Zac Posen

Zac Posen, at only 25 years old, has already earned a place in fashion history. His leather dress, designed for the 'Curvaceous' exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, was awarded the V&A Prize and acquired for the museum's permanent collection. This event marked the beginning of great things for the young New York native.

Born in 1980, the son of a painter, Posen enrolled in the pre-college program at the Parsons School of Design, later joining Saint Ann's School for the Arts in Brooklyn. His fashion studies led him to Central Saint Martins in 1999 where he embarked on à BÀ in womenswear. However he soon packed in his studies in order to start his own label, which was an immediate success.

His glamorous signatures include bias-cut gowns, fishtail hemlines and a passion for screen-siren style. His talent was swiftly recognised by the fashion industry: he was a finalist for the ENKA International Fashion Design Award in 2002 and a nominee for the CFDA award for new talent in both 2002 and 2003 before winning the Perry Ellis Award in 2004.

That year proved to be a groundbreaking period for Posen. In April, Sean John, the fashion company backed by Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs, announced it was making a long-term investment in Posen's label. However, it is Posen that continues to steer the label creatively, driving it forward with his vision of a strong, feminine silhouette. With Sean John's financial backing, the days when he was forced to fund his first catwalk show with the ?14,000 prize from a fashion competition are a distant memory. Freed from monetary restraints, he is now able to concentrate on expanding his ready-to-wear collection and developing his accessories line.

Yves Saint Laurent

In October 2004, Milanese designer Stefano Pilati presented his First collection for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Featuring cute polka dot mini dresses with tulip hemlines and waists cinched with wide patent belts, Pilati's debut was both a clean break from the sexed-up vision Tom Ford had developed for Yves Saint Laurent, and something of a tribute to the '80s collections by Saint Laurent himself, who retired from fashion in 2003.

Saint Laurent, who was born in Algeria in 1936, is one of the most important designers of the 30th century and takes the credit for numerous innovations in fashion, such as sheer clothing, le smoking, peasant-inspired designs, safari suits and pussy-bow blouses. He was also one of the first couturiers to embrace ready-to-wear fashion, launching his Rive Gauche shops in 1966.

In 1998 Saint Laurent and his longtime business partner Pierre Berge chose Alber Elbaz as the designer of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, but he was replaced by Ford a few years later following the Gucci Group's purchase of the YSL ready-to-wear business in 1999. When Ford exited the Gucci Group in 2004, Pilati succeeded him at YSL.

Pilati grew up in Milan sketching outfits and stealing his sister's copies of Vogue magazine. In the early '80s, he abandoned a course in environmental design and landed an internship at Nino Cerruti. Over the following years, he immersed himself in the business of fashion until in 1993 he was hired as a menswear assistant at Giorgio Armani. Two years later, he joined Prada and began to work on research and development of textiles; by 1998 Pilati was assistant designer of Miu Miu menswear and womenswear, reporting directly to Miuccia Prada. In 2000 Tom Ford appointed Pilati as design director of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, where he quickly rose to a position overseeing all product categories. He now helms one of the most iconic brands in French fashion. "When I first fell in love with fashion, it was obvious that Mr. Saint Laurent was the master," Pilati has said.

Yohji Yamamoto

Famed for his abstract silhouettes, flat shoes and unswerving loyalty to the colour black, Yohji Yamamoto is one of the most important and influential fashion designers working today. Uniquely, Yamamoto's clothing combines intellectual rigour with breathtaking romance; in his hands, stark and often extremely challenging modernity segues with references to Parisian haute couture.

Born in Japan in 1943, Yamamoto was brought up by his seamstress mother, following his father's death in the Second World War. It was in an attempt to please his mother that he initially studied law at Tokyo's Keio University, later switching to fashion at the Bunka school, where he graduated in 1969. Following a trip to Paris and a period fitting customers at his mother's shop, Yamamoto established his own label in 1971, holding his first show in Tokyo in 1977. By the time he had made his Paris debut in 1981, along with his girlfriend at the time, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, his label was already a commercial success back in Japan.

Yamamoto sent out models wearing white make-up and asymmetric black clothing, and the establishment dubbed his look 'Hiroshima Chic'. However, a younger generation embraced Yamamoto, and both his womenswear and menswear - the latter shown in Paris for the first time in 1984 - became a status symbol for urban creative types.

