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As Virgin Express celebrates its 10th birthday, Veerle Windels profiles ten superstar fashion designers who were mere blips on the fashion radar back in 1996
Essentiel
The humble t-shirt launched Essential onto the Belgian market in 2002. Mind you, the duo behind the label, Inge Onsia and Esfandiar Eghtessadi, didn’t start with any old t-shirt – the cut was good, the colours were smashing, and so they sold like hot cakes. An entire women’s collection designed by Inge followed and Esfandiar sold it to stores in Belgium and beyond. Between the pair of them – she knew what women wanted, Eghtessadi knew how to market it – they turned this small unknown collection into a best-seller that conquered the market in no time. Today, Essentiel has several self-standing stores in Belgium and the French market is surely in their sights.
Olivier Theyskens at Rochas
A fashion school drop-out, Brussels-based designer Olivier Theyskens introduced his debut collection to the fashion crowd of Paris in 1997. Before French fashionistas could even spell his name, he caught the attention of Madonna’s stylist. And the rest, as they say is history – Madonna wore one of his gothic black gowns to a paparazzi-filled Oscar ceremony in 1998, which was viewed by 87 million folks at home. Theyskens became the name to drop and he was only 21 years old. By the end of 2002, he’d been invited to become artistic director of the Rochas. The established elegance of the Parisian luxury brand combined with Theysken’s sharp sense of couture perfection has proved just right – even though he’s had to put his own collection on hold for now.
Hussein Chalayan
Can politics or social behaviour be a form of inspiration to a fashion designer? Nicosia-born Hussein Chalayan is proof that it can – even on a seasonal basis. Chalayan isn’t your average ‘absolutely fabulous’ designer; he’s a philosopher, a thinker, a guy with whom you can spend the night discussing the real issues in life: war, freedom, and man’s ultimate destiny. Last year, an exhibition in the Dutch Groninger Museum demonstrated that such concerns don’t have to result in dull fashion, far from it. Chalayan is a master of conceptual fashion, combining a great cut, knowledge of fabrics and, ultimately, a great sense of humour.
Christopher Bailey at Burberry
So you thought Burberry was just a collection of raincoats? Think again. Head of Design Christopher Bailey, together with former CEO Rose-Marie Bravo, have resurrected this traditional British label with great success. Bailey was just 22, when Donna Karan plucked him from London’s Royal College of Art and gave him full responsibility of her womenswear collection in New York. Later, he worked with Tom Ford at Gucci, but in 2001, the blonde Brit returned to base camp: nothing is more British than Burberry. Bailey used the core business of the label – classic trench-coats – but revamped them, using fresh modern colours, and a more feminine cut. He also added new interpretations, such as a pélérine-style trenchcoat, using only the shoulder part of the coat. Such innovations have put Burberry back on top – a Mario Testino-shot ad campaign, including Kate Moss further boosted its image.
Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton
If Louis Vuitton is one of the biggest luxury houses of the era, much of that is due to Marc Jacobs, the New York-based designer who started working at Vuitton in 1997. Not only did he manage to rejuvenate the house, but he also introduced women’s and menswear, thus elevating Vuitton to a higher level. The Vuitton monogram may be a beloved classic, but the ad hoc art work done by Stephen Sprouse, Julie Verhoeven, and Takashi Murakami (collaborations incited by Jacobs) got the accessories label going strong with a trendier new audience. Jacobs is a workaholic, he still manages to continue two of his own labels, which he shows each season in New York: the Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs line. Style icons Sofia Coppola and Kate Moss adore him.
The labels Tod’s and Hogan
It’s incredible what Milan-based Diego Della Valle (the man behind the growing Della Valle Group) has achieved over the last decade. From a local, but chic shoe line called Tod’s Della Valle has transformed it into an international label, featuring entire collections and shops all over the world, from Brussels to Los Angeles, from Shanghai to Sydney. Tod’s was followed by the somewhat sportier Hogan and both shoe lines were recently joined by Fay, a label based on the jacket that was once the trademark of American fire-fighters. Della Valle and his labels is now a key feature of Milan fashion week, adding their piece of luxury to well-established brands like Versace or Armani, who normally dominate. Instead of simple catwalk shows, Della Valle stages cultural events, last time, they hosted a book launch for the creative cartoonist of Michael Roberts of the New York Times. Della Valle is definitely a winner in the big league.
