Clik here to view.
Giorgio Armani (1934-): The Master of Elegance
Giorgio Armani Background: Giorgio Armani was born in Piacenza, a small town outside of Milan, to a poor family (his father was a shipping manager). Giorgio and his two siblings experienced the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Issey Miyake (1938-): The Disruptor of Fashion
Issey Miyake Background: Issey Miyake was born in Hiroshima and was seven years old when the atomic bomb was dropped. He lost most of his family, including his mother, to radiation exposure. This...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ralph Lauren (1939-): The King of American Prep
Ralph Lauren Background: Born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx to a family of Belarussian and Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants, he is the youngest of four siblings. He grew up wanting to become either an artist...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Azzedine Alaïa (1940-2017): The King of Cling
Azzedine Alaïa Background: Alaïa was born in Tunisia on 26 February 1935. His parents were wheat farmers, but his glamorous twin sister, Hafida, inspired his love for fashion and haute couture. A...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vivienne Westwood (1941-): The Queen of Punk
Vivienne Westwood Background: Vivienne Westwood started off as a primary school teacher to become a renowned fashion designer. She was born in 1941 in Derbyshire and moved to London as a teenager when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Calvin Klein (1942-): Fashion’s Ultimate Ad-man
Calvin Klein Background: Calvin Klein was born in the Bronx to a family of immigrants (his father was Hungarian, and his mother Ukrainian). He was one of the fashion designers to be raised in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gianni Versace (1946-1997): The Creator Who Broke Rules and Barriers
Gianni Versace Background: Versace was born in the city of Reggio Calabria on 2 December 1946, and grew up with his elder brother Santo Versace and younger sister Donatella Versace, along with their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Donna Karan (1948-): The Master of Simplicity
Donna Karan Background: Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen “Queenie” Faske and father Gabriel “Gabby” Faske (born Faskowitz in Queens, New York. Karan’s mother had been a model and had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Miuccia Prada (1949-): The Genius of Fashion
Miuccia Prada Background: Born Maria Bianchion 10 May 1949 in Milan, she took the name Miuccia Prada in the 1980s, after being adopted by an aunt. Her biological parents were Luigi Bianchi and his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jeanne Paquin (1869-1936): The First Queen of French Haute Couture
Jeanne Paquin Background: Jeanne Paquin was born Jeanne Marie Charlotte Beckers in 1869, to a physician father. She was one of five children. When she was a young teenager, she trained at a dressmaker...
View Article
