the miniskirt and the hotpants, so Dame Mary, thank you so so so much. This woman encouraged young people to dress to please themselves and to treat fashion as a fun game. She was born at the right time, in the right place to help people loose up a bit.

R – Sonia Rykiel – the Queen of knits! She was the first designer to put seams on the outside of a garment, leave hems unfinished and use slogans on her sweaters. Basically, everything that is loved and admired these days, Sonia did it in the 60’s. After her death in 2016, her fashion house’s creative director is Julie de Libran.

S – Stella McCartney – Paul McCartney’s daughter. The most environmentlly conscious designers of our time. She uses vegetarian and animal-free alternatives in her work. A lifelong vegetarian, she does not uses any leather or fur, and is constant supporter of animal rights.

T – Twiggy – the unusual model, was one of the first androgynous models ever. Before her, models were tall curvy women, and there comes Twiggy, the petite girl with big eyes and a child’s character. She is the known as the face of the 60’s. Twiggy was taught how to sew from a young age, so that inspired her to make her own clothing line. Now she spends her days happily singing and making music.

U – Ursula Andress – her white “Dr. No” bikini birthed the sexual revolution of the 1960’s. The famous Bond girl designed this bikini herself with the help the movie’s costume designer, Tessa Prendergast. It was made from ivory cotton and it was the only one made and worn by her.

V – Veruschka – the first model who loved to experiment and transform herself so much. A Diana Vreeland found, Veruschka enjoyed years and years of modeling and acting. With her slender 190 cm figure, she was a photographer’s favorite.

W – Vivienne Westwood – the queen of rebel, is responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions in the mainstream. Her clothes very often speak for themselves, and they always have something to say about political, environmental and social issues.

X – Being the mathematical symbol for unknown, I left X for a woman whose designs I will hopefully write about in the near future, a now unknown woman who will inspire me with her skills, style and work ethic.

Y – Yana Raskovalova – a russian jewelry and fashion designer, who makes such romantic and sexy pieces. Her brand is associated with cameos – they inspired her to make her very first collection. Judging by her designs, it’s safe to say that Russians are here to take over the fashion world.

Z – Zaha Hadid – the late architect, whose field of creativity expanded when she collaborated on numerous accessories for Swarovski, Louis Vuitton and Fendi among others. Read more about her involvement in fashion here.

Happy International Women’s Day ladies!

Fashionably yours,

Mademoiselle Matea

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