From International Women’s Day to Mothering Sunday, the month of March positions women and their achievements at the forefront of the public consciousness.
Sloane Street, home to some of the world’s most iconic brands, has the privilege of showcasing designs of the fashion industry’s most inspirational and visionary female creative directors.
These women are entrepreneurs living at the forefront of luxury fashion and also wives and mothers.
Miuccia Prada – CEO and Creative Director of Prada
Listed by Time Magazine as one of the ‘100 Most Influential People of the 20th century’, Miuccia Prada, executive director and co-CEO of Prada, hardly needs an introduction. She revitalized her family’s luxury leather goods company, founded in 1913 by her grandfather, into a billion-pound-business, and is now one of the highest-paid women in fashion.
The 64-year-old is the leader of neoclassical design, known for her sense of irony, intellect and feminist beliefs, campaigning for women’s rights at university, and today designing clothes that assert a bold femininity. Her latest SS14 collection is no exception, featuring colourful female-face motifs, sure to become this season’s must-have when it hits the Prada Sloane Street store later this month.
Miuccia’s love of aesthetics pervades her beautiful designs as well as the stores that house them. The Prada store on Sloane Street is a superior example; welcoming clients into a space of unparalleled elegance and luxury.
Frida Giannini – Creative Director of Gucci
If succeeding Tom Ford, wasn’t challenge enough, the creative director of Gucci, Frida Giannini, welcomed her first child just two weeks after presenting the AW13 collection in Milan.
Born in Rome in 1972, Frida ascended the fashion industry ladder, gaining creative control of Gucci in 2004 when Ford left to join Louis Vuitton. Giannini is known for her creativity – not only when it comes to fashion design – but also the implementation of strategic campaigns, exemplified by choosing James Franco as the brand’s ambassador and spokesperson.
Honoured by UNICEF for her charitable contributions, through projects such as Rihanna’s Tattoo Heart bag range that raised money for children in need, Giannini is an inspiring example of a businesswomen and mother.
Fitting then, that Giannini designs clothes that ooze female empowerment and glamour. Gucci’s latest AW14 show during Milan fashion week featured a mix of simple A-line dresses, sassy snakeskin boots, shimmering sequin details and rough leather skirts. These pieces will be featured at Gucci’s stunning London flagship Sloane Street store this coming autumn.
Consuelo Castiglioni – Founder and Creative Director of Marni
It takes courage and endless determination to launch a fashion label, particularly if you have little training in design as was the case with founder of Marni, Consuelo Castiglioni. She launched the luxury brand in 1994, aiming to design quirky, unpredictable and playful clothes for the adventurous and sophisticated woman.
Part Chilean, but born in the Swiss-Italian town of Lugano, Castiglioni has made Marni one of the most successful Italian luxury brands today, engaging her whole family in the business. Her husband Gianni is the CEO of Marni Group, while her daughter Carolina leads the brand’s Internet strategy. For Consuelo, the roles of ‘mother’, ‘businesswoman’ and ‘wife’ live within the same sphere; as the family collaboratively lead the direction; a beacon for patrons of fashion looking to flawlessly unite art and elegance.
Marni is renowned for its visual design of unconventional prints and patterns, graphic cuts, and eclectic mix of materials, a feast for the eyes as showcased in the windows of the Marni Sloane Street Store.
