The 10 Women Designers of Today: The Revolution

The world of fashion is often considered dominated by male designers, who “rule” the fashion system presenting their aesthetic vision as unique and unconditional. However, if you look at the contemporary fashion industry more carefully, you realize that behind successful brands stand the ideas of many female designers, who have been able to establish themselves and revolutionize the aesthetic language of the contemporary age.

In fact, how could you not think of Stella McCartney, who has established a cruelty-free fashion brand; or of Maria Grazia Chiuri, who has reinterpreted the image of the iconic Maison Dior with an androgynous femininity touch; or of the minimal brand “The Row” founded by the Olsen twins, who have been awarded several times by the Council of Fashion Designers of America; or of the iconic designer Diane Von Fürstenberg, who, thanks to the originality of her creations, has been a costume history’s milestone for more than 40 years now.

So, let’s see the 10 female designers who have turned their personal style into the key of their success and have revolutionized contemporary fashion.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Stella McCartney

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After having attended in the ‘90s the best fashion and art institute of the world, the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, Stella begins her own carrier working as assistant of the the French designer Christian Lacroix. After that, she works for the Italian brand Gucci and then becomes the art director of Chloé, replacing Karl Lagerfeld, the current head designer of Chanel. In 2001, she founded her own brand designing collections ready to wear characterized by simple and clean lines and distinguishing herself for adopting eco-friendly and cruelty-free policies.

Very appreciated for her care of the environment and for her capability to make elegant and practical clothes, Stella McCartney has given life to an extremely groundbreaking brand. Thanks to her sophisticated aesthetic vision and ethical purposes, she represents a point of reference and a source of inspiration for everyone involved in the fashion world.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Maria Grazia Chiuri

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After her collaboration, from 1999 to 2016, with Pier Paolo Piccioli within Valentino’s creative direction office, Maria Grazia Chiuri is now head designer of the iconic Maison Dior. As the first woman who ever covered this role in the brand’s history, Chiuri’s feminine and delicate touch is noticeable from the very first collections

The traditional New Look created by Mr Dior, is revisited with a contemporary view which brings on stage a Parisian woman proud of her own identity and self-confident. Maria Grazia’s collections stand out for the perfect balance between femininity and androgynous beauty: the strong presence of male clothes highlights a timeless elegance while broad skirts made of tulle and organdy and trompe l’oeil transparencies give to the clothes a gentile femininity appearance.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen

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Twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen moved their first steps into the world of fashion in 2006, with their haute couture brand “The Row”, whose success was followed in 2007 by their ready to wear brand “Elizabeth and James”, which includes bags, shoes and sunglasses

In both cases the distinctive feature of the brand is a timeless elegance with particular care for materials, a simply cut style and minimalist shapes, with the purpose of supporting American high quality manufacture in the world. Moreover, between 2012 and 2015, their work has been acknowledged by the Council of Fashion Designers of America: in 2014 they received the Accessory Designer of the Year award, and were nominated Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2012 and 2015.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Victoria Beckham

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In 2008 Victoria Beckham launched her first Womenswear Collection “Victoria by Victoria Beck-ham” during the New York Fashion Week. In 2012, she obtained the Designer Brand of the Year award, bestowed by the British Fashion Council, while in 2017 the brand worked with the e-commerce brand “Target” to design womenswear, childrenswear and new accessories. What’s the secret of the former Spice Girl’s success? She combined elegance and comfort, creating clothes that fitted everyone, meeting tastes and needs of women of all ages.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Diane Von Fürstenberg

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Discovered by the famous fashion editor Diana Vreeland in 1970, Diane Von Fürstenberg launched her first collection in the American fashion system obtaining suddenly a resounding success. The reason is related to the use of fantasy prints and to the design of the iconic “wrap-dress”, which left a strong mark in the contemporary fashion culture.

A very simple dress made of jersey, without zips or buttons, practical/easy to wear and sexy, it became a must have for women during the ‘70s. To celebrate its significance, the “wrap-dress” is exposed at the Costume Institute of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art together with others Von Fürstenberg’s clothes, as a historical evidence of the ’70s social culture.

