"Selfmade". Women who changed fashion history forever.
Whoa, hurray! The new Karavan Spring / Summer collection is right here and it seems we already have some mostly loved pieces.
As you could realize by browsing through the new designs, the whole collection is dedicated to women who made an impact in fashion. By their own unique touch they left a new perspective on style, design and attitude. We picked our favorites, the ones that inspired us the most and made a top-ten list. Here it is:
1. Josephine Baker
We felt obliged to begin the list with one of the most iconic figures, not only in fashion history but in every feminine act of the 21st century. A brilliant dancer, with a provocative style for the era, who also personally involved in WWII (as a French spy). Her performances were the center of attention in the show scene, with the banana costume being one of the most memorable appearances in the 20's Jazz age. She basically created the celebrity scene attitude many female artists adopt even today.
2. Diana Vreeland
A fashion publication goddess. The perfect type of fashion & style magazine characters. Her writing style influenced the whole industry. She worked for Harper's Bazaar for over 20 years (1936-62) and for Vogue (1963-71). Her column "Why don't you?" in Harper's Bazaar caused much attention from the readers. She closed her career as a consultant in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
3. Iris Apfel
Oh God, what a muse and inspiration she still is. We should admire that she is one of the most influential fashion icons in the last 100 years. She was an out-of-the-box style thinker from the beginning, making her own mark in every appearance. Runned a textile company, Old World Weavers, with her husband Carl from 1952 to 1992. Also famous for her work in the interior design scene. She took part in White House restoration projects for 7 Presidents of the US! Iris we love you.
4. Barbara Hulanicki
She's behind one of the most admirable and lovable fashion brand in history, Biba. Sold millions of outfits and affected every decade style behavior. The famous pink gingham dress, worn by Brigitte Bardot among others, sold over 4,000 on it's first day. Her first brand shops in London acted as a memorable and iconic spot, combining the Art Nouveau & Art Deco styles.
5. Louise Chéruit
The birth of 21st century fashion scene. Also called Madeleine Chéruit, she is considered the paramount of couturiers in Paris. As a leader of the Belle Epoque fashion style she established the "Chéruit" fashion house from where she reformed and influenced the taste of every woman throughout the world. Her imagination and vision was far ahead of her time as she really made a statement on everything she got involved to, from fashion design to fashion magazines and especially the haute couture lines and cuts. Most of it all, she pushed every woman on adopting the stylish way of thinking regardless their society class.
6. Katharine Hamnett
Brought political thinking in fashion with ease and style. Her famous printed statement t-shirts are unforgettable, influenced and adopted by many artists in music scene also and of course the way she built the eco-friendly production line is implemented nowadays from every big fashion brand out there. Fully respected by the audience not only for her design ideas but also for her view in ethics.
7. Patricia Field
Time for some Sex & The City vibe in our post. We all have empathized sometime with Carrie Bradshaw and her trials & tribulations. Especially with her amazing stylistic behavior in the show. Well, here's the woman behind all that success. Patricia Field, a born & raised New Yorker, grew up on Manhattan and Queens, caught the realness in the atmosphere of Big Apple and imprint it the series to the fullest, causing a massive attention from the crowd. Since then she is considered as one of the biggest stylists and costume designers around. We love her a little more for her Greek ancestry from the side of her mother (Lesvos).
8. Vivienne Westwood
Real name, Vivienne Isabel Swire, is the provocative personality in our list. Got influenced from and influenced the punk fashion scene era in the 70's and showcased it to the absolute fashion movement of the decade. Ripped t-shirts with hardcore messages, black or red leather pants, classic checked and fully strapped dresses and other backlash outfits that were sold through her, along with Malcolm McLaren, store in London became the synonym to Punk and reflected the music aggressiveness to the maximum. Since then she has built a whole fashion empire with numerous collections and stores and honored by the British Empire.
9. Mary Quant
Let's talk about some inventional thinking in fashion. We got the lady of the "miniskirt" here. Started as a shop owner in King's Road, London called "Bazaar" and made a huge impact in the fashion industry with her imaginative merchandise. That was the time when she started making her own designs and the rest was history. She quickly advanced at the top high-end designers on youth clothing, forcing any woman to place the "mini" in her wardrobe. Her outstanding contribution in fashion gained her a place among the finest.
10. Anna Sui
We make a jump to modern fashion scene and Anna is a main part of it. Born & raised with a fashion spirit in her, she knew this is what she'll gonna do for the rest of her life. And mission accomplished. Step by step she climbed the ladder of fashion design. From designing clothes in her apartment to the major fashion shows in New York, the path of Anna Sui was never easy but she never backed down. Her talent let her explore every aspect of fashion including, menswear, footwear, fragrances, accessories and many many collaborations with brands, managing to become competitive with the major houses such YSL, Armani, D&G etc. Her inexhaustible fantasy let her staying on top up to nowadays. A miraculous example for every fashion head for sure.
(+1). Elsa Schiaparelli
We surely exhausted the top10 list but we couldn't let her out no way. Elsa Schiaparelli is a least projected character in fashion of her era, including her main rival, Coco Chanel. She was mainly influenced by surrealism and passed that to her creations. Growing in the mid-war years wasn't easy at all, especially if you're about to get mixed with fashion. Her personal life includes many dramatic situations, something that influenced her personality and reflected on her designs. Having not any training or academic knowledge she started designing by improvisation and instant progression, sometimes having to use herself as a model. That made her produce and make famous some never seen before ideas. Visible zippers, divided skirt (later shorts), inner-bra swimsuits, the use of unusual buttons, innovative textiles and the most famous design of hers, the "wrap dress", are some of the most memorable. Her collaboration with Dali, will later be one of the most historical statements in fashion.
