Fashion icon

Influential people who introduce new styles

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Pink Chanel suit

A fashion icon or fashion leader is a influential person who introduces new styles which spread throughout fashion culture and become part of fashion. They initiate a new style which others may follow. They may be famous personalities such as political leaders, celebrities, or sports personalities. For example, during the 1960s, Jackie Kennedy was a great fashion icon for American women, and her style became a sign of wealth, power, and distinction; and her famous Pink Chanel suit is one of the most referenced and revisited of all of her items of clothing. Twiggy was an It girl, she was a teenaged model and fashion icon of Swinging Sixties.[1][2][3][4][5]

## Fashion leaders[edit]

"Fashion leaders" are an older term replaced in the second half of the 20th century. Fashion leaders were important people of higher hierarchy and society such as royalty, aristocrats and their wives and mistresses.[2]

* Empress Joséphine, the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I was herself holding the ''Empire dress line.''[2]
* Beau Brummell, a friend of King George IV was a fashion leader in men's fashion.[2]
* Nur Jahan, the wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir was a fashion enthusiast, and she was having a great interest in clothing items of that time; she set many fashion trends. Nur Jahan was very creative and had a good fashion sense, and she is credited for many textile materials and dresses like nurmahali dress and fine cloths like Panchtoliya badla (silver-threaded brocade), kinari (silver-threaded lace), etc.[6][7][8]
* Diana, Princess of Wales was an "English rose" and a fashion leader in the 1980s and 1990s.[9]

## Other style icons[edit]

Mary Quant was a famous fashion designer and fashion icon of the 1960s who introduced miniskirt, She is also attributed for hotpants, the slip dress, and PVC raincoats.[10][11]

* Audrey Hepburn (see, Fashion of Audrey Hepburn)
* Diana, Princess of Wales (see, Fashion of Diana, Princess of Wales)
* Madonna (see, Fashion of Madonna)
* Catherine, Princess of Wales (see Fashion of Catherine, Princess of Wales)

### Political leaders[edit]

Following politicians are fashion icons too.

* Narendra Modi is a fashion icon for half-sleeved Kurtas.[12]

#### Power dressing[edit]

Margaret Thatcher wearing a typical power dressing outfit

Power dressing a clothing style that enables women to establish their authority and power in the traditionally male dominated profession such as politics. Margaret Thatcher's style sets the rules on how female politicians should dress, which is a conservative, powerful but simultaneously feminine way.[13]

* Margaret Thatcher was one of the first to incorporate the spirit of power suits.[14][13][15]

## Dresses[edit]

Similar to the Little Black Dress that is associated with actress Audrey Hepburn.[3] the following dresses and garments are famous with the names of fashion icons.

* Eugénie hat, the original Eugénie hat was named after Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, whose fashion choices were publicized in fashion sketches and closely scrutinized across Europe and the United States.[16]
* Pink Chanel suit of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
* Black Givenchy dress of Audrey Hepburn
* White dress of Marilyn Monroe
* Marilyn Monroe's pink dress
* Black dress of Rita Hayworth
* Travolta dress, worn by Diana, Princess of Wales when she danced with actor John Travolta.

## Quotes[edit]

> "Style is not fashion until it has reached the street"[17]: 286

> — Coco Chanel

## See also[edit]

* Model (person), a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography.
* Cultural icon, a person or an artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture.
* Fashion journalism

## Citations[edit]

1. ^ DeLong, Marilyn Revell. "Theories of Fashion". LoveToKnow. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
2. ^ a b c d Steele, Valerie (2015-08-01). The Berg Companion to Fashion. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 286\. ISBN 978-1-4742-6470-9.
3. ^ a b Boyd, Sarah. "10 Fashion Icons and the Trends They Made Famous". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
4. ^ "Giorgio Armani made a Chanel suit for Katie Holmes - Telegraph". fashion.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
5. ^ "pinksuit". 2011-04-14. Archived from the original on 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
6. ^ Mukherjee, Soma (2001). Royal Mughal Ladies and Their Contributions. Gyan Books. p. 223\. ISBN 978-81-212-0760-7.
7. ^ "Role of Nur Jahan: The Mughal Empress of India. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
8. ^ Rawat, Sugandha (2020-07-20). The Women of Mughal Harem. Evincepub Publishing. p. 83\. ISBN 978-93-90197-41-5.
9. ^ "Princess Diana 1980s Fashion History and Style Icon". Fashion-Era. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2021-07-18. "As the 1980s progressed she gained confidence in her own fashion style and became more and more elegant as she began to understand what suited her. Diana became an icon in fashion history. Diana started to wear clothes by international designers of her own choice, including Versace, Christian Lacroix, Ungaro and Chanel. By the 1990s she was a world leader of fashion in clothes, accessories, make up and hair. She became a trendsetter hounded by the press for her latest look, latest remark or latest romance."
10. ^ Marsh, Madeleine (2004). Miller's collecting the 1960s. Internet Archive. London : Miller's. p. 84\. ISBN 978-1-84000-937-8. "Quant persevered and like the "Tonik" suit and the mini-skirt, the plastic mac became one of the fashion icons of the sixties. This example, in fashionable Mary Quant- style black and white, is labelled "Mist-O-Skye - made in Scotland.""
11. ^ Horton, Ros (2007). Women Who Changed the World. Quercus. p. 170\. ISBN 978-1-84724-026-2.
12. ^ Chaturvedi, Devika (October 16, 2013). "From kurtas to watches, Modi becomes new style icon". India Today. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
13. ^ a b Phelan, Hayley (10 April 2014). "Margaret Thatcher Set the Bar for Power Dressing". Fashionista. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
14. ^ Menkes, Suzy (2013-04-09). "For Margaret Thatcher, a Wardrobe Was Armor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
15. ^ "No style icon but an image-maker: why Margaret Thatcher was the wrong fit for the V&A". the Guardian. 2015-11-03. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
16. ^ "Impress of an empress: The influence of Eugénie on luxury style is". The Independent. 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
17. ^ Steele, Valerie (2015-08-01). The Berg Companion to Fashion. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4742-6470-9.