Historic Fashion Designers

Start over

in Clothing & Fashion

loading…

1.

Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel (19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important ...

Do you like this fashion designer?

Pros: She had an unrivalled ability to make the humble and practical (jersey fabric, costume jewellery etc) ... Cons: Her intimacy (in every sense) with the Nazis during the ...
2.

Mary Quant

Mary Quant, OBE, FCSD (born 11 February 1934 in Blackheath, Kent, England) is a British fashion designer, one of the many designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and ...

Do you like this fashion designer?

Cons: Miniskirts? Hot pant? definitely not me.
3.

Madame Grès

Alix Grès began as a sculptor, but never had a fruitful career. Frustrated, she began to design toiles for a design house in Paris. She opened her first house under ...

Do you like this fashion designer?

Pros: Beautifully sculpted, timeless, and sensuous. Cons: Very rare.
4.

Christian Dior

Christian Dior (January 21, 1905 – October 24, 1957), was an influential French fashion designer. Dior's designs were more voluptuous than the boxy, fabric-conserving shapes of the recent World War ...

Do you like this fashion designer?

Pros: Revived a very feminine silhouette. His clothes were so well constructed they could virtually stand up ... Cons: Nipped in waists and full skirts were emerging in fashion ...
5.

Pierre Balmain

Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain (b. St. Jean de Maurienne, France, May 18, 1914 – Paris, France, June 29, 1982) was a French fashion designer. Known for sophistication and elegance, he once ...

Do you like this fashion designer?
6.

Hubert de Givenchy

Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (born February 20, 1927) is a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded the The House of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous ...

Do you like this fashion designer?
7.

Cristobal Balenciaga

It was not until the post-war years that the full scale of the inventiveness of this highly original designer became evident. In 1951, he totally transformed the silhouette, broadening the ...

Do you like this fashion designer?

Pros: So dramatic and sculptural - creating the perfect sexy silhouettes! Also designs fabulous handbags. Cons: Can't think of any...
8.

Jean Muir

Muir's designs were aimed towards the woman with a mature outlook, regardless of age. She avoided creating clothes for fantasy figures, but focused on modern, restrained elegance. She ignored ...

Do you like this fashion designer?
9.

John Bates

John Bates' emphasis on simplicity and a 'strong, clean silhouette' led to some of the most elegant and youthful designs of the 1960s. Famously he dressed Diana Rigg for the ...

Do you like this fashion designer?
10.

Madeleine Vionnet

Madeleine Vionnet (June 22, 1876 - March 2,1975) was a French fashion designer. Called the "Queen of the bias cut" and "the architect among dressmakers", Vionnet is best-known today for ...

Do you like this fashion designer?

Pros: She designed for a woman's body rather than imposing a shape upon the body. An enlightened ... Cons: I don't believe she 'invented' the bias cut, as some ...