20 fashion muses to muse about
July 28, 2006 | 12:00am
If history has proven anything, it’s that the greatest figures in history always have sidekicks – Batman has Robin; Edmund Hillary has Tenzing Norgay; Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie. (OK, scratch that). In fashion, the same formula applies. In the totem pole hierarchy of legendary fashion figures, you have big name designers who changed the face of fashion and their muse, often a woman who inspires great individuals to do great things – like a miniskirt or something.
How does one garner the title of muse? Most of the women on the list are pedigreed and well-connected. Some have surprisingly varied backgrounds. John Galliano once asked a receptionist to be his muse just because he liked how she dressed. A distinct fashion sense is essential: male designers often plumb their muses for a woman’s perspective – not unusual since many designers are gay men who need to be reminded about women’s needs.
If wary outsiders scoff at the thought of having "muse" as a job title, they probably haven’t heard about the perks: all the designer clothes they can get their skinny little hands on, parties where they are feted by magazines and dubbed fashion "it" girls, and bold-faced name status on society pages. What else could a girl want?
YStyle makes a list of newsworthy muses. All bold-faced, of course.
Buzz has followed Chloe Sevigny even before her career blossomed. She was spotted by a Sassy magazine staffer when she was a teenager and asked to intern for the publication. Soon, writer Jay McInerney called her the "it" girl of the ‘90s. Interview magazine put her on the cover even before her first movie, Larry Clark’s gritty take on urban teenage life called Kids, was released. Often panned by tabloid critics who can’t relate to her offbeat sense of style and passion for obscure labels, Sevigny’s been celebrated by fashion bibles like Vogue who’ve put her on its best-dressed list. MiuMiu, H&M and MAC have all made her part of their campaigns. Sevigny was also one-time fashion director slash muse for Imitation of Christ.
Before she became famous, Hepburn had approached designer Hubert de Givenchy to dress her for her films. Givenchy was so charmed by the politesse the pixie-faced future star exhibited that he agreed to lend her ready-made clothes for her next film – which turned out to be Sabrina, the surprise hit that had millions of women drooling over Humphrey Bogart and Givenchy’s gorgeous frocks. The film was the beginning of a long and prolific partnership between the two. "She was capable of enhancing all my creations," wrote Givenchy. "She always knew what she wanted and what she was aiming for."After dressing the star in films like Funny Face and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the name Givenchy was inextricably linked to Hepburn’s.
If there’s one quality most muses share, it’s that most of them are well-connected. De la Falaise is no exception. Daughter of a French noble man and an Irish model, she spent more than 30 years by Yves Saint Laurent’s side, designing the accessories line for the label and helping steer the designer in the proper sartorial direction. Once described by Saint Laurent as "charm, poetry, excess, extravagance, and elegance, all in one blow," the ethereal beauty brought a thoughtfulness and lightness of hand to the division’s accessory line. After her stint as Saint Laurent’s muse, she opened an accessories boutique which Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley says is "as vibrant and surprising as a sudden rainbow at the end of a spring shower." She’s also begun a line of clothing.
The always quirkily-dressed Feinstein, who was part of the feminist art movement in New York in the ‘90s, wasn’t always as artsy as she used to be. When she was attending an exclusive prep school in Miami, Feinstein, who was blonde at the time, modeled with some industry veterans like Heather Davis. Currently a redhead, she’s muse to husband John Currin, a well-regarded painter famous for his large-breasted subjects, and to designer Marc Jacobs. Feinstein was featured in the label’s ad campaign, lounging about a New York loft in the designer’s frocks.
Though she had many detractors who claimed she never pushed the envelope of style, Onassis had millions of fans who admired the chic manner with which she arranged her clothing. From the pillbox hat on her elegantly coiffed hair to the shift dresses she wore regularly, she had a following any designer would kill for. Her professional relationship with designer Oleg Cassini, who passed away only recently, was long and storied. Together they assembled numerous suits and dresses, all with Onassis’ trademark chic and traditional conservatism, that had defined a look for millions of people.