Symbol of independence and female entrepreneurship, Diane is still covering the role of head manager and creative director of her fashion brand designing clothes marked by a perfect silhouette, vivid colors and gaudy motives and prints. Thanks to her determination and unfailing aesthetic taste, Diane, since the beginning of her career 40 years ago, has been bringing on stage a strong, free and self-confident woman.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Clare Waight Keller

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Graduated at the London Ravensbourne College of Art and with a master degree in knitwear at the Royal College of Art, Clare Waight Keller starts to express her own creative potential in the New York brand Calvin Klein, as women’s ready-to-wear designer. Then, she moved to other famous fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Pringle of Scotland (where she covered the role of creative director redefining the traditional knitwear’s style of the brand) and, the French Maison Chloé (she was the brand’s creative director for almost 6 years, designing romantic and feminine silhouettes marked by fluid-flowing lines with a sophisticated and comfortable touch).

Moreover, she designed two new iconic bags, which followed the success of the classical Marcie model: the Drew and the Faye models have become the new it-bags of our time.

As proved by her debut in the Paris Fashion Week, Clare is now the creative director of the French Maison Givenchy. Her ethereal, elegant, delicate and modern style together with her excellent awareness and knowledge of knitwear fabrics, are the main strengths that will surely reinvent the strong and brazed image of the French brand, promoted for almost 12 years by the brand’s previous creative director, Riccardo Tisci.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Carolina Herrera

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The Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera, expressed her passion for the haute couture founding her own fashion brand in the ‘80s. Discovered by the fashion editor Diana Vreeland, in 1981 she begins to design clothes characterized by a timeless elegance.

In 1987 she starts creating her wedding dress collection which was followed, only one year after, by the launch of her first fragrancy. Very appreciated for her awareness to enhance the female body thanks to her masterful sartorial capability, which creates perfect volumes and proportions, Carolina shows her love for textures, colors and prints (from geometric to floral, form stripes to polka-dots) representing a timeless and sophisticated elegance.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Alexa Chung

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The model and TV announcer Alexa Chung, founded her own fashion brand in 2016 mixing the sophisticated and elegant Parisian style with the urban New York trends. Her main source of inspiration are: the grunge but sophisticated and fancy Jane Birkin’s style and the stripy sweater of David Hockney. Extremely original is also Alexa’s approach in the research and production phases: she matches very different fabrics and prints which turn out to be perfectly balanced thanks to the traditional sartorial techniques used.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Tory Burch

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In 2004, Tory Burch launched her own fashion brand characterized by a classical and bohemian touch. Her collections are mainly made of tunics, cardigans, caftans and ethnical accessories highlighting the so called boho-chic style. After the beginnings of her career, in 2006 Tory created her master piece, which is the ballet flat “Reva&rdquo”, dedicated to her mother.

With more than 150 flagship stores and with the brand present in more than 3000 department and specialty stores, Tory was also one of the first business woman to launch, in 2004, her e-commerce website (toryburch.com), which includes her personal blog, named “The Tory Daily Blog”. Thanks to her determination and to her personal style (for that reason Forbes named her as the Most Powerful Women of our times),Tory has been able to create “affordable luxury” collections meeting the needs and tastes of contemporary working women.

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Women Designers: The Revolution

Phoebe Philo

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After having attended the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, Phoebe Philo has suddenly demonstrated her elegant and sophisticated style keeping always in mind the practicality of women’s every-day life. In 2001, she became the creative director of the famous French Maison Céline reinterpreting the brand aesthetic vision moving from a urban-street mood to a much more elegant and feminine one.

After a little misunderstanding between the brand’s vision and Phoebe’s aesthetic view, in 2008, she took on the total creative direction of the brand bringing Céline at the peak of his success. Phoebe creates collections for contemporary women with a minimal and elegant touch bringing on stage an independent, smart and sophisticated woman. She has also designed wonderful bags such as the Classic, the Luggage, the Trapeze and the Cabas, which have become iconic bags. Mettere link elle borse iconiche Phoebe represents, therefore, a woman who doesn’t make compromises, who has never abandoned her own creativity for accomplishing the mainstream trends of the fashion market and who has been able to turn her personal style into the key of her success.