Historical Fashion Designing Icons: Part II

So many different fashion designing icons have helped shaped modern clothing and accessory fashions that we wear today. It would have been impossible to fit them all in Part I of this list of “Historical Fashion Design Icon” so we are creating yet another part.

Gabrielle “Choco” Chanel-She was born in 1883 and grew up during a very significant time in the history of women. This was a day and age when women were seeking equality with men which included the push for the right to vote which finally became reality in 1920.

Chanel had just recently been included in the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, because she was one of the most influential 20th Century fashion designers that ever lived. Her career started humbly, as she began her own store after designing hats for a hobby. Now there is an entire empire of clothing and accessories and perfumes that bears her name. She lived a long life to age 87 and died in 1971.

Hubert de Givenchy-This famous French aristocratic fashion designing legend was born in 1927. He was made famous for starting the House of Givenchy in 1952. One of his greatest accomplishments was having designed much of the personal wardrobe for Audrey Hepburn. He also had the honore of making clothing for Jacqueline Kennedy.

Givenchy received his education at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. His first designs ever were created for Jacques Faith in 1945. He worked alongside of Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior. From 1947 he also worked for Elsa Schiaparelli, a very cutting-edge avant-garde designer. This all led up to him opening his own shop and then from there the Givenchy name was carried on. As of 2010, Givenchy is now 83 years old.

Guccio Gucci-This man was a businessman who later became known as one of the most famous Italian designers ever known to humankind. He of course founded the House of Gucci and he is the son of an Italian merchant. Just like before any other famous fashion designing icon started their empires, he had his humble beginnings.

In 1906, the House of Gucci started out as a small leather shop located in Florence, Italy that was owned by the family. He started out selling leather saddle bags to horsemen during the 1920s. His reputation as a quality leather craftsman was hard to keep a secret and soon the family business grew. By 1938, his business had reached the holy city of Rome, then in 1951 he opened a store in Milan, Italy.

Only two years after that did he decide to plant a store in the USA-right in the heart of Manhattan. Gucci lived until 1953 and spend the remainder of his days in West Sussex, England.