Raf Simons at Jil Sander
He actually studied product design and yet, the fashion bug bit him after a brief apprenticeship at Walter Van Beirendonck’s studio in Antwerp. Simons learned about tailoring through the help of tailor Renzo Loppa (the father of Linda Loppa who runs the fashion department at the Antwerp academy). In 1996, he started his own company with a men’s collection – not for the Italian-style macho among us, but rather more slim schoolboys with an eye for tailoring. When the news broke of his appointment as artistic director at the house of Jil Sander last year, the Antwerp fashion scene was in a frenzy – but Simons lui-même stayed true to himself and calm. Last January, he showed his first menswear collection for Sander, and was hailed as a successful heir to the throne of Jil Sander, the Hamburg-based designer who left her company following its purchase by Prada Group. The deal with Jil Sander puts Simons in the front row of fashion, but he still lives in Antwerp – and enjoys it.
Tom Ford (just being Tom Ford)
Ten years ago, the handsome Texan had barely made the switch from basic American fashion houses to Gucci. But when he did, all hell broke loose. Ford’s designs and must-have accessories for the venerable Florentine luxury brand proved sexy, daring and irresistible to an audience that covered the entire globe. Together with financial director
Domenico de Sole, Ford brought Gucci Group back from the brink of bankruptcy and into one of the biggest luxury groups (comprising other labels like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen) on the planet. Still the rumours flew when Ford and de Sole finally left Gucci Group. Twenty months later, Ford is cover boy of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue, discussing the movies he wants to direct but he hasn’t left fashion behind. He’s signed a perfume deal with Estée Lauder (Nude is already on the market), and is planning to open luxury shops for men carrying his name and designs. Will his Midas touch work in the movies, we wait with bated breath...
John Galliano at Dior
Probably one of the best paid designers in world, John Galliano was appointed chief designer of the house of Dior in January 1997, exactly 50
years after the launch of the famous New Look by monsieur Christian Dior. Galliano was moved from Givenchy, where he had been stationed the previous year by Bernard Arnault, boss of LVMH (which owns Dior and Givenchy) Some of the French fashion journalists couldn’t bear the idea of a Brit at the helm of a famous French luxury house, but they’ve learned to live with it. The controversial designer graduated from London’s prestigious St. Martin’s School of Art in 1984, and hasn’t quite lost his enfants terrible edge. At Dior, whilst hailing Monsieur Dior as one of the best tailors of his time, he showed ‘geishas on speed’ – with not much of a wardrobe around the body, but after almost ten years there, Galliano is still going strong and his fans have stayed fiercely loyal.
Antonio Marras at Kenzo
Sardinia-based Antonio Marras is a designer in the true sense of the word: he constantly creates new fabrics and prints, sometimes working day and night from his island-based studio. Asking him to become the artistic director of Kenzo may have seemed like playing a wild card, but it wasn’t. Marras is crazy about Japanese culture, his wife collects Japanese kimono. Designing for Kenzo has made Marras a front league designer, but has also resulted in Kenzo being placed back on the international fashion map.
Italian designer Romeo Gigli conquered the fashion world at the end of the ’80s, with the help of Carla Sozzani, the woman behind the wonderful designer emporium 10 Corso Como in Milan. Gigli’s career seemed fine throughout the ’90s, but he disappeared from the fashion scene at the turn of the century. His stores have closed down, and to be honest, we haven’t a clue what he’s up to today.
Jil Sander started her eponymous label in the ’80s. At the end of the ’90s she sold it to The Prada Group, but continued working there as the creative force behind the label. She soon grew to dislike changes that occurred under Patrizio Bertelli, owner of her label, and so left the house for a new career in... gardening. Two years later, she returned to give it another try, but still wasn’t happy. So she left, for good it seems. Belgian designer Raf Simons took over. And for Sander, it’s back to gardening.
Gianni Versace was big business back in the mid ’90s, but his sudden death in ’97, when he was tragically shot on the steps of his Miami palazzo, left the Versace brand and his clientele in deep mourning. His sister Donatella tried to get the label back on track, but this was easier said than done. Since then the house of Versace has not flourished quite so fantastically, has had to close down several stores, and it’s turned a corner only recently – unfortunately without Gianni.
Thierry Mugler is still regarded as a major influence to a lot of young fashion designers today, but the height of his career was in the ’80s and early ’90s, when his fashion show exuded a spectacular fetishistic femininity – including stiletto heels and a latex leather look. Mugler is still doing very well in the perfume business (‘Angel’ is a bestseller), but it’s over and out in the fashion business.
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