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September 25, 2026

The Grande Dames, the Matriarchs, and the Doyennes

If we examine fashion history the first big Paris name mentioned is often Charles Frederick Worth, an English man, but before him all the big names in Paris were women. Indeed, Madame Vignon and Madame Palmyre created a fifty-four-piece trousseau for the Empress Eugenie in 1853, five years before Worth launched his own house. Both these women are regarded as amongst the earliest named designers in Paris couture, and the great nineteenth century names we still know of dressmakers and couturiers are virtually all females. Throughout the century Paris couture engaged with strong powerful and creative women, thus setting the foundations, development, and growth of today’s fashion systems. Raudnitz et Cie was the house where the extraordinary Callot Soeurs trained, four sisters whose signature was using lace of all types, including, even back then, vintage pieces. Madame Cheruit, the woman who discovered Poiret, and was a co-founder of the luxury fashion periodical, La Gazette du Bon Ton, eventually took over Raudnitz. In 1906 she renamed it Cheruit and created her own couture house with over a hundred employees. Madame Jeanne Paquin was president of the Chambre Syndicale, the official couture association, as well as running her own couture establishment. In those days, many women still had the couturier visit them at home, as seen in the film “Gigi” 1958, where Aunt Alicia summons a selection of dresses. To have a man perform this task was unthinkable, so the continuing number of women designers is not a surprise, women like Boue Soeurs, whose signature was feminine in lace, ribbons and delicacy of construction, Jenny, a true modernist famous for her “little grey suit” and possibly having originated” the little black dress” before Chanel, and Nicole Groult sister of Paul Poiret and friend of Isadora Duncan who created clothes for the new and modern woman of the 1920’s.

It is also fascinating that back in the early nineteen hundreds a woman designer, Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon, was the most famous fashion designer in London and New York, and indeed a fashion pioneer. She invented the role of the mannequin and catwalk model as we know it today, she dressed leading ladies on and off the stage and her mannequins became “show girls” after Florenz Ziegfeld saw her models in the salon when he visited with his wife Billie Burke and decided to use them in his Ziegfeld Follies.

Words by Tony Glenville

Fashion in France during the early part of the twentieth century shows women using great creative energy and developing fashion for the modern women on both sides of the First World War. When Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel launched her millinery in 1914, her later development of fashion was as much about an interest in what clothes were made from, as it was removing the starchiness in the construction. It is typical of a women’s approach to fashion and clothing that by focussing on jersey, knitted fabrics, and the softest, loosely woven tweed, she was able to really change clothes, and it is this that characterises Chanel as much as the linked cc’s, the camellia or pearls. When later Madeleine Vionnet explored and defined bias cutting, it is clear that fluid construction to enfold the body, spiral around the body or simply enhance the ease of the pieces, was a key factor. This specific technical exploration of fashion marks out a distinct difference in the approach women take to designing. Vionnet is also fascinating for having actually started her career in London at a Court Dressmaker Kate Reilly as head fitter. Not the beginnings one might expect from a French couturier.

Moving across through the nineteen twenties and thirties, we see many Paris houses launched, and the number of women is extraordinary. Vionnet and Chanel, of course, but by 1935 we have Madame Jeanne Lanvin who shaped fashion through the decade as much as Patou or any of the male designers, indeed the 1920’s “Portrait” style originated with Madame Lanvin. Agnes, Alix (later Madame Gres) Augusterbernard, Bruyere, Elspeth Champcommunal, Lafaurie, Louise Boulanger, and many more. One of the houses of the time, Maggy Rouff, is famous enough to get a name check in the film “Auntie Mame”1958. Although it should perhaps be mentioned that Chanel also gets a mention in the musical version, “Mame”1974. 

Many of these houses floundered, closed, or simply disappeared during the war and postwar years and indeed in fashion terms, for women the 50’s in Paris were not a time of strength, especially since Chanel remained closed until 1954. 

Madame Carven, herself petite, focussed on designing for clients of similar proportions, and continued to run her house right through to 1993; Madame Gres, whose work in the craft of couture draping has been celebrated in museums across the world, alongside Madeleine de Rauch, were the tiny handful of women still showing each season. By this time even Nina Ricci founded by Maria Ricci in 1932, had a male designer.

Post war across in London, whilst couturiers Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell are remembered, Bianca Mosca whose brilliant suits survive in collections, and Rahvis Soeurs were extraordinarily successful couturiers of the time also showing in Mayfair salons. A quick note on Dora and Raymonde Rahvis;  Dora later left the company, and it closed in 1974, but Raymonde carried on and as late as 1978 she dressed the two female leads in the James Bond movie “For Your Eyes Only”. They were formidable at their height.

