London's 1000 most influential people 2012: Style Setters, Fashion

London’s reputation as a global capital of style and design is rooted in its brilliant art schools, which continue to spawn new generations of talent. From high-end luxury to edgy street fashion, from  the coolest digital devices to the most innovative architecture, these are the dynamic leaders who help to ensure that this city is always in vogue — setting trends, not following them.
FASHION Lulu Kennedy
(Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
8 November 2012

Lulu Kennedy
Fashion East director
Affectionately known as fashion’s fairy godmother, Kennedy is behind talent initiative Fashion East, which launched the careers of the likes of Jonathan Saunders and Roksanda Ilincic. The mild-mannered fashion sleuth is also editor-at-large of Love magazine. This spring, she was awarded a MBE for her services to fashion.

Kate Moss
Model
Pushing 40 but still the most wanted supermodel in the world, she modelled an Alexander McQueen gown at the closing ceremony of the Olympics. While she no longer designs her eponymous line for Topshop, she works with handbag label Longchamp and models for Mango. Married to The Kills musician Jamie Hince and has a daughter with Jefferson Hack.

Stella McCartney
Designer
Having succeeded in her role as Team GB’s official outfitter for London 2012, it’s been a momentous year for McCartney. Along with creating four womenswear collections a year, a sportswear range and a children’s line, the designer is mother to four small children. Loved for her shrewd understanding of the wardrobe needs of a modern woman, McCartney recently added a line of affordable lingerie.

Christopher Bailey
Burberry chief creative officer
The Yorkshire-born fashion designer heads up British fashion’s only super-brand and hosts a show that is among the most spectacular on the London Fashion Week schedule. He is fascinated by cutting-edge technology and Burberry’s newly opened flagship on Regent Street features “magic mirrors” that double as video walls, as well as the biggest video screen in any store in the world, making it a true digital pioneer in retail.

Sarah Burton
Alexander McQueen designer
Thanks to the Duchess of Cambridge, who counts her as her favourite designer, the late Alexander McQueen’s camera-shy protégée is now a major household name. Originally from Macclesfield, she lives in North London and is married to photographer David Burton. Having trained at Central Saint Martins, Burton arrived at McQueen as an intern. Her most recent achievements include bringing the successful McQ label back to British soil.

Victoria Beckham
Designer
Now a serious designer in her own right, her upscale label is among the most successful to show on the New York schedule. Thanks to husband David and daughter Harper, it also has one of the best looking front rows. The brand was included in a stellar line-up of UK fashion during the Olympic closing ceremony and has expanded to include an accessory range and diffusion line entitled Victoria.

Christopher Kane
Designer
London’s most innovative designer continues to delight the fashion crowd. Since unveiling his first collection in 2007, the Saint Martins graduate from Lanarkshire has dressed the likes of Alexa Chung and Samantha Cameron. The designer, who took a feminine Frankenstein’s monster as the inspiration for his latest collection, also co-designs Versace’s Versus label with his mentor Donatella Versace.

Natalie Massenet
Net-a-Porter founder
The British Fashion Council’s newly appointed chair has received a warm welcome from the capital’s most exciting young designers, who have long sold their wares on her website. The ex-Tatler journalist launched luxury online retailer Net-a-Porter over a decade ago. Since pocketing an estimated £50 million from its sale to Richemont, US-born Massenet remains hands-on — and a proud Londoner.

Georgia May Jagger
Model
The youngest daughter of Sir Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall has racked up a number of high-profile modelling campaigns this season, including being the face of Hudson Jeans and Madonna and Lourdes’s fashion line, Material Girl. The 19-year-old appeared in the Olympics closing ceremony alongside Kate Moss et al. She has been dating model and rocker Josh McLellan, a bandmate of her brother James.

Jeremy Langmead
Mr Porter editor-in-chief
NEW ENTRY
A former Esquire editor and Evening Standard journalist, Langmead was snapped up by Natalie Massenet to run Net-A-Porter’s menswear equivalent. The site has blossomed on his watch and stocks major labels such as Burberry and Marc Jacobs. Langmead’s big innovation has been to commission content and films from top writers and snappers.

Dylan Jones
GQ editor
The don of British menswear, Jones is the chair of London’s menswear-only fashion week which launched this year. Along with a team of industry insiders, Jones has proved pivotal in enticing a host of menswear brands including Tom Ford and Alexander McQueen. Party-loving Jones worked at i-D, Arena and a number of newspapers before arriving at GQ.

