International Women’s Day In The Fashion Industry

The most influential women in the fashion industry with Girl Power.

This week, we celebrated International Women’s Day. March 8th has become a day to showcase and celebrate women and their achievements across the globe. As this is (of course) a fashion blog, let’s look at some of the most successful females in the world of fashion.

Although fashion has been aimed at women since its beginning, the main big players in the industry have historically been mostly men. But over the past few decades, women have played an increasingly important role in the industry, building on the legacy of influential designers and powerful entrepreneurs like Coco Chanel and Mary Quant.

So, who are the most influential and powerful women shaping the fashion industry today?

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ – FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER

Annie Leibovitz is one of America’s best portrait photographers, whose iconic and often provocative images,  featuring surprising poses and colours have changed fashion photography. She started her career in the ’70s at Rolling Stone magazine. And, by creating the most fabulous covers of Vanity Fair and Vogue, Leibovitz is among the influential women still shaping the fashion industry. She famously shot a naked John Lennon in bed with Yoko Ono and a nude and very pregnant Demi Moore. She also shot the 2016 Pirelli Calendar. The famous calendar is known for presenting sensual naked models. But Leibovitz, in a truly woman-empowering move, chose to feature clothed women from various ages and backgrounds.

ANNA WINTOUR – AMERICAN VOGUE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Anna is the most influential fashion magazine editor Ever. To sum up, 11.4 million women read each print edition of Vogue America. Not to mention the 1.2 million monthly online readers. Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief is also the Artistic Director of Conde Nast, overseeing other magazines like Glamour. Over the years, Wintour has had a powerful influence on the fashion industry. She’s championed new designers and raised millions for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. 

PAT MCGRATH -MAKE-UP ARTIST

This Billionaire British makeup artist, who uses her hands instead of make-up brushes, is a serious player in the fashion industry. She stated out with Edward Enningful at i-D Magazine. She’s created beauty looks for all the major fashion labels presenting during Fashion Weeks, and their editorial shoots. Additionally, she designed Giorgio Armani’s beauty line and is the creative design director of Procter & Gamble beauty. In 2015, she launched her own Pat McGrath Labs make-up range, valued at $1 billion after only four years. As a result, in 2021, Pat became the first makeup artist to be awarded a Damehood by the Queen.

STELLA MCCARTNEY – FASHION DESIGNER

Paul McCartney’s daughter is certainly a powerhouse on her own. She studied at St Martins and put on her first fashion show featuring Yasmin Le Bon, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss who all walked the catwalk free for their friend Stella. After working at Christian Lacroix and Chloé, Stella launched her own label. She was one of the first to advocate cruelty free fashion and her influential sustainable brand inspires women of all ages. Stella designed the Team GB sports kits for the 2012 Olympics. A life long vegetarian like her mother, Stellla has stores all over the world.

KATE MOSS – SUPERMODEL

I couldn’t forget my favourite iconic model Kate Moss. The British model’s been one of the most influential women in the fashion industry for over 25 years. She became famous as the muse of John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and the heroin-chic trend in the early ‘90s. Thanks to her cool style, she remains a powerful fashion influencer to this day. Mother to up and coming model Lila Moss, she has designed two collections for Topshop (which of which I own) plus bags for Longchamps. She’s also been in several music videos, on the cover of countless magazines and received numerous awards for her modelling career. One of the highest-paid models in the world, Moss has a net worth of $70 million.

 RIHANNA – SINGER AND DESIGNER

She needs no introduction as a musician, but RiRi is an amazing businesswoman and one of the most influential powers in the fashion industry. Thanks to her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty and the fashion label Savage, plus the Savage x Fenty lingerie line. Rihanna is today one of the few female billionaires in the world, with a net worth of around $1.7 billion. The Barbados native has proven that she is much more than the over-sexualized image that she presents to the world.

NAOMI CAMPBELL – SUPERMODEL

Naomi Campbell quickly became synonymous with the fashion industry in the 1990s. With the birth of the supermodel era in the early ’90s, Campbell, alongside fellow models such as Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford, dominated every notable runway, cementing her eternal status as a part of fashion history. Naomi, who became the first Black woman to cover French Vogue in 1988. Born 22 May 1970, Campbell began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Campbell was one of six models of her generation declared ‘Supermodels’ by the fashion industry and international press, most famously refusing to get out of bed for less that £10,000. 

In addition to her modelling career, Campbell has embarked on other ventures, including an R&B studio album and several acting appearances in film and television. She is also involved in charity work for various causes. Naomi just became a mother aged 50 and still looks FAB-U-LOUS.