Meanwhile in Italy Simonetta, Irene Galatzine, and Mila Schon, were establishing themselves as luxury names for clothing. However, since Fendi didn’t present collections until 1966 and Prada until 1988, women were not the key players they were to later become in Italian fashion; to a degree this still applies. 

The end of the nineteen fifties and early sixties is the time when travel, music, food, and almost everything is changing, and the young start to have a voice. Mary Quant looked at the life her customers were leading and designed for them, and Barbara Hulanicki at Biba understood that life was moving faster, money didn’t need to be invested in clothes, but enjoyed, along with Lee Bender at Bus Stop. Biba launched with a mini dress and headscarf as a newspaper offer and the journey from this to the superstore was rapid indeed. These young women saw other young women leading London fashion as working girls, dancing to latest music, hanging out in coffee bars and a huge shift in attitudes which separated the generations. At the same time in Paris Sonia Rykiel, Jacqueline Jacobson at Dorothee Bis, Michele Rosier at V de V and Emanuelle Khan led the way for a slightly more expensive wardrobe for the young, but still very different to their mothers carefully edited and curated attitude towards shopping for a new outfit. The contribution of women designers to the establishment of Pret a Porter, in a city committed to couture, must not be underestimated. Torrente and Vicky Tiel even moved to the couture level and in many films did swinging sixties mini dresses for a number of famous actresses including Elizabeth Taylor. 

From Chanel to Gabriela Hearst, women create fashion for the time in which they’re living and working. Sonia Rykiel is a prime example, originally inspired by the difficulty of finding decent maternity wear, as a designer she always used jersey, knit and other soft construction fabrics for her work. Even her tailoring and evening wear was fluid in satin or soft in marabou, seductively easy dressing. Like Diane von Furstenberg and the wrap dress, it seems unlikely that a masculine eye would conjure up this mood or aesthetic based so much around touch and feel. 

As the next decade dawned, and through to today, women’s voice in fashion has become stronger, more confident and their role in global fashion is proven. Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana took style to the space age, and we exited the late nineteen seventies with the introduction of the broad shoulder. Ann-Marie Beretta more than kept pace with them in creativity and a modern approach to the fashion narrative. Having a deep understanding of “real” clothes underpinning it all, Beretta also designed for MaxMara, creating a coat, “101801” which stayed in production for more than forty years. Also in Paris were Elizabeth de Senneville with her fascination with technology and digital, Popy Moreni and her Felliniesque creations, France Andrevie with her amazing use of fabrics.

Meanwhile Vivienne Westwood in London, then Paris, then back to London, was laying down her view of getting dressed in a constant state of flux. Music jumped from punk to disco, from reggae to New Romantics and Vivienne leapt from sex to nostalgia. She was able to open and shut a series of ventures and eccentric ideas before the hugely successful Pirates, Witches and Watteau stories appeared on the catwalks. 

Through many years in Bruton Street, Jean Muir brilliantly called herself a “dressmaker” and her work is surprising when we view the complete oeuvre. Of course, the navy crepe dress or the simple tunic and trousers in jersey, but also wild handcrafted buttons or brilliant modern art intarsias. Miss Muir knew you can’t create only on one note, recognising her client’s needs for accents, highlights and fun next to the serious pieces. What is clear is that women understand fashion intrinsically in a distinct way through touch and wear. Celia Birtwell’s lightness is as big an influence on Ossie Clark as her prints, and Celia just collaborated with Daniel Lee at Burberry on next seasons collection for 2027 at the unbelievable age of 85. Zandra Rhodes who is brilliant at stitched, padded and voluptuous volume in satins and metallics, is also, in complete contrast, equally at home and brilliant at feather trimmed lightness, fluttering and air-born fantasies of printed silk.in 2017 she collaborated in prints for the house of Valentino she was only 77! It is clear that in London clothes are are the heart of many women designers’ collections. Romantic narratives may be on show during the runway event but in the showroom its real pieces. The amazingly underrated Betty Jackson, Wendy Dagworthy, the remarkable Margaret Howell, Katherine Hamnett, Bella Freud, Amanda Wakeley and today, Ahluwalia, Nenci Dojaka, Roksanda, Simone Rocha and Emilia Wickstead all exemplify this attitude to fashion. 

Whilst on British fashion, we’d better not start to look at the women in London who’ve trained designers since the 1940’s; from Madge Garland, Janey Ironside, Joanne Brogden, Bobby Hillson, Muriel Pemberton, and Lydia Kemeny, of course the phenomenal, magical and unique Louise Wilson, and many others whose role within the industry is literally gigantic, but we should acknowledge them. 