Jourdan Dunn
Model
Spotted in Primark, Hammersmith, at the age of 16, Dunn is among the most successful and in-demand black models in the world. The 22-year-old made history when she appeared in the “black issue” of Italian Vogue. This year she joined Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss in the Olympic Games closing ceremony. She has a three-year-old son and lives in West London.

Phoebe Philo
Celine creative director
Where coveted fashion labels are concerned, all paths lead to Celine. Under the watchful eye of Philo — formerly in charge at Chloé — the French house has been transformed from out of date into one of the most revered on the planet. The designer, who is married to art dealer Max Wigram, gave birth to her third child this year. Flits between London and Paris.

Alex Brownsell
Salon owner and hairstylist
NEW ENTRY
The woman behind the kaleidoscopic hair trend that has occupied London’s style brigade over the past few years, Brownsell opened Bleach — a dip-dyeing specialist salon in Dalston — in 2010. Having worked on shoots for Dazed & Confused and i-D, Brownsell joined forces with WAH Nails’ Sharmadean Reid to open her first business. She recently opened a Bleach concession in Topshop.

Cara Delevingne
Model
A Burberry “face”, the 20-year-old is hot property on Planet Fashion. A regular on catwalks across the globe, Delevingne has modelled for everyone from Dolce & Gabbana to Marc Jacobs. Known for her thick eyebrows, she can now also add actress to her expansive CV, after appearing in the film adaptation of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.

Nick Knight
SHOWstudio director
The fashion snapper cum digital guru is behind the website SHOWstudio which streams fashion films and live catwalk footage. He kicked off his career with a book on skinheads and has photographed some of the biggest names in fashion. “Through the internet, you can now take a photo in 3D and end up with a sculpture,” he says.

Alexandra Shulman
British Vogue editor
Twenty years after taking the top job at British Vogue, Shulman remains a tour de force for instigating change in the fashion industry. This year she joined her Condé Nast contemporaries from across the globe in founding The Model Alliance — an initiative to protect the wellbeing of models.

Samantha Cameron
British Fashion Council adviser
The Prime Minister’s wife transformed stuffy stationer Smythson into a stylish accessory label before growing into her role on the British Fashion Council. An advocate of young British design talent, Cameron favours Christopher Kane and Roksanda Ilincic. In September she hosted a reception to welcome new BFC chair Natalie Massenet.

Boo George
Photographer
NEW ENTRY
One of the capital’s most exciting young fashion photographers, Boo George assisted Bruce Weber before going it alone. Inspired by documentary-style fashion imagery, he is a fixture in the pages of Vogue, Arena Homme Plus and V. He also works with designers such as Giles Deacon and Louis Vuitton. George was born in County Wicklow in Ireland in 1981.

Jefferson Hack
Dazed & Confused founder
Smart, deceptively languid magazine mogul and branding expert who is the creative force behind Dazed & Confused and Another Magazine. Dubbed “the coolest man in Britain”, he’s a nifty DJ when a fashion party needs rocking.

Rankin
Photographer
Twenty years after launching style title Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack, Rankin has returned to magazine publishing. His latest creation, Hunger — a magazine shot entirely by himself — is published biannually and is accompanied by an interactive website. So famous that he is known only by his surname, he has photographed Kylie, the Queen and Kate Moss.

Sir Paul Smith
Designer
An ambassador for British style, Sir Paul is loved for his sharp suits and infatuation with the androgynous look. As a teenager, injury ended his dreams of becoming a professional cyclist so he turned his hand to tailoring. This year he became the first designer to stage his catwalk show in the new Central Saint Martins building near King’s Cross.

Justine Picardie
Harper’s Bazaar editor
NEW ENTRY
The latest addition to Hearst Publishing, the newly appointed editor enjoyed a career as a novelist and fashion historian before returning to fashion magazines. Inspired by Harper’s heritage, Picardie hopes to restore the style bible’s former glory. She follows Lucy Yeomans who, in a sign of the times, left the publication to work on branded content for Net-a-Porter.

Katie Grand
Love editor
Super-stylist Grand divides her time between London, where she edits style bible Love magazine, Paris, where she works with Marc Jacobs on Louis Vuitton, and Milan, where she recently launched her first collection with leather label Hogan. The gap-toothed beauty, a champion of a youthful edgy look, is a former girlfriend of designer Giles Deacon.

Tom Chapman
Matches co-founder
Matches boutiques are hot spots for the capital’s label lovers. Chapman and his wife Ruth began selling luxury fashion from their home in Wimbledon. They now run a successful online store and have boutiques dotted around the capital. Known for her impeccable personal style, Ruth is a front-row regular on the international show circuit.