Despite his elite credentials, Yamamoto has expanded his business exponentially. He now has over 333 retail outlets worldwide, a groundbreaking collaboration with Adidas (Y-3), five fragrances, and casual collections, Y's For Women (established 1973) and Y's For Men (1971). He has been represented in numerous films, books and exhibitions; Juste des Vetements, Yohji Yamamoto's, his first major solo exhibition, was held in 2005 at the Musee de la Mode in Paris. Yamamoto is also a karate black belt and chief organiser of the Worldwide Karate Association.

Tommy Hilfiger

Born one of nine children in 1951 in Elmira, New York, Tommy Hilfiger's eponymous brand is often viewed as epitomising the American Dream. His career famously began in 1969 with $150 and 20 pairs of jeans. When customers to his People's Palace store in upstate New York failed to find what they were after, he took to designing clothes himself, with no previous training".

In 1984, having moved to New York City, Hilfiger launched his first collection under his own name. With his distinctive red, white and blue logo and collegiate/Ivy League influences, Hilfiger presented a preppy vision of Americana which, coupled with his looser sportswear aesthetic, found a surprising new audience in the burgeoning hip-hop scene of the early '90s.

Hilfiger, a dedicated music fan himself, welcomed this re-interpretation of his work, but rumours that he was less than enamoured by his new audience led him to make an admirable response, lending his support to the Anti-Defamation League and the Washington DC Martin Luther King Jr National Memorial Project Foundation.

By 1993 his company had gone public and Hilfiger was named the CPDA's Menswear Designer of the Year in 1995. A new 'semi-luxe' line of tailored separates, entitled simply 'H', was launched in 2004 as a higher-priced, more upmarket addition to the global brand, which now incorporates everything from denim and eyewear to fragrances, homeware, sporting apparel and children's lines. In keeping with his music and fashion influences, Hilfiger chose to market his new 'grown-up' range by asking David Bowie and Iman to appear in ad campaigns for H. In December 2004 Hilfiger looked set on further expansion when he announced an agreement made with Karl Lagerfeld to globally distribute the latter's own-label collections.

Rochas

Olivier Theyskens remains one of fashion's most enigmatic characters. Since arriving on the scene in 1998, swathed in an air of dark mystery, he has produced nine collections to date - most recently for the prestigious French house Rochas - and attracted high profile fans, including Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Melissa Auf der Maur.

Born in Brussels in 1977, Theyskens dropped out of the city's Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Visuels de la Cambre in 1997 before presenting his debut collection, 'Gloomy Trips', later that year. Living in a 19th-century brothel and collecting stuffed animal heads at the time, his decidedly Gothic reputation was established from the start; the first collection included clothes embroidered with human hair and voluminous Victorian governess-style dresses (including one worn by Madonna in her 'Frozen' video).

The following few seasons saw the Belgian adding a lighter, more romantic tone to his vision and also taking a creative break to restructure his studio. After much speculation over his future (the designer famously turned down the role of creative director at Givenchy), Theyskens was appointed artistic director of Rochas and, in March 3003, presented his first show for the esteemed house. Playing on the unique themes and signature styles of Marcel Rochas - chantilly lace, the colour pink, an emphasis on tailoring and evening gowns - the collection also pursued his own attention to volume. With a further three collections to date, Theyskens continues to respectfully move the house forward.

Whilst remaining true to Maison Rochas' original couture spirit, the 27-year-old is nonetheless attempting to develop new representations of femininity and elegance. In March 2004, Theyskens was also appointed artistic director of Rochas Fragrances. His work has also been exhibited in various international exhibitions, including 'Belgian Fashion Designers' at the Fashion Institute of Technology museum in New York.

Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli (born 1940, Florence) designs some of the most glamorous clothes in fashion: baroque combinations of exotic feathers, overblown florals, animal prints and incredibly lightweight leathers comprise the signature Cavalli look for day or night, which is always shown on his Milan runway atop the highest heels and with the biggest, blow-dried hair in the city. In winter collections, fur - the more extravagant the better - is dominant.

And to think it all started on a ping-pong table. This is where, as a student at Florence's Academy of Art, Cavalli first began to experiment with printing on leather, later patenting a similar technique. The son of a tailor and the grandson of a revered painter (of the Macchiaioli movement), Cavalli is an expert embellisher and decorator of textiles.

After founding his own fashion company in the early '60s, Cavalli was one of the first to put leather on a catwalk, patchworking it together for his debut show in 1972, which was staged at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Cavalli was an outsider to high fashion during the '80s, but staged a remarkable comeback in the '90s. In this renaissance period, Cavalli has become the label of choice among the R&B aristocracy, not to mention any starlet with both the bravado and the body to carry off one of his attention-seeking frocks.

