Women Who Paved the (Run)Way
It’s hard to picture today’s fashion industry without the creative minds of the women who dominate the field. Female fashion pioneers have poured their hearts into the industry, and for that, we must pay recognition to them.
For Women’s History Month, we want to highlight a few of the iconic women that have made groundbreaking contributions to the world of style.
Miuccia Prada
Prada, the Italian designer that sparks thoughts of high class and simplicity, was founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It was not until 1975 that the designer’s granddaughter, Miuccia Prada, and her siblings Alberto and Marina, took over the family fashion empire and reshaped it into the entity it is today.
Growing up, Miuccia didn’t intend to enter the world of fashion. She was born Maria Bianchi in 1949 to Luigi and Luisia Bianchi. She attended the University of Milan, receiving a PhD in political science in the 1970s. With a love for the theater, she also trained to be a mime at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan.
Before dabbling in fashion, Miuccia was a part of the Italian Communist Party in the 1960s. Though she loved fashion, she did not see herself doing it as a career.
“When I started, fashion was the worst place to be if you were a leftist feminist,” Miuccia told the New York Times.
Once Miuccia took over the brand, she transformed its image by including more avant garde styles, intentionally blending uniqueness and innovation without being over-the-top. For Prada’s Spring 2024 collection, tailored silhouettes dominated the runway and looks were topped off with shimmering embellishments and sheer scarves.
Aside from being co-CEO of Prada, Miuccia also owns Miu Miu, which was inspired by a nickname she was given by her family as a child. She created the brand in 1992 as a more youthful and affordable counterpart to Prada.
ANNA WINTOUR
Where would fashion journalists – or “The Devil Wears Prada” enthusiasts – be without the iconic Anna Wintour?
Wintour was born in 1949. Her father being the editor of London’s Evening Standard newspaper, Wintour grew up surrounded by the world of journalism. At 16, she dropped out of school and decided she did not want to pursue a formal education. Instead, Wintour landed a job at Harper’s & Queen magazine in 1970 as an editorial assistant.
In 1975 Wintour moved to New York, where she worked at various magazines. From 1981 to 1983, Wintour served as fashion editor of the esteemed New York Magazine. There, her stylistic choices on the pages ranged from playful paper doll cutouts to bold photoshoots of women sporting power suits.
In 1985, Wintour returned to London, where she served as the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, and in 1988, she found her way back to New York City, landing the role she has held for the past 36 years, editor-in-chief of American Vogue and the chief content officer of Condé Nast.
NAOMI SIMS
Growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood during the Civil Rights Movement, she was fueled by a goal to become “somebody really important.”
While she was separated from her sisters in childhood, she remained close with them. After high school, Sims moved to New York to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology on a scholarship while living with her older sister Betty in Brooklyn.
Sims’s modeling career lasted five years before she honed in on her entrepreneurial skills, creating a line of wigs for Black women. She later began selling cosmetics and hair products, calling her business the Naomi Sims Collection.
Sims passed away in Aug. 2009, but her impact on Black women in fashion and business will be long remembered.
It was in 1968 that Naomi Sims appeared on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal, making her one of the first African American supermodels.
Unlike many people with successful fashion careers, Sims didn’t grow up surrounded by fashion. In fact, the entrepreneur and fashion trailblazer has described her childhood as being incredibly difficult.
Sims was born the youngest of three daughters in 1948 in Oxford, Mississippi. Shortly after her birth, her parents divorced and she moved to Pittsburgh with her mother Elizabeth. When Sims was about 10 years old, her mother fell ill and placed her into the foster care system.
Written by
Shelby Emery