Fashion Icons
Bold, whimsical illustrations by David Lee Csicsko along with concise, engaging bios written by Gillion Carrara celebrate a diverse group of designers. From Paul Poiret, the visionary who shunned the corset, to Elsa Schiaparelli, who shocked the world with her “shoe hat”, to Comme des Garcon’s Rei Kawakubo, Fashion Icons celebrates 50 fashion designers who have influenced historical trends, how we dress today, and what the future of fashion will look like.
Featured designers include: Jeanne-Marie Lanvin, Madeleine Vionnet, Paul Poiret, Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Cristobal Balenciaga, Ann Lowe, Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin, Hubert de Givenchy, Sonia Rykiel, Halston, Valentino Garavani, Karl Lagerfeld, Giorgio Armani, Azzedine Alaia, Yves Saint-Laurent, Issey Miyake, Vivienne Westwood, Rei Kawakubo, Stephen Burrows, Yohji Yamamoto, Gianni Versace, Miuccia Prada, Franco Moschino, Jean Paul Gaultier, Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten, Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana, Ann Demeulemeester, Isabel & Ruben Toledo, John Galliano, Junya Watanabe, Alber Elbaz, Tom Ford, Rick Owens, Marc Jacobs, Thom Browne, Duro Olowu, Hedi Slimane, Alexander McQueen, Viktor Horsting & Rolf Snoeren, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Stella McCartney, Rabih Kayrouz, Phoebe Philo, Kate & Laura Mulleavy, Virgil Abloh, Simone Rocha, and Kerby Jean-Raymond
Gillion Carrara is a Professor Adjunct in the Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism at the School of the Art institute of Chicago. In her studies, her focus is on contemporary and avant-garde fashion and dress, art, literature, and sociology. Until 2017, she was the founding Director of the Fashion Resource Center, and built a collection of contemporary and avant-garde fashion, publications and various media. She actively writes book and exhibition reviews for publication, presents lectures locally and nationally, attends costume symposiums and was on the Board of Costume Colloquium, Florence, Italy, until it's conclusion in 2020 and is a current member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). She lives in Chicago, IL.