Emma Hill
Mulberry creative director
From the Alexa to Lana and, most recently, the Willow, Mulberry’s playfully named bags are lusted over. Now valued at over £600 million, the company, founded in Somerset in 1971, continues to expand. Hill’s approach to design is decidedly tongue-in-cheek. During her last London Fashion Week show, Kate Moss watched from the front row as a standard poodle took a turn on the catwalk.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Model and actress
One of Burberry’s most recognisable faces — she stars in its fragrance campaign — Huntington-Whiteley is also an actress and appeared in the last Transformers film. A favourite with lingerie stylists, the 25-year-old has appeared in underwear campaigns for both M&S and Victoria’s Secret.

Caroline Issa
Tank Magazine executive fashion director
NEW ENTRY
If it weren’t for Issa, street-style snappers would have little more to do than twiddle their thumbs during show season. The former model has made a global name for herself as walking style plate. Born in Montreal to a Chinese mother and a half-Lebanese, half-Iranian father, Issa quit finance to run Tank. She also edits online magazine Because.

Pat McGrath
Make-up artist
A regular fixture at fashion weeks around the globe, she also contributes to the likes of Vogue and W magazine. The artist credits her love of fashion to her Jamaican mother. She splits her time between London and New York.

Katie Hillier
Accessory designer
The brains behind Marc Jacobs and Victoria Beckham’s successful accessory lines, East End-based Katie Hillier is one of the fashion industry’s finest hidden talents. Her eponymous line features glittering bunnies which appear on hairbands and necklaces.

Lara Stone
Model
The Dutch blonde bombshell, aka Mrs David Walliams, is among the highest-paid models in the industry. The face of Tom Ford and Calvin Klein, Stone is loved by designers for her curves. Stone and her TV comic husband are dedicated to Bert, their border terrier.

Jonathan Saunders
Designer
His unique selling-point is his ability to create feminine clothes for real women. Since returning to London Fashion Week from New York two years ago, the designer, who has dressed Michelle Obama and Kylie, has seen his popularity soar. Trained at the Glasgow School of Art, the Scot is world renowned for his dynamic use of print and colour.

Alexa Chung
Model and British Fashion Council ambassador
A walking clothes horse with brains, Chung was scouted at the Reading Festival and has since worn the designs of Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Louis Vuitton. A regular on the global fashion circuit, the model and TV presenter splits her time between London and New York. She has written articles for British Vogue and sits on the BFC.

Jane Shepherdson
Whistles chief executive
British fashion’s best loved feminist, Shepherdson masterminded Topshop’s inexorable rise before moving on to Whistles where she is now chief executive. Acclaimed for her gimmick-free approach, Shepherdson favours a strong female workplace. This year her chain bought a major proportion of its shares back from the Icelandic bank that has supported it since the credit crunch dramas.

Suzy Menkes
International Herald Tribune fashion editor
Camera-wielding, iPhone-clutching Menkes is known for her punishing work schedule which means she attends practically every fashion show — in London, Paris and elsewhere. Always easy to spot with her trademark quiff, she has been at the IHT for nearly a quarter of a century. “I think when I’m in my bath chair I shall write my memoirs,” she once said. But there is no sign of that yet.

Henry Holland
Fashion designer
The Lancashire born-and-bred designer and TV presenter is loved for his ability to poke at the ribs of the fashion industry. A key player on the London party circuit, Holland’s circle of friends includes Alexa Chung and Kelly Osbourne. This year he presented “Styled to Rock” alongside Rihanna.

Kate Phelan
Topshop creative director
Following a year at the helm of Sir Philip Green’s fashion chain, Phelan has transformed the store’s Unique brand into one of the most coveted labels around. A former Vogue fashion director, Phelan resigned from the publication following 18 years of service. Her minimalist approach to style can already be seen on the shelves in Topshop.

Louise Wilson
Central St Martins professor
The mentor for hundreds of graduates, Wilson heads up the design course at the world’s top fashion college. Her protégés include Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane. In 2008 she was awarded an OBE for her services to fashion and now presides over a slick new campus in King’s Cross.

Stephen Jones
Milliner
Smarter than a mad hatter, Jones has been a king of headwear for more than a quarter of a century, creating masterpieces in equal parts beautiful, innovative and zany. When he’s not designing for private clients, find him sketching among the hay bales at the fashion world’s favourite festival, Port Eliot in Cornwall.

