Tag Archives: Anna Wintour Magnificent Seven

Designer Highlights – Stefano Pilati for YSL

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When Tom Ford stepped down from YSL back in 2004, the fashion community almost griefed to the fact that there might not be anyone else worthy to continue the momentum of reviving the beloved Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Karl Lagerfeld even went far to suggest closing down the ready-to-wear house and focusing only on its lucrative parfum and cosmetics business. Luckily, the house decided to give Stefano Pilati a promotion with blessing from Yves Saint Laurent himself. Ever since taking the top post in the house, Pilati has done nothing but making women around the world dress better. I am pretty sure he is the designer we should have credited for bringing back the dresses and the waisted belt into daily life. It is also for him that YSL now has many iconic bags besides just the Mombasa. In 2006, together with his former boss, Miuccia Prada, Anna Wintour featured Pilati as one of her Magnificent Seven who would map the future of fashion, a recognition i think PIlati really deserves. This is, afterall, the man who came up with the Muse and Muse Two bags.

Designer Highlights – Miuccia Prada for Prada and Miu Miu

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Landing on Anna Wintour’s good book is one thing, being the main reason she flies to Milan? That is Miuccia Prada. Afterall, which other woman is as influential as Miuccia in the fashion industry today?

When Miuccia took over the old luggage house of Prada from her family, little did everyone know that a Ph.D. holder in Political Science would one day dictate the way we dress season after season and change the way we see black nylon bags. From its debut in the early 90s until now, Prada black nylon bags remain one of the most iconic, desirable and unpretentious bags around.

When Prada became a global fashion power brand, Miuccia started Miu Miu as the antithesis to the self-growing identity of the brand she had revived. Whether Miu Miu had originally been meant to channel her true design passion which she had to gradually compromise with Prada or simply just another smart business strategy to ride on Prada’s growing success, we will never know for sure. What we know is Miu Miu, once a younger diffusion line of Prada has also grown to a power brand, capable of being totally free of all its attachment from Prada.

With both Prada and Miu Miu, arguably the most powerful Italian fashion houses next to Gucci, Armani, Versace and Dolce and Gabbana, under her helm, Miuccia is a living legend. In 2006, Miuccia Prada was being named as one of the Magnificent Seven in today’s and future’s fashion by US Vogue’s Anna Wintour. Miuccia is the only woman and the only Italian designer designing for an Italian house (two Italian houses, actually) in the list.

Will Miuccia Prada be the Coco Chanel of Italy? I think she already is.

Designer Highlights – Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton

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Not many designers are capable of running the creative department of a giant luxury house and designs for label of their own name at the same time. Miuccia Prada is one (running Prada and Miu Miu at the same time and does it extremely well). Then again, Miuccia Prada is one heck of a woman. The other designer is Marc Jacobs who runs Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs. Marc graduated from Parson School of Design, joined Vuitton in 1997 and created the house’s first ready-to-wear collection. He took Vuitton from a luxury luggage and leather house to a full-fledge fashion brand producing everything from clothings to cellphone straps.

Still Louis Vuitton is best known for its luggage and bags and Marc Jacobs knows this well enough to have created limited-edition pieces that has the world drooling over. His first collaboration with Steven Sprouse in 2001 took the century-old monogram canvas and graffitied it all over, creating a demand that sold the bags out in no time. His collaboration with Takashi Murakami in 2003 resulted in young and beautiful cherry blossom limited-edition pieces which are still being re-sold at crazy prices in ebay today. The much sought-after multicolor canvas was made part of classic offerings afterwards due to its huge success.

In 2006, US Vogue editor and the most powerful woman in fashion, Anna Wintour picked Marc Jacobs along with six other designers to make up The Magnificent Seven who would map the future of fashion.

Image is courtesy of fashionwirepress.com