Assisted by his second wife Eva Duringer, a former Miss Universe, Cavalli brought his distinctive look - a unique combination of thrusting sex appeal, artisanal prints and frankly eccentric themes and catwalk shows - to the Milan collections, where press and clients alike received him with open arms. The collections bearing his name now include Just Cavalli, a menswear line, a childrenswear line and perfume licences, among others. In 2003 his company scored a turnover of ˆ 289 million and its collections are distributed in over 30 countries. Cavalli also owns one of Italy's best racehorse stud farms.

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren (born 1939) is a household name. Jamaica has even issued a commemorative stamp (in 2004) featuring Lauren. The man and his brand's logo of a polo player riding a horse is recognised by all. From a $50,000 loan in 1968, Polo Ralph Lauren's humble beginnings grew into the internationally famous lifestyle brand which everyone knows today. Lauren was one of the first designers to extend his production of clothing lines to houseware and furniture. He was also the first of the megabrand American designers to set up shop in Europe, in 1981; the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation now has 280 stores in operation globally and its collections are divided into myriad different labels. In October 2004 in Boston the company opened its first Rugby store, a life¬style collection for the 18-to-25 year-old men and women. The Rugby line joins other Lauren's collections. Purple Label (1994), Blue Label (2002) and Black Label (2005).

Underpinning Lauren's designs is an unmistakable preference for old-world gentility. In fact, he has made the Ivy League, preppy style his own. "I don't want to be in fashion - I want to be a fashion," he once told Vogue magazine. And indeed, the Ralph Lauren look is distinctive, nowhere more purely expressed than in his advertising campaigns that always feature a cast thoroughbred models, often posed as if holidaying in the Hamptons.

Lauren's entrance into fashion can be traced back to 1964 with Brooks Brothers, and then Beau Brummell Neckwear in 1967, where he designed wide ties. In the following year, the beginnings of what was to become a billion dollar brand took root. The Polo menswear line was launched and in 1970 he won the Coty Menswear Award; Lauren added womenswear to the brand in 1971.

He has been awarded the CFDA's Lifetime Achievement Award (1993) along with its menswear designer (1995) and Womenswear designer (1996) prizes. Lauren is also involved in philanthropic activities. The Polo Ralph Foundation organises campaigns such as Pink Pony (2000), which supports cancer care and medically underserved communities.

Moschino

The Italian fashion house Moschino owes much to Rossella Jardini who, since the untimely death of its founder Franco Moschino in 1994, has successfully held the reins of a brand which today still puts the kook into kooky.

Moschino, having burst onto the scene in 1983, has grown up since its logo-mania '80s heyday (remember phrases like 'Ready To Where?' or 'This Is A Very Expensive Shirt' splashed onto garments?). But Jardini, as creative director of all Moschino product lines (sold through 22 shops worldwide), has steered this label in a contemporary direction while retaining its traditional wit.

Since the millennium we have seen Jardini and her team continue to tease the market through parody and stereotype, both of which are central to the original philosophy of the house. Rompish catwalk parades featuring housewives in curlers and sleeping masks, demure '50s ladies a la Chanel (one of Jardini's most important personal influences), over-the-top prints, trompe I'oeil and swishy petticoats have all provided gleeful style moments.

Born in Bergamo in 1952, Jardini began her career selling clothes rather than designing them. Then, in 1976, she met Nicola Trussardi and began assisting with the development of that company's clothing and leather goods. Creating her own line in 1978 with two model friends, she soon made the acquaintance of Franco Moschino and in 1981 began assisting him. A stint designing accessories for Bottega Veneta followed, but by 1984 she had settled into a permanent role at Moschino. Ten years later, before his tragically early death, Franco Moschino made it quite clear he wished Jardini to take over the helm. She has been there ever since.

Marc Jacobs

Season after season, Marc Jacobs (born New York, 1963), manages to predict exactly what women all over the world want to wear, whether that be his super-flat 'mouse' pumps, Sergeant Pepper-style denim jackets or 'Venetia' handbags fitted with outsized silver buckles.

Born in New York's Upper West Side to parents who both worked for the William Morris Agency, Jacobs was raised by his fashion-conscious grandmother. As a teenager, Jacobs immersed himself in club culture, observing the beautiful people at the Mudd Club, Studio 54 and Hurrah. Today, Jacobs' most fruitful source of inspiration is still the crowd of cool girls that surround him (including the stylist Venetia Scott, director Sofia Coppola and numerous art-house actresses).