Mary Portas
TV presenter and consultant
Enlisted by David Cameron to help whip the British high street into shape, Mary “Queen of Shops” juggles roles as government adviser, TV presenter, and PR and branding expert through her agency Yellow Door. Recently launched her first eponymous fashion label and in September her civil partner fashion journalist Melanie Rickey gave birth to their first child.

Caroline Rush
British Fashion Council, chief executive
A former PR maven, Rush worked on a number of campaigns for the British Fashion Council before accepting a position on its board. Her influence on the Council has helped London Fashion Week transform into a key international player. She was instrumental in the decision to relocate the biannual event to Somerset House and in enlisting new BFC chair Natalie Massenet to join the board.

David Gandy
Model
No party is a party until the talented Mr Gandy arrives. The Essex boy turned Dolce & Gabbana model is one of the most successful male models on the planet, who has worked with Mario Testino and Steven Meisel and guest-edited ES Magazine.

Roksanda Ilincic
Designer
NEW ENTRY
A skilled designer with a shrewd understanding of the female form, Serbian-born Ilincic counts the Duchess of Cambridge and Michelle Obama among her customer base. Having travelled the world with her parents as a youngster, Ilincic began her label under Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East initiative and lives in North London with her husband Philip Bueno del Mesquita, who founded shoe brand Acupuncture.

Mario Testino
Photographer
Peruvian-born Testino has shot everyone from Princess Diana to Cameron Diaz and has Naomi Campbell on speed dial. He’s a part-time wedding photographer, provided your name is Kate Moss, and a charity campaigner — he has been honoured for his work with Save the Children and with Elton John’s Aids Foundation.

Francesca Burns
Vogue fashion editor
NEW ENTRY
A key member of Alexandra Shulman’s team at Vogue, Burns is an advocate for exciting British design. Having swapped her law degree for a course in fashion promotion at the London College of Fashion, she worked as a freelance fashion assistant before taking a job at Love magazine. Among Burns’s favourite young designers is Fashion East’s Claire Barrow, whom she found via Facebook.

Sharmadean Reid
WAH Nails founder
NEW ENTRY
Having begun her career under stylist extraordinaire Nicola Formichetti, Reid worked as a stylist and fashion editor before founding WAH Nails in 2010. Her nail emporium, which has inspired a major nail art movement in the capital, remains the leader in its field and has a concession in Topshop. Wolverhampton-born Reid lives in North London with her partner and son.

Yasmin Sewell
Creative consultant
NEW ENTRY
The real queen of shops, Yasmin Sewell moved to London from Australia two decades ago. After opening Yasmin Cho, a boutique in Soho, the impeccably turned out style plate took a job at Browns before moving on to Liberty, where she headed up the buying team. Now consultant for a whole host of major retailers, Sewell writes a blog for Vogue and is a front-row regular.

Natalia Vodianova
Model
Vodianova’s rags-to-riches story is legendary. Her meteoric rise to fame began at a poverty-stricken fruit stall in Russian. Now ranked third in Forbes’ top-earning models list, 30-year-old Vodianova is Stella McCartney’s cover girl of choice and a former face of Calvin Klein. A generous philanthropist, she has raised millions to combat child poverty in her motherland.

Sasha Wilkins
Blogger
NEW ENTRY
Under the pseudonym Liberty London Girl, Wilkins writes a blog about her life spent between London and New York which enjoys some 90,000 hits per week. No wonder brands are so keen to feature on her site. A former fashion editor, Wilkins is the founder of LLG Media which encompasses her award-winning blog Libertylondongirl.com and her social media consultancy business LLGConsults.

Nicki Bidder
Starworks managing director
NEW ENTRY
A PR extraordinaire, Bidder heads the London branch of global agency Starworks. Formerly editor-in-chief at Dazed & Confused, Bidder and her team represent a host of crucial London designers including Jonathan Saunders, Roksanda Ilincic and Peter Pilotto. The agency works tirelessly to ensure that British-made togs are snapped on celebrities across the world.

Bip Ling
Model and blogger
Striking and kooky, ex-art student and former PR Bip Ling wears many hats — as model, blogger and DJ. She’s in demand with fashion brands and, with 11,000 followers on Twitter, she has also made the cover of hip new fashion magazine Suitcase. Dubbed the trendiest thing to ever come out of Wimbledon.

Simone Rocha
Fashion designer
NEW ENTRY
John Rocha’s only daughter is British fashion’s bright young star. Having studied at Central Saint Martins, the Dublin-born 26-year-old unveiled her debut collection under Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East initiative in 2010. She went on to launch a collaboration with Topshop. At her London Fashion Week show in September, her proud father watched from the front row.

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