America and women designers are perhaps exemplified by Donna Karan, who stepped into the spotlight in the 1980’s and amongst other things, designed seven “Essentials” pieces as a wardrobe. She created clothes for the times, for the women of the day, for the life of that woman and for success. She followed in the footsteps of many American women designers like Claire McCardell and Bonnie Cashin who back in the forties and fifties literally defined the wardrobe of the American women. Wearable, sleek, architectural, practical, modern, adaptable, and flattering across a range of shapes and sizes, American women as a rule like clothes to work. Pauline Trigere, or Hattie Carnegie may have been upmarket and dressy back in the day, but shown a fussy collection Carnegie responded, “I hate these “Louis the Who” clothes!”

Also in New York we find Norma Kamali remains a groundbreaking designer with her one thousand percent practical duvet coat the “sleeping bag coat” , the epitome of a designer creating real clothes back in 1973.

Back in London Stella McCartney swept out of Saint Martin’s in 1995 straight to her own label, then Chloe, and then, back to her own named house. Her technical focus is sustainability, and the planet, from fabrics to footwear. It is a subject close to the heart of Julie de Libran, Gabriela Hearst, Sofia Croccini at Aelis, Marine Serre and many others, be it deadstock, recycling or simply making less and better. Today women designers are not only key to the business everywhere but are also looking to the future of how fashion functions in broader terms. 

Anne Demeulemeester created her own handwriting with her specifically Belgian approach, attitude and emotional narrative. Mixing Gothic and romance, monochrome and ecclesiastical dress, lengthening the lines of the body, blurring the genders and remaining focussed on her continual narrative her work stood to one side of trends or the look of the moment. A genuine original, her view of clothes and getting dressed appeals to clients of all ages and types across a broad spectrum.

Over the decades, the role of women in fashion globally encompasses Carla Zampetti in Sydney, Hanae Mori in Tokyo and Paris, Sybil Connelly and Lainey Keogh in Ireland, Dice Kayek in Turkey, Margherita Ley at Escada in Germany, or Sarah Diouf in Senegal, Sara Chraibi in Morocco. Women using their name above the door and on the label, women wearing their designs, women working to dress women for the times they live in, for the lives they pursue and women understanding clothes. I repeat this since it is so important, this is practical designing not theoretical or simply about unwearable creativity. 

I once chatted to Carla whilst she explained what modifications were required on the sample trouser suit she had flown from Sydney to Paris in, changes as a result of miles of walking with a wheelie bag on those endless moving pavements at the airport. 

In Italy we had Krizia and Consuelo Castiglione at Marni, today we have Maria Grazia Chiuri at Fendi, Miuccia Prada and Alberta Ferretti to uphold the distaff side in Italian fashion, each with a distinct view of the modern woman’s wardrobe. Often, as in Signora Prada’s case, also very vocal about it and feisty in their beliefs of how to create fashion. Donatella Versace, who was thrown into running the house her brother had founded by his murder, is an exceptional person having had no choice but to emerge as the leader of a huge international house. Her work and commitment across the years is truly inspiring, she had always stood next to or behind her brother and overnight she became the focus, she deserves enormous respect for her survival.

So today in Paris at haute couture we have the extraordinary work on space age modernist and technical sorceress Iris van Herpen, we have the delightful wearable, real life couture of Julie de Libran who uses deadstock and other found materials within her collections. Aelis  designer Sofia Crocciani uses amazing fabrics from recycled velvets from the Paris Opera costume archive, through to found beads and ornaments  for her exquisite romanticism. Ardazaei creates couture with a mathematical precision allied to a fairytale vision of the fashion narrative. With her background in engineering and her Swedish Iranian ancestry designer Bahareh Ardakani has a unique view on fashion. As does Sarah Chraïbi from Rabat. Her integration of her cultural  background and experience within her beautiful work brings a specific fashion viewpoint into the couture spectrum, workmanship and craft related to couture but individual in its nuance. Adeline Andre still offers her clients the most extraordinary pieces each summer in an intimate show. The models, the colours, the proportions and the sheer elegance of the looks is for me an emotional moment of couture loveliness.

Across the world today, women hold key creative roles and have their own companies, following in illustrious footsteps. Chloe Paris, founded by Gaby Aghion in 1952 currently designed by Chemena Kamali, Gabriella Hearst in New York  The Row in New York, created by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, literally defines luxury fashion in a specific manner; from Scandinavia to Arabia, women designers are busy creating fashion for women they know and understand.

London based Jenny Packham dresses the Princess of Wales for some of her most glamorous appearances, indeed the recent deep violet silk mousseline gown she wore took her straight into the fashion spotlight, bringing us full circle to women dressing royalty. 

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