After high school, Jacobs completed a fashion degree at Parsons School of Design; his graduation collection (1984), which featured brightly-coloured knits, caught the eye of Robert Duffy, an executive who remains Jacobs' business partner to this day. Together they launched the first Marc Jacobs collection (1986), winning a CFDA award (the first of six, to date) the following year.

In 1989 Jacobs was named head designer at Perry Ellis. His experience there was tempestuous and his infamous 'grunge' collection of 1993 - featuring satin Birkenstocks and silk plaid shirts - marked his exit from the company. By 1997 Jacobs' star was in the ascendant once again, when LVMH appointed him artistic director at Louis Vuitton. Jacobs has enhanced the luggage company's image -not least through his collaborations with artists Takashi Murakami and Stephen Sprouse on seasonal handbag designs - and re-positioned it as a ready-to-wear fashion brand. Meanwhile LVMH have supported Jacobs' own company, which has since launched Marc by Marc Jacobs (2001), his first perfume (2001) and a home-ware collection (2003).

Louis Vuitton

Since 1850th Vuitton set the standards for extravagance, luxury and craftsmanship. LV is a subsidiary of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey), the first global group to specialize in prestigious luxury products. LVMH – the world leader in luxury which possesses a unique portfolio of some 50 prestigious brands. The Group is active in five different sectors: Wines & Spirits, Fashion & Leather Goods, Perfumes & Cosmetics, Watches & Jewelry, Selective retailing. Most recently, the Group introduced Vuitton's ready-to-wear line. LV is more than just a quality of fashion products – it’s a lifestyle in vogue.

Louis Vuitton began manufacturing trunks in Paris in 1854, and the company he started became one of the world's most famous makers of luxury goods, known especially for its designer luggage pattern: a beige-on-chestnut monogram, "LV." Vuitton's high-quality traveling trunks were such a hit in 1850th that every then “celebrity” (including Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, Grand Duke Nicholas - future Tzar of the Russian Empire and King Alphonse XII of Spain) ordered a set of trunks. The Vuitton line gained international recognition winning a bronze medal at the 1867 World's Fair and a gold medal at the 1889 World's Fair, both held in Paris. Lately Vuitton began a series of innovations: he built flat stacked trunks covered with canvas. This new method protected the luggage and its precious contents and soon met with considerable success - but attractive canvas was copied almost immediately. In 1873, LV launched a counter-attack, introducing a canvas bearing red stripes on a beige background, and a few years later, with a beige monochrome. Success was overwhelming, but with the same result: more and more counterfeit copies.

After Louis death in 1892, his son, Georges, took the company to new heights, developing what is recognized as the first "designer label" on a product - "LV" monogram. LV luggage thus became the first manufactured products to bear the brand name on the outside. Georges also developed the celebrated five-tumbler lock. Unpickable, each lock has its own number that allows the owner to open his entire luggage with a single key. Ever since its invention, this lock has been an element of all suitcases and trunks produced by LV.

In 1998 the superstar New York designer Marc Jacobs joined the firm as Artistic Director. He launches a pret-a-porter Vuitton line, a far cry from the historic luggage and bags. His designer clothes are so popular that Louis Vuitton now produces an entire collection of his shoes and launches in 2004 a jewellery collection as well as highly demanded watches collection. Now barely 40, Jacobs was behind the latest hot handbag wowing the wannabes, the manga "eye" bags designed by Takashi Murakami, a cult Japanese artist whose clean colours and flower shapes have livened up the brown and gold LV leather. Saying it wanted a "sophisticated, influential and sexy woman," LVMH signed Jennifer Lopez in 2003 for its fall-winter advertising campaign. Marc Jacobs wanted a "contemporary icon" to represent the company and sought "a sophisticated, influential and sexy woman."


Louis Vuitton Handbags
Louis Vuitton Handbags spell one word: classy. Louis Vuitton Bags combines fresh and trendy to make the perfect accessory for any outfit working for any season and any occasion.

Besides handbags, luggage and apparel, LV has a variety of luxury office products like alligator covering The Cargo Fountain Pens, and gold-plated Doc Pens. In Sept 1997, Louis Vuitton produced a new product line named Taiga for men. It includes all office accessories, purse, and luggage. The luggage series include backpack, small luggage for a short trip, suitcases.

Lanvin

Alber Elbaz is the modern romantic who found his perfect match in Lanvin, the Parisian house where he has been artistic director since 2001. His signature designs for the label - pleated silk dresses, satin ribbon details and costume jewellery - are now among the most sought-after in fashion, making his switchback route to success all the more surprising.

Elbaz was born in Casablanca, Morocco, and raised in the suburbs of Tel Aviv by his mother, a Spanish artist. His father, an Israeli barber, died when he was young. He studied at the Shenkar College of Textile Technology and Fashion, Tel Aviv, but received some of his most valuable training in New York, where for seven years he was right hand man to the late Geoffrey Beene, couturier to East Coast high society.

In 1996, Elbaz was appointed head of ready-to-wear for Guy Laroche in Paris, where he remained for almost three years. In November 1998 he was appointed artistic director for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, effectively taking over design duties from Saint Laurent himself. In his tenure at YSL, Elbaz attracted a younger clientele - Chloe Sevigny wore one of his dresses to the Oscars. However, at the start of 2000 big business intervened when the Gucci Group took control of YSL Rive Gauche and Tom Ford stepped into Elbaz's position. Following a short but successful spell at Milanese brand Krizia and time out travelling the world, in October 2001 Elbaz returned to French fashion via Lanvin, the couture house founded by Jeanne Lanvin in the 1880s.

Under his direction, Lanvin has developed jewellery, shoe and handbag collections. His most outstanding talent however is for the creation of ultra-feminine cocktail dresses that are the epitome of Parisian chic. In 2005, he won the CFDA's International Award. Fashion's favourite comeback kid, Elbaz also wears bow ties very well.

Kenzo

Kenzo is known as "most Parisian of Japanese" - the first designer to fuse Oriental with Occidental fashion. During the course of designing for 38 years, he created the fashion brand full of sunshine, freshness, unexpected mixtures, vigor and colors. The product range of Kenzo House widens every year, now including even household art pieces and furnishing fabrics. Thus, reinforcing brilliant success of Kenzo perfumes, the House launched Kenzoki line of natural beauty products. Since 1993, Kenzo trademark has been a part of the luxury-goods empire, LVMH, and the Kenzo himself has now passed responsibility for his label to Rosier (women's wear) and Roy Kejberg (men's wear).

Fifth in a family of seven children, Kenzo Takada was born in Japan in 1939 and spent his childhood in the village of Hyogo, developing the interest in fashion through reading his sisters’ magazines. Aiming to become one of the first male students at Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College he quit Kobe University, to parent’s disillusion. In 1960, he was awarded the most significant prize in Japanese fashion trade - the “Soen”.

In 1964, Takada moved to Paris - the city where "all is harmony" - to start from the very bottom of the fashion industry ladder. At the first opportunity, Kenzo won the ELLE magazine contest and became the chief designer of the Bon Magique brand. Ever since the door of success to the Paris fashion stage was open to Japanese designer - he made enough contacts and, working as a freelance designer, sold some of his earliest work to Feraud. The flagship Kenzo boutique 'Jungle Jap' was opened in 1970. The year of 1970 also presents to the fashion world the first successful Japanese collection: made of Japanese cottons and remnants bought in the Saint-Pierre fabric market at the foot of Montmartre in Paris. Traditional Japanese styles heavily influenced first Takada's work, but it was his 'big silhouette' designs which drew worldwide attention and made him an avowed trendsetter.

Exploring the world's richly diverse cultures, Kenzo creates exotic and fun clothes, tuning ethnic elements to utterly modern. The guiding motifs of Kenzo designs are color and flowers, the kimono and simple shapes, tradition and folklore. His works combined incompatible things: men's clothing was a hybrid of Western tailoring and Eastern sarongs, while women's wear combined Japanese cuts with Slavic embroidery.

In 1993, Kenzo House became a part of the luxury-goods empire, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessey), and the designer has now passed responsibility for his label to Rosier (women's wear) and Roy Kejberg (men's wear). In 1999, after thirty years in fashion the designer left his brand. At the age of sixty five Kenzo launched a line of scarves under the label Gokan Kobo.

Takada Kenzo's colorful visions, simple cuts combined with a bold palette, ethnic influences, floral patterns and a pinch of fantasy ensure his place in the fashion pantheon for good.

Kate Spade

When Katherine Noel Brosnahan arrived in New York, she had only $2 in her pocket – the fact that has influenced her simple yet elegant and non-pretentious designs. After being the Fashion Editor at Mademoiselle Magazine, Kate started her own handbag company with her husband, Andy Spade, introducing boxy, nylon tote purses, carrying the small, rectangular signature label. The groundbreaking blend of Kate’s first name and her husband's last name created a new line of handbags that made simple and understated chic.


The principal features of Spade’s style are unusual colors and fabrics that people typically aren't used to see in handbags: such as white terrycloth, wool plaid, yellow linen or seersucker. Spade managed to make her accessory the ideal exclamation point – playing with bright colors and queer shapes (Kate single-handedly brought the 'Little Red Riding Hood' whicker basket/handbag into the New York style scene and made it desirable and funky). American trendies seem to get the punch line. Three years after Spade started her company, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored her in 1996 as America's New Fashion Talent in Accessories, and in 1998 the CFDA named her Accessories Designer of the Year.

Being only few years on the market, Kate’s company has already rivaled Gucci and Prada, showing no sign of slowing down. The company, which had about $60 million wholesale sales last year, has freestanding stores in New York, Boston, Greenwich and Beverly Hills. All of the bags are meticulously crafted in Italy and wear well (especially the 'crinkled leather' styles). Since Kate Spade purses are both modern and classic (but not trendy) they will never go out of style.

All Kate Spade's other accessories (notepads, sunglasses, shoes, wallets and beauty products) are equally bright and offbeat. So, no wonder that Spade's products are showing up on a Vogue "most wanted" list as well as on the arm and feet of celebrities. With certainty - Kate Spade already has New York and L.A. in her bag... and the rest of the world is looking forward to be brightly packed up.


Kate Spade beauty line
Entirely feminine and timeless collection of fragrance, bath and body luxuries, including Eau de Parfum, Buttercream, Dusting Powder and Bath Oil. The collection reflects Kate’s style and design sensibility. Her fragrance was created with the greatest personal attention to Kate’s desire for a simple perfume with a beautiful scent. A makeup collection is to be launched early next year.


Kate Spade eyewear collection
Kate Spade eyewear and sunglasses have been featured on shows such as Sex and the City, and have recently caused a stir in the eyewear industry. Whether you are looking at her revolutionary prescription eyeglasses or her stylish sunglasses, it is clear that Kate Spade has a clear grasp of both style and quality.

Kate SpadeHome decor & giftware
In spring 2004 Kate Spade has joined the ranks of top fashion designers veering from fickle fashion to the larger domain of home products, by launching the line of home decor that includes dishes and glasses as well as giftware and bedding. Her giftware includes votives, vases, and bowls capable to beautify any apartment and occasion.

Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld is perhaps the ultimate fashion designer. Prolific and driven by-change, he is certainly one of the industry's most successful 'mercenary' designers. Yet he is far from a behind-the-scenes figure. Lagerfeld's ever-present pony-tail, fan and sunglasses are iconic; his personal preference for bespoke white shirts by Hilditch & Key, Chrome Hearts jewellery and Dior Homme suits is well documented. In addition to his work for both Chanel and Fendi, since 1998 Lagerfeld has designed his own label Lagerfeld Gallery.

Born in Hamburg in 1938, Lagerfeld moved to Paris at the age of 14. At just 17 he landed his first job, at Pierre Balmain, moving to Jean Patou three years later. Despite this traditional start, Lagerfeld chose not to establish his own house but instead to pursue a career as a freelance designer.

From 1963-83 and 1992-97 Lagerfeld designed Chloe. In 1965 he also began to design for Fendi, a role that he retains to this day; in 1983 he was appointed artistic director of Chanel. 1984 saw the first incarnation of his own label, Karl Lagerfeld, which was later superseded by Lagerfeld Gallery, an art/retail venture. It is the latter that expresses the remarkable range of this genuine polymath. In addition to ready-to-wear collections, Lagerfeld Gallery is a platform for his myriad passions, including photography (he often shoots his own ad campaigns, along with editorial for numerous magazines), books (he has his own imprint, 7L, and a personal library of 230,000 volumes), perfume, art and magazines.

In December 2004 it was announced that Tommy Hilfiger had purchased Lagerfeld Gallery. This followed a phenomenally successful link-up with mass market retailer H&M in autumn 2004, when shoppers clamoured for a garment designed by an acknowledged maestro of fashion.

