Speaking of fashion, the past century can safely be called the epoch of its formation and flowering. Coco Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Roberto Cavalli, and many other personalities known to us have established fashion houses and introduced trends that, with some cyclicality, return to us again and again. But with the arrival of the new century has come a generation of both consumers and creative designers who, with their talent and subtle instinct, are helping to create new twists in fashion. These names should be known today because they have every chance of becoming icons like their famous predecessors.
Alessandro Michele
Since 2015, Michele has been the creative director of Gucci. At some point, this premium brand has experienced some decline because its beautiful but too traditional clothing did not quite meet the requirements of the new generation. Michele managed not only to bring innovations and return the brand to the ranks of the most successful and popular brands but also to preserve its identity and unique style. With the arrival of the talented Italian, Gucci’s annual sales have grown by billions of euros!
What is his secret, you probably wonder. It just so happened that the people responsible for the brand’s creative development were very often entrusted with employing an informal view of things, which brought their foresight and complete synchronization with modern requirements. Michele drew attention to the destruction of gender stereotypes and boundaries, combined elements of opposite styles. Gucci’s new collections can no longer be called outdated; they harmoniously combine the main colors and style of the brand along with the main modern trends.
Virgil Abloh
It is impossible to talk about this person only from the point of view of fashion because Abloh, unlike many other creative directors, came into this industry having received an architectural education and having worked for a long time as an organizer of exhibitions and concerts. Today he is known to the world as the founder of his brand Off-White and the creative director of the Louis Vuitton men’s line. A talented young man, who also has another hobby – DJing, went to success very confidently. He first worked with Kanye West as his album cover stylist and image-maker, then took an internship at Fendi, and then launched his brand that exudes a street style mood. Abloh believes that all the classic pieces can be modernized with minimal effort by adding a new striking touch. While some adherents of the classic style criticize this approach, the designer (who, by the way, likes to call himself an artist) simply enjoys the love and success among Hollywood celebrities and other buyers.
Olivier Rousteing
A new era began for the fashion house Balmain when the twenty-five-year-old Rusten replaced his mentor Christophe Decarnin. At first, the future fashion designer went to study to be a lawyer but quickly realized that this was not his element and got an internship at Cavalli. After Rousteing’s appointment at Balmain, almost all of the brand’s employees filed for resignation, but this did not break the young talent, and he almost immediately proved that his genius was able to do what the experienced designers before him failed to do. The main highlight of the new collections of the brand is sexuality and luxury, for which millions of customers come; by the way, Rusten is actively involved in social networks and has the most Instagram followers among modern designers.
Olivier Rousteing made every effort to make the Parisian brand Balmain famous all over the world. Therefore, he launched many collaborations that presented the brand not only as a luxury but at the same time available to every customer. For example, a joint collection with H&M was sold out in a matter of days in both retail and online stores. Rusten also collaborated with Nike, Puma, Victoria’s Secret, and the singer Beyoncé.
Raf Simons
After receiving the education of an industrial and furniture designer, young Raf Simons got an internship with a Belgian fashion designer, after which he decided to change the vector of his activity. That’s when his life, as well as the entire fashion industry subsequently, has changed forever. Finding useful contacts in the fashion world, Simons launched his clothing line and brand Raf Simons.
In 2005, after 10 years of creativity, the designer was invited to the creative director position at the Jil Sander fashion house. At the same time, he collaborated with various brands, including Adidas, Eastpak, and Linda Farrow. In 2012, Rafa Simons became creative director of the women’s line at Dior, and after seven years, he moved to the same position at Calvin Klein. Raf has become one of the most important and famous figures in the fashion world who reimagined pop culture’s influence on fashion and can be called the iconic designer of the new generation.