As actresses go, Swinton is one of the few who don’t cause fashion industry people to sniff and laugh when her name is linked to fashion. Unlike a heap of other actresses who assume wearing designer duds to a red carpet event automatically gives them muse status, Swinton’s influence in the fashion scene is largely noticeable, due in part to her role as Viktor and Rolf’s muse and the first to walk the runway for the duo’s fall 2003 ready-to-wear collection. The fashion forward pair was drawn to Swinton’s pale, ethereal looks. Her background didn’t hurt either. She belongs to one of the oldest families in Scotland, whose lineage can be traced back to the ninth century. Viktor and Rolf cloned the actress for their 2003 show and had a phalanx of models, all made to look like Swinton, march down the runway after her.
Not many models make it as big as Ms. Moss, starring in the campaigns of big-name brands such as Calvin Klein, Burberry and H&M. Even after a much-publicized scandal concerning her drug use, Moss made it to magazine covers a scant few months after the scandal dropped on newspapers across the globe.
W magazine later called her their muse in a 40-page spread with 17 artists and photographers reimagining the style changeling in their own spreads. Takashi Murakami rendered the muse pregnant and surrounded by colorful eyeballs. Photographer Chuck Close photographed her in close-up, displaying every freckle and flaw. Steven Klein opted to skip the studio portraiture and instead photographed a room papered with posters of Moss in various campaigns. She’s been immortalized in numerous music videos, including one of her dancing to a White Stripes song, and been the subject of multiple covers for a single issue, most notable French Vogue which featured the model in four covers in the same month.
Andy Warhol made big bucks silk-screening Marilyn Monroe’s famous pout on canvas. His works later fetched millions of dollars on the market. But it was the pin-up icon’s image that became ingrained into public consciousness. The sultry blond made a halter dress famous when she posed above a grate for the Seven Year Itch, her pale skirts floating scandalously high. She made the first cover of Playboy magazine and became Chanel No. 5’s accidental endorser when a reporter asked her what she wore to bed and she breathily replied, "A few drops of Chanel No. 5." The advertising head quickly took notice and made Monroe the face of the perfume.
When ‘60s designer Rudi Gernreich wanted to modernize the swimsuit, he looked to his model and muse Moffit. No doubt the challenge was overwhelming as Gernreich’s controversial suit was the topless bikini, a below-the-chest affair that had halter straps locking behind the neck, leaving Moffit’s breasts bare. Their partnership went beyond modeling. Gernreich collaborated with modern hair maven Vidal Sassoon to craft Moffit’s helmet ‘do, a sleek black cropped style that made the model stand out during the ‘60s.
Moffit’s signature look: pale face with dark, dramatic eyes and helmet hair remains an inspiration to a lot of hipsters today who still consider her retro look modern and relevant.
Though she’s made her mark as a serious dramatic actress, Deneuve is most known for her beauty. Acknowledged by Frenchmen, fashion editors and filmgoers alike, the actress is famous for claiming that she hasn’t had plastic surgery, since her looks and figure still remain despite her advanced age, and has no plans of indulging in the cosmetic procedure in the future.
But it’s the fashionista’s relationship with stylemakers that’s given her a stronghold over the industry. In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent dressed Denueve in his pieces for her role in Belle de Jour. The actress and designer soon formed a collaborative relationship that spanned more than 30 years. Deneuve was even made the face of the YSL Beauty Precursor skincare campaign. MAC made her an endorser and just last year, Denueve was the model for an Alexander McQueen fashion editorial in British Vogue.
Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld calls her "the iron fist in the velvet glove." No surprise there because Harlech is Lagerfeld’s go-to woman for inspiration. The former Oxford student-turned-Harpers and Queen junior fashion editor-turned-muse is a member of the English aristocracy. Originally John Galliano’s unpaid muse, she’s now Lagerfeld’s lieutenant, one of the few muses on this list actually on a payroll. The English lady made the shift to Chanel after working with Galliano for 12 years before the latter went to Dior. Today, Harlech still burns the midnight candle, dressing beautifully for Chanel and advising Lagerfeld on the importance of, say, fingerless gloves. As muse, she’s made it to many a party and magazine features. And, according to pundits in the industry, raking in a six-figure income.
It’s odd how English girls with such low-key natural beauty manage to make it to the top of the list when it comes to fashion influences. Kate Moss, for example, who’s no fiercely glowing beauty, is one, as well as Jane Birkin, Moss’ inspiration and the namesake of the much-vaunted, mortgage-breaking, waitlisted bag, the Birkin.