Jil Sander

Jil Sander is a name synonymous with a particularly pure and understated type of fashion. The German-born designer, who launched her first women's collection back in 1973, is closely associated with '90s minimalism, yet her philosophy of fashion is far from simplistic. On opening her first shop, in Hamburg, at the age of 24, Sander used fabrics traditionally associated with menswear for her women's clothing, demonstrating an androgynous aesthetic that would endure throughout her career; a long-time signature design is the perfectly-cut white shirt, as is the trouser suit.

Jil Sander is also renowned for the development and use of high-tech, yet extremely luxurious, fabrics. The rigorously-considered proportions of her clothing gained Sander a faithful following among sophisticated working women who valued graceful, clean lines over obvious sex appeal or froth.

In 1979 Jil Sander Cosmetics was launched, followed by a leather collection in 1984. The company became a publicly-traded concern in 1989 and a period of rapid expansion followed, with flagship stores opening in Paris, Milan and New York in the early '90s. In 1997, the first menswear collection was shown in Milan. The serenity of Jil Sander clothing is in marked contrast to the corporate history of the company.

In 1999 the Prada Group acquired a majority holding in Jil Sander AG and the following year Sander exited her own company; in November 2000 Milan Vukmirovic was named creative director of both men's and women's collections. However, to the surprise of industry observers, in 2003 Sander returned to the company she founded and for three seasons wowed press and customers with a subtly feminine aesthetic. But in November 2004 she split from her brand and the Prada Group once again. A team of studio designers, many of whom had trained directly under Sander, took over the reigns at the house for a period, until it was announced in May 2005 that Raf Simons was to be the new artistic director of the brand.

Imitation of Christ

The genesis of the New York-based label Imitation of Christ in 2000 was anything but holy. Reacting to what they believed was the over-commodification of fashion, the label's co-founders and art-school drop-outs Òàrà Subkoff and Matt Damhave defiantly resurrected thrift-store finds by slashing them into pieces, removing the label, incorporating subversive text and slapping on a cross insignia. As a result, their rise to darling status was swift. At one point, thanks in part to the modelling/consulting efforts of long-time friend and disciple Chloe Sevigny, herself a thrift-store devotee, the duo showed a collection in a funeral parlour, watched on by Vogue's Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley. But good things don't last forever - not even for a divinely-christened label - and now only Subkoff (born 1974) remains.

She works tirelessly to keep the faith alive with a team of equally politically-motivated colleagues who regard themselves more as social engineers than designers. Examples are many. In 2001, Subkoff- also a part-time indie film actress - and the Imitation of Christ team produced a short film starring Reese Witherspoon which was intended to illustrate the prevalence of sweatshops and child labour.

In a following collection, a mock auction was staged at Sotheby's where models were presented as items for sale by an auctioneer. In 2002, Imitation of Christ trekked to Paris to hold a renegade show outside the Christian Dior venue, to which the models arrived in ambulances and made their appearances on stretchers in a presumed statement about the death of fashion. In a role-reversing show later that year, models were seated, with pen and paper in hand, waiting to critique guests who were escorted down the catwalk, in a poignant critique of the critical process itself. Is nothing sacred?

Hugo Boss

Next to Armani, global giant Hugo Boss is arguably the most recognisable suiting label in the world. In the forty-five years since the house began making suits, the label has been a dominant force in the market, with six hundred stores worldwide and a presence in 108 countries. With collections for every demographic, from urban sport to demi-bespoke, Hugo Boss continues to expand its global reach.

Founded in 1923 by the eponymous Austrian tailor, Hugo Boss began life as a manufacturer of workwear, shifting gear in the '60s to produce men's suiting and again in 1970 with the launch of fashion brand Boss. Listed on the German stock exchange in 1985, the majority shareholding of Hugo Boss GmbH was acquired by Italian fashion group Maraotto SpA in 1991. Under Marzotto, Boss diversified with the younger, directional Hugo label (which is designed by Volker Kaechele) and more sophisticated Baldessarini brand.

Boss - which is led by designer Lothar Reiff, photographed above - is now split into Boss Selection (demi-bespoke suiting), Boss Black (mainline), Boss Orange (urban sportswear) and Boss Green (active sportswear) with Hugo womenswear launched in 1998 and Boss Black womenswear in 2000.

