Celebrities' Impact On The Fashion World

By Alexia Gonzalez on May 11, 2015

These days, celebrities seem to serve as prominent figures in all facets of society, playing major roles outside of their own industry. Our generation looks up to celebrities as role models for everything from political standing, relationship advice, and most of all as a source of fashion inspiration.

Shockingly, celebrities were not always revered in such a way. Back in Hollywood’s golden age, this admiration for superstars was always held to an untouchable distance. Celebrity was a regal and glamorized status that was only synonymous with film, television, and music.

We can most likely attribute this nearness to the celebrity as a result of accessibility on social media or the constant coverage that they receive through media exposure. In our present world, celebrity presence has seeped into our daily lives and affects everything from lifestyle choices to the clothes that we wear. Today, the role of actor, designer, model, and pop star all go hand in hand.

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Fashion knows that celebrity sells, perhaps even more than sex. Even the editor-in-chief of the world’s most sophisticated fashion magazine, Anna Wintour, cashed in on the double whammy, putting Kim Kardashian, who’s an A-list celebrity with a sex tape, on the cover of Vogue.

This relationship between fashion and celebrity has always been reciprocal. Ever since Audrey Hepburn became friends with Hubert de Givenchy, turning the label into the most desired fashion house of the 1950s to today, both sides have learned how to promote one another.

It wasn’t until the 1990s however, that celebrities began to conquer the fashion industry. It was at this time that they began popping up all over Parisian runways (even modeling the clothes themselves), modeling for major fashion campaigns, and even collaborating with designers and brands (or starting up brands of their own).

Check out the evolution of celebrity roles in the fashion industry since the ‘90s.

1991: Model Super Stars

Designer Gianni Versace took advantage of the supermodel allure when he casted the fab four model powerhouse consisting of Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and Christy Turlington, to walk the runway and appear in his ad campaigns.

These four were the “it-girls” of the fashion industry in the ’90s and were able to transcend all forms of media as a result of their beauty and personality. After infiltrating Versace’s catwalk, they landed million dollar contracts with fashion’s biggest labels and appeared in films and popular music videos like George Michael’s “Freedom 90.”

1995: Madonna Hits the Runway

This decade was the peak of Madonna’s success and rendered her a hot commodity in the fashion industry. In 1995 she walked the runway for her friend and famed designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. During Madonna’s controversial act, she simply pushed a stroller with a puppy inside down the runway, and was received with applause in admiration for the designer.

All that the pop star had to do was walk down the runway for three minutes, and Gaultier became a household name. This collaboration paved the way for the superstar presence on the fashion runway.

1995: Uma Thurman at The Oscars

Around the same time as Madonna’s fashion extravaganza, Uma Thurman wears an ethereal lavender-colored gown crafted by Prada to the 67th Academy Awards. Not only was Thurman considered to be the belle of the ball, she was also one of the first to bring high fashion from the runways of Milan to Hollywood’s red carpet.

1998: Vogue Puts Oprah on the Cover

U.S. Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour was a major catalyst in the intertwining of the celebrity and fashion world. Wintour shook the industry to its core, by reimagining the magazine cover with a familiar face in place of the typical stick thin model.

By placing Oprah Winfrey on the cover of Vogue in 1998, Wintour reached the mainstream woman and revived an acceptance of healthy bodies compared to the emaciated teenage girl typically depicted in her magazine.

2003: Gwen Goes Glam

Around the time celebrities realized just how well they could move products, Gwen Stefani launched her own clothing line. The No Doubt star founded her fashion line L.A.M.B. (Love. Angel. Music. Baby) in 2003, which did not receive much attention until her spring/summer 2007 runway show at New York Fashion Week.

Stefani’s serious approach to fashion was well-received and promotion was easy: she repeatedly dropped the brand’s name in songs like “Wind It Up,” “Harajuku Girls,” and “Crash.”

2011: Kate Middleton Chooses McQueen

In 2011, Europe experienced a fashion spectacle of royal proportions. It was that year that Kate Middleton walked through the chapel doors of the Westminster Abbey Cathedral in a custom-made Alexander McQueen dress.

Designer Alexander McQueen had taken his life the year before the wedding, leaving his right-hand woman Sarah Burton at the helm of the brand. Middleton’s decision to wear the custom gown reaffirmed the opulent power of the McQueen fashion house even after the designer’s passing.

2013: Rap Couture 

Designer Tom Ford has always had a loyal fashion following, but it wasn’t until rapper Jay Z devoted a song to the designer that his namesake reached mainstream notoriety. The lyrics might have compared wearing Ford’s clothing to taking ecstasy, but the designer found it flattering.

In return, Ford’s fall/winter 2014 collection paid homage to Jay Z’s song with graphic and sequin jerseys. At the same time, Drake debuted his song “Versace,” which played as the soundtrack for Versace’s runway Milan show.

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