Top 10 Fashion Pieces That Changed History

Top 10 Fashion Pieces That Changed History

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most seminal pieces of clothing that shaped fashion as we know it today.

#10: Diane Von Furstenberg’s Wrap Dress

Trends may come and go but this beauty is forever. Designer Diane Von Furstenberg took inspiration from the wrap-around tops of ballet dancers and Japanese kimonos to create this effortless one-piece. The genius idea struck when she saw former U.S. president Richard Nixon’s daughter Julie on TV, speaking on Watergate wearing one of her wrap blouses with a skirt. Thus, the wrap dress was born, representing freedom, versatility, and glamor, all at once. It allowed working women to look put together and feel elegant without having to sacrifice comfort, thanks to the soft silk jersey material. Such needs haven’t changed. So, although first launched in the seventies, the wrap dress continues to be a wardrobe staple even today.

#9: The Bikini

The OG two-piece has been around since Before Christ and was worn by women in ancient Rome, as evidenced by mosaics found in Sicily. The bikini we know today, though, was popularized by Tinseltown. Before the Hays Code enforced a sanitization of cinema, musicals like “Gold Diggers of 1933” and “Flying Down to Rio” featured women in bikinis, sparking interest in these daring fits. They inadvertently became normalized when the Second World War led to the restriction of fabric used for women’s swimwear. Finally, the French made it fashionable. Dancer Micheline Bernardini modeled the swimsuit in Paris, causing a sensation. Despite sparking moral controversy worldwide, its popularity only rose when stars like Brigitte Bardot donned it, making it vogue.

#8: Christian Louboutin High Heels

The classic red bottoms are a status symbol in high society. They’re especially popular among celebrities and have found a place in uncountable braggadocious songs, including those by Madonna and Ariana Grande. These red soles were conceived in the nineties when Christian Louboutin noticed the stunning shade of crimson his assistant had been painting her nails with. In a stroke of brilliance, he decided to coat the bottom of a pair of heels in the red lacquer and instantly noticed the difference. An ordinary set of pumps had been transformed into a striking piece worth collecting. Clearly, his clients agreed, because sales skyrocketed, causing the fad of stilettos to return with full force.

#7: The Burberry Trench Coat

If there’s any fashion item that’s truly timeless, it is this one. The Burberry trench was first introduced at the dawn of the twentieth century. The brand’s founder, Thomas Burberry, had just come up with gabardine fabric. Naturally, coats made with this material were utilitarian and began to be used on expeditions to combat harsh weather conditions at the poles. Upon demand, they were customