Influential Fashion Designers Who Changed Style

Some designers changed what people wear, how clothes are made and how they are sold. These seven are well documented, with key facts from Wikipedia.

Charles Frederick Worth

Born in 1825 in Bourne, Lincolnshire, Worth opened his Paris house in 1858 and is considered by many historians to be the father of haute couture. He was the first to use live models and to sew his name into his garments.

Coco Chanel

Chanel became a licensed milliner and opened a boutique at 21 rue Cambon, Paris, in 1910. She introduced Chanel No. 5 in 1921 and the tweed suit in 1923, and a little black dress by her was pictured in American Vogue in 1926.

Christian Dior

His first collection, shown in February 1947, introduced the New Look silhouette.

Cristóbal Balenciaga

He opened his first boutique in San Sebastián in 1917 and his Paris house in 1937.

Yves Saint Laurent

Hired by Dior in 1955, he became head designer in 1957. He introduced the Mondrian collection in 1965, the women’s tuxedo Le Smoking in 1966 and the Rive Gauche ready-to-wear line in 1966.

Vivienne Westwood

She brought punk and new wave fashion into the mainstream through her King’s Road boutique, which has traded as Worlds End since 1980.

Alexander McQueen

He launched his label in 1992 and was head designer at Givenchy from 1996 until 2001. Gucci Group acquired 51 percent of his company in 2000.

Dates and roles come from Wikipedia’s entries on each designer at the time of writing.

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