10 Of Fashion's Biggest Rebels And Rule-Breakers
Because well-behaved women rarely make history
"Well-behaved women rarely make history,” wrote noted historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich in 1976. The same can be said when it comes to fashion. From The Met’s spring 2012 Costume Institute exhibition, “Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations”, to the 2015 Albert Maysles film, Iris (as in Apfel), it is the women who have ignored the status quo—be it when dressing themselves or others—who have inspired countless books, exhibitions and documentaries in their honour; and forever influenced the course of fashion.
Elsa Schiaparelli’s most lasting legacies are her signature shade, shocking pink, and her surrealist pieces designed with artists like Salvador Dali—a prelude to the now common collaborations between art and fashion. Schiaparelli’s work upturned traditional notions of clothing and accessories: A shoe as a hat? Why not?
With a similar predilection for challenging what is considered “ladylike”, Miuccia Prada has been credited for making “ugly” chic for decades. Her thought-provoking designs have changed the fashion system, one nylon bag at a time.
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The same goes for Rei Kawakubo, who has changed the way we dress, with her avant-garde designs for Comme des Garçons; and the way we shop, with her revolution of the retail experience via Dover Street Market.
Diana Vreeland’s belief that “too much good taste can be boring” translated into words and images that tested the limits of the imagination, adding a welcome irreverence to an industry that often takes itself too seriously.
Katie Grand’s risk-taking work as a stylist for brands including Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs has seen unconventional choices on the runway and in campaigns; whether it comes to models or outfits.
Uber-stylist Karla Welch, who has put her clients in neon green fringed dresses (Sarah Paulson in Prada) and disco ball-meets-feather-duster gowns (Tracee Ellis Ross in Chanel) has shaken up the red carpet and the tabloids, proving you don’t have to look like a princess to be best-dressed.
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One of the most famous examples of the designer-muse relationship is that of the late Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow: She discovered his talent, and her fearless style inspired his designs up to the end.
Other “eccentrics” who dressed to express—and please—only themselves, and in turn inspired others, include: Marchesa Luisa Casati, the flamboyant Italian aristocrat, who has been cited as an inspiration by Karl Lagerfeld, Dries van Noten and Tom Ford...
... and Grey Gardens’ Edith and Edie Bouvier Beale, whose madcap influence continue to be referenced in collections from 2008 (John Galliano) to 2018 (Attico).
Then, of course, there is Iris Apfel, whose extensive fashion collection and inimitable style have been celebrated in multiple exhibitions (The Met’s Costume Institute, Le Bon Marche) and collaborations (Swarovski, Happy Socks).
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