The actress, who starred in the film Blow-Up, originally made a name for herself in the swinging ‘60s as a singer. These days, she’s most known for the bag Sex and the City helped immortalize. Unlike Grace Kelly, who’s famous for more than that other Hermes bag of the same moniker, Birkin pretty much left the scene early on.
Dubbed the milliner’s muse, Isabella Blow follows in the sartorial footsteps of Anna Piaggi – well hat-wise, that is. "My first memory of a hat is when I was eight years old and I tried on a giant pink hat of my mother’s," she told British Vogue. A staunch supporter of hatmaker Phillip Treacy, the British-born fashion editor got her big break when she was introduced to Vogue editrix Anna Wintour. The two bonded over lunch and soon Blow became Wintour’s assistant, later on creating fashion editorials under Andre Leon Talley’s tutelage. Blow is also credited with discovering such big names as Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan. Models Sophia Dahl (daughter of author Roald Dahl) and Stella Tennant (a member of the British aristocracy) can thank Blow for their careers as well.
Sedgwick defined the look and excess of the ‘60s – that is according to the Independent and almost every online source. The Andy Warhol and Bob Dylan muse is experiencing what could only be called a renaissance. Her style has been referenced by almost every label on the market.
Though she overdosed in 1971, Sedgwick’s look – the gamine face, cropped blond hair, kohl-lined eyes and skinny frame – is currently de rigueur. The striped black and white sweater topped over leggings, the mod shift paired with flats and those ubiquitous drainpipe jeans – Sedgwick’s signature looks are on every store’s racks.
Once the muse of Mizrahi – who now sells his inexpensive wares at Target after a bout with bankruptcy in the ‘90s – Lisa Eisner made it to Marc Jacobs’ muse of fame when the magazine staffer slash photographer met Jacobs through his boyfriend when they were all living in Paris. Soon, she was hanging out with the pair and serving as Jacobs’ inspiration for Gucci. Eisner’s friendship with Jacobs resulted in a billboard of the muse dressed in Gucci’s designer duds.
Clad in her signature mishmash of couture, trashy, throwaway garb, obscure labels and bright headgear, Piaggi is often the only standout among the throng of black-clad editors lining the front row during fashion week. Editors and stylists around the world worship her wardrobe, an amalgam of great couture pieces by hundreds of designers. Her work, which includes more than 7,000 fashion editorials, has spawned a cult following. Lagerfeld has sketched her and Blahnik has made shoes specifically for the eccentric style icon. The milliner Stephen Jones looks to Piaggi as his muse. The editor is often dressed to the nines wherever she goes, whether it’s a casual lunch with friends or a huge industry party. Her face is always framed with a quirky hat, her eyes ringed in black and her lips colored red. And her clothes? Well, she’s always managed to combine a sense of the avant-garde with a fun outlook.
A favorite of Karl Lagerfeld’s, she famously asked the designer who he was when he approached her after a show. Fast forward a few years later and Boscono’s been part of campaigns for Chanel, Dior, Marc Jacobs, and Givenchy. Currently the muse for Givenchy’s latest head designer honcho, Riccardo Tisci, she’s made Givenchy the buzzword in the industry, promoting Tisci and even casting the models for his runway show.
With her pale skin, raven hair and buxom figure, Von Teese automatically invites comparisons to fetish pinup star Bettie Page, the subject of the biopic, The Notorious Betty Page.
Von Teese is part of the revival of burlesque in fashion and in Hollywood. Her publicized romance with heavy metal singer Manson brought her fame and she was soon being featured by publications like Vogue and Nylon. Moschino, who contributed to her wedding trousseau, channels Von Teese in his tartan-heavy fall 2006 collection. And though she’s crossed to mainstream, she’s still a muse to people like Olivia De Berardinis, a pinup artist whose work appeared on Bebe ads and Playboy.
Marc Jacobs has got to be the most promiscuous designer out there – at least when it comes to muses. Or perhaps the designer has a discerning eye when it comes to picking "it" girls. From the rapper-turned-felon Li’l Kim to Rachel Feinstein (who makes an appearance on this list), Marc Jacobs muses could populate a large co-op. But Sofia Coppola stands out, not only because she’s so fond of dressing stars in her films – Scarlett Johansson’s style in Lost in Translation was similar to hers – but because fashion’s always played a big role in Coppola’s life. She collaborated with a friend, early on in her career, to produce a line of T-shirts that would only be sold in Japan. She also collaborated with Jacobs’ accessory division to create a few bags.
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