In 2004 Marzotto reported that Boss menswear turned over ˆ 1,000 million and Boss womenswear a further ˆ 69 million. Hugo Boss was early in adopting the policy of linking the brand to glamorous men's sports, such as their pioneering sponsorship deals with Porsche (1971), the Davis Cup (1988), Seve Ballesteros (1988), AC Milan (1995) and Chelsea FC (2004). Like Prada Group CEO Patrizio Bertelli, the house has become affiliated to sailing and sponsored Hugo Boss Farr 65 in the Fastnet Race in 2003.

In 1996 Hugo Boss established the biannual Hugo Boss Art Prize in conjunction with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Hermes

Hermes is one of the grandest houses in the lexicon of luxury goods. Established in 1837 by Thierry Hermes as a fine harness-making business and today world-renowned for its handcrafted, exceptionally desirable (and expensive) leather goods, most notably its Kelly and Birkin handbags, in recent years Hermes has also become a major player in ready-to-wear fashion.

Since 2004, Jean Paul Gaultier has designed the brand's womenswear collections (he succeeded Martin Margiela, who was appointed in 1998) while Hermes' mens wear designer Veronique Nichanian has designed sophisticated 'clothing objects' for the company since 1988.

The company first created clothing in the '20s: sportswear that was intended to complement the accessories. However it wasn't until the '50s that Hermes won a wider male audience for its clothes, when it first launched its printed silk ties.

Nichanian, who is based in a studio on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris, has made Hermes synonymous with menswear pieces so luxurious that they quickly attain an iconic status among men of a certain income. Formal tailoring is always exquisite; casual clothing is no less luxurious, yet often offered in luscious colour combinations and given subtly ironic details. Nichanian has impeccable credentials, graduating from the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, followed by a period working for Cerruti. Her very first collection for Hermes won her the City of Paris Grand Prix of Creative Art prize. "I am lucky to have been able to use the most exceptional materials for Hermes," says Nichanian, who has maintained a discreet personal profile during her time at the house, "It is essential for me to work with the know-how of traditional craftsmanship, combined with the latest technological advances."

Guess?

Guess? is known for its sexy jeans - and its equally sexy advertising campaigns. Established in 1980, Guess? is a family business headed up by Paul and Maurice Marciano, who share titles as joint Chairmen and CEOs of the company. Paul is the brains behind the company's iconic advertising, which takes its stylistic cues from the archetypal '50s sex-kitten actresses including Brigitte Bardot. He's picked up Clio and Design and Art Directors awards for his campaigns - which are often shot by Ellen Von Unwerth - and has established the Guess Girl as a symbol of American pop culture. Iconic models, actresses and all-round sex-bombs, including Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova, Laetitia Casta, Drew Barrymore, Anna Nicole Smith and, in 2005, Paris Hilton, have pouted and preened on Californian beaches for Guess?.

Meanwhile Paul's brother Maurice has overseen design direction and has also led the company's commercial expansion since 1982. In 2003 Guess? registered a net revenue of about $636.6 million and sells in 36 countries worldwide.

Gucci

In March 2005 Frida Giannini was charged with pushing Gucci, one of the most recognisable status labels of the late 20th century, into a new era. She is responsible for its high-profile accessories and womenswear collections, which has become synonymous with figure-hugging pencil skirts, glamorous sportswear and vixen-ish eveningwear, a look established by Gucci's former designer, Tom Ford, during the '90s.

Established in 1931 by Guccio Gucci as a saddlery shop in Florence, the company had been a traditional family-run Italian business until Guccio's grandson Maurizio sold his final share of the brand in 1993. It was Guccio who first intertwined his initials to create the iconic logo. Yet until Tom Ford came along in the mid-'90s, the brand's image was lacklustre; from autumn/winter 1995, Ford designed full womenswear collections for Gucci, supported by slick advertising campaigns often shot by Mario Testino and a diehard following among celebrities.

In 2004, Ford exited Gucci and its parent company, the Gucci Group (which also controls brands such as Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen), and new management filled Ford's position not with a single designer but with a team of three, all of whom were promoted internally: John Ray, for menswear, Alessandra Facchinetti for womenswear and Frida Giannini for accessories.

In March 2005 Facchinetti also departed Gucci, and Giannini, who lives in a 15th century apartment in Florence and owns 7000 vinyl records, is now also responsible for women's clothing collections. Born in Rome in 1972, Giannini studied at the city's Fashion Academy; in 1997 she landed a job as ready-to-wear designer at Fendi, before first joining Gucci in 2002. Her 'Flora' collection of flowery-printed accessories was the commercial hit of 2004, and, at the time of writing, her first ready-to-wear collection was scheduled for autumn/winter 2005.