These days celebrities are synonymous with the world of fashion. Whether they’re a street-style trendsetter, red carpet maven or casual BFFs with models and designers, it’s almost impossible to separate the two. For some designers, these Hollywood starlets are the key to their sartorial creativity, their muse season after season. From Olivier Rousteing and the Kardashian-Jenner family to Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn, beautiful women have been inspiring designers for decades. These are some of the most iconic and memorable pairings in fashion.
Marc Jacobs and Sofia Coppola
Marc Jacobs seems to have a new muse every year—Winona Ryder, Cher, Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham—but the one women who has been a consistent influence on the designer over the years is Sofia Coppola. The actress and director met the designer when she was 18 at his 1992 Perry Ellis grunge collection show. The two have been best friends for the last 24 years, partnering together on multiple campaigns, collections and projects. She directed the film for his first fragrance, Daisy, back in 2013, collaborated with him on handbag lines, modeled in numerous campaigns, including his final ad for Louis Vuitton, and the two are regular dates at the Met Gala. He recently took to Instagram to proclaim his love for the award-winning filmmaker. “It was love at first sight for me!” he said in his post. “Not only was I attracted to how she looked, her sense of style, I was drawn to her manner. Her behavior, her life, her ambitions and creativity... She represented everything I am drawn to—talent, style, creativity, a unique ‘vision and voice’.”
Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn
One of the most iconic, and longest lasting partnerships was that of Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn. Meeting on the set of 1954’s Sabrina, the actress was taken with the fit and beauty of his pieces and was once quoted as saying, “His are the only clothes in which I am myself. He is far more than a couturier, he is a creator of personality.” Over the years the two were sartorially inseparable and he even designed entire collections around her. One of his most famous creations for Hepburn? The iconic little black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. He made her one of the best dressed in Hollywood and her support made his name synonymous with style. The two remained close friends and collaborators until she passed away in 1993.
Jean Paul Gaultier and Madonna
Jean Paul Gaultier is known for his eccentric, avant-garde designs so it only makes sense that he and Madonna would get along quite well. The two have a long history, as the designer has created costumes for her Drowned, Re-Invention, Confessions and MDNA tours, and most famously, created the iconic cone bra for the 1990 Blonde Ambition tour. The two had such a connection that the singer even walked in his Spring/Summer 1995 runway show. He was drawn to her initial style—her ability to create her own look without the help of a stylist. He told Dazed that their partnership “has been one of the most incredible collaborations of my career.”
Yves Saint Laurent and Betty Catroux
Yves Saint Laurent was known for surrounding himself with muses, so much so that the brand’s classic handbag is named Muse. Loulou de la Falaise, Betty Catroux, Laetitia Casta, Marisa Berenson, Paloma Picasso and Catherine Deneuve were all at one time or another the pinnacle of influence for the French designer. But of these women, Catroux was most closely associated with Saint Laurent and his collections. He often referred to the blonde model as his “twin sister” and her rebellious and androgynous personal style was the inspiration for many of his pieces. The two were friends for the better part of 35 years, traveling the world and even checking into rehab together. “I’m a very lucky girl, I must say, that he picked me up. Very lucky. I had a fairytale life with him. We had such a beautiful time together,” she told SFLUXE.
Olivier Rousteing and the Kardashian/Jenners
Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing has put the brand on the map in recent years with the rise of the Balmain Army, his close knit group of celebrity and supermodel friends that include major names like Taylor Swift, Gigi Hadid, Binx Walton, Rihanna and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. But undeniably the ladies leading the army are Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner. Rousteing cast Kendall and Kylie in his Fall/Winter 2015 campaign and Kim and Kanye in his Spring/Summer 2015 ad. In March, the designer even sent a Kim Kardashian-influenced collection down the Paris Fashion Week runway (which Kendall walked) noting that her curves were “an inspiration.” They even celebrate birthdays together.
Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow
For much of the ‘90s, model and magazine editor Isabella Blow and designer Alexander McQueen were inseparable as artist and muse. Credited with discovering the designer, Blow was impressed with his work from his very first show and purchased his entire Central Saint Martins graduate collection for her personal collection. Known for her Gothic and eccentric style (she wore a purple velvet robe and helmet-headdress for her wedding), Blow was a perfect inspiration for his dramatic and dark designs. Her support pushed him to be named creative director of Givenchy in 1996 and she was the one who spearheaded the Gucci buyout in 1997 during a lunch with then creative director Tom Ford. The two had a falling out after the acquisition had been completed, when she discovered there was no mention of her in the contract and no position for her within the new Alexander McQueen business. Unfortunately the two were never able to mend their broken relationship: Blow and McQueen both committed suicide in 2007 and 2010, respectively.
Karl Lagerfeld and Inès de la Fressange
Before the Chanel campaigns were filled with the likes of Lily-Rose Depp, Kristen Stewart and Diane Kruger, Karl Lagerfeld was calling Inès de la Fressange his number one muse. The model was a favorite of the designer for almost a decade in the ‘80s because she was both relatable to international women while at the same time having that French je ne sais quoi. She was the first supermodel to sign an exclusive contract with a haute couture fashion house when Lagerfeld hired her for Chanel. The two had a falling out in 1989 when De La Fressange was named the face of the Marianne, the national symbol of the French Republic. They only reconciled recently when Lagerfeld brought her back in 2010 for the Chanel Spring/Summer 2011 catwalk and campaign. “She is beyond stunning,” Lagerfeld told WWD at the time. “Also, she is the Parisienne.”
