WITH LOVE, FROM RUSSIA TO PARIS
3 of the most distinctive and historical women fashion designers
Coco Chanel
Paris
1883–1971
The name speaks for itself. How wonderful it must have been to be Coco Chanel. A woman of her own regard that surpassed all women of her time when it came to what a women was supposed to look like, when stepping out into the world.
Coco Chanel studied women, down to the tiniest bone in their bodies. She looked beyond the surface of a women’s figure. She knew that a change had to come and she was going to be the one to do it. She took women’s wear and women’s figures to a whole new level. And in 1910 she opened her first shop.
In the early 1920s she invented ‘Coco Chanel’ perfume and soon after launched the Chanel suit and the Little Black Dress.
Paris France is where Coco called home and home is where she began a legacy of becoming one of the most coveted Fashionista in the world.
From stunning skirt suits, to women wearing menswear for the first time in history, Coco Chanel leaves behind timeless designs.
Valentina (Russia Valentina Sanina)
Russia
1899–1989
Valentina was an American designer from Russia. She designed for some of the most beautiful actresses that strutted down the red carpet and onto the silver screen, in exquisite dresses and gowns that made the world stop spinning.
Starting off with little money and making dresses out of cheap material, people would still wonder who this woman was and requested custom dresses to be made for themselves.
Valentina, married a man who owned a theatrical group, where she soon began making gowns and costumes for stage performances. In 1928 in upper Manhattan New York, Valentina opened her very own shop ‘Valentina Gowns’
Sonia Rykiel
Paris
1930-today
Sonia Rykiel was born in Paris, having a Russian mother and Romanian father. She married a man who owned a small high-fashion boutique and soon began designing for that store ‘Laura’
Known for her soft oversized ‘Poor Boy’ sweaters, Sonia Rykiel was one of the first designers to put seams on the outside of her designs and print words on her sweaters. She also started the trend of using bright colors such as pink, teal, purple, just to name a few, for her Mongolian lamb sweaters.
Becoming very famous for her sweater designs, Sonia Rykiel became known as “Queen of Knits”
Additional historically noteworthy women fashion designers:
Mary Quant
Katharine Hamnet
Bonnie Caschin
Claire Mc Cardell
Vivienne Westwood
Carolina Herrera
Vera Wang and many, many, more
Originally published at www.stalletto.com.
