Items20The creator’s order
  1. 1Miuccia PradaMiuccia PradaMiuccia Prada at Prada, 1978 onwards Prada was a leather-goods firm founded by her grandfather in 1913 when Miuccia Prada took it over in 1978. Her first real hit, in 1985, was a line of black, finely woven nylon handbags: an industrial fabric sold at luxury prices, and the start of the house's…0
  2. 2Karl LagerfeldKarl LagerfeldBorn 10 Sept 1933Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, 1983–2019 The benchmark for how long a reinvention can hold. When Lagerfeld took over in 1983, Chanel was regarded as a near-dead brand more than a decade after its founder's death. He treated Coco Chanel's codes as material to play with rather than relics: the…0
  3. 3Tom FordTom FordBorn 27 Aug 1961Tom Ford at Gucci, 1994–2004 Gucci had been almost insolvent when Ford joined as its women's ready-to-wear designer in 1990. Promoted to creative director in 1994, he brought in velvet hipsters, skinny satin shirts and metallic patent boots, and his 1995 collection of white dresses with…0
  4. 4John GallianoJohn GallianoJohn Galliano at Christian Dior, 1996–2011 LVMH moved Galliano to Dior in October 1996, replacing Gianfranco Ferré, and the house of the New Look became theatrical again. His couture and ready-to-wear won critical acclaim, and the Saddle bag, which debuted in the Spring/Summer 2000 collection,…0
  5. 5Marc JacobsMarc JacobsMarc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, 1997–2013 Vuitton was a luggage house with no clothing at all until Jacobs arrived in 1997 and created its first ready-to-wear line. His bigger change was cultural. Collaborations with Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince and Kanye West put graffiti,…0
  6. 6Nicolas GhesquièreNicolas GhesquièreNicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga, 1997–2012 Balenciaga had enjoyed little success since the 1970s when a 25-year-old Ghesquière, who had been designing licensed suits and funeral clothes for Japan, became the surprise choice to lead it in 1997. He made Cristóbal Balenciaga's sculptural legacy feel…0
  7. 7Alber ElbazAlber ElbazAlber Elbaz at Lanvin, 2001–2015 Elbaz gave Jeanne Lanvin's old house soft, wearable glamour: silk cocktail dresses and feminine pieces in a 'classic with a twist' spirit that, in the trade press's view, made it one of the top houses in Paris. Revenue rose 60% in the two years from 2005 to…0
  8. 8Christopher Bailey (fashion designer)Christopher Bailey (fashion designer)Born 11 May 1971Christopher Bailey at Burberry, 2001–2018 Bailey joined as creative director in May 2001, just as the Burberry check was becoming tied to football casual culture and counterfeits, to the point that some venues banned it. Working with Angela Ahrendts, chief executive from 2006, he turned that…0
  9. 9Riccardo TisciRiccardo TisciRiccardo Tisci at Givenchy, 2005–2017 Tisci took charge of Givenchy's couture, ready-to-wear and accessories in 2005 and made Hubert de Givenchy's polished house darker, more romantic and far more streetwise, with gothic runway drama and graphic printed sweatshirts that crossed into celebrity…0
  10. 10Phoebe PhiloPhoebe PhiloBorn 25 Oct 1973Phoebe Philo at Céline, 2008–2018 LVMH hired Philo in 2008, and her debut Céline collection followed the next year. She turned a quiet label into the reference point for women who wanted serious, minimal clothes without logos, and the Trapeze and Luggage totes became phenomenally successful…0