40 and Fabulous: Under the Influence
They’ve embodied aesthetic movements and enlivened many a party. In celebration of W’s 40th anniversary, we look back at the extraordinary muses who’ve inspired four decades of fashion designers. Click here to purchase *W: The First Forty Years*.
She designed romantic prints; he, flowing frocks. Together, the married couple—immortalized here in a David Hockney painting—defined seventies bohemian fashion.
The singer and actress was Halston’s confidante, nightly sidekick, and Eliza Doolittle of sorts; he provided her with style advice and a smashing wardrobe. (The pair is pictured here with La Liz.)
The couturier was rarely seen without a harem of chic collaborators—Schiano (far left) and de la Falaise among them—who collectively defined the YSL look.
When Galliano started his label in 1984, this British aristocrat became his right-hand woman, working with the designer until, a dozen years later, he went to Dior and she to Chanel.
Long fans of the ethereal actress, Viktor Horsting (right) and Rolf Snoeren cemented their adoration for Swinton with a fall 2003 runway show in which she modeled. Since then, Swinton has bewitched other designers as well—notably, Haider Ackermann.
In reviving the elegance of the French footwear label Roger Vivier, brand creative director Frisoni couldn’t have found a more perfect ambassador than this former Chanel model.
Jacobs has described Coppola as the type of girl he fantasizes about—and has continually called upon the director to be model, collaborator, and front-row fixture at his shows.
The Balenciaga designer has cited the singer-actress’s nontraditional beauty and low-key style as inspirations for his collections— not to mention his first two fragrances, for which she’s the face.
Though it was M.I.A’s 2008 hit “Paper Planes” that first got Versace’s attention, the designer has since fallen for the whole multi-culti-rebel package. “She is a total artist,” said Versace in our July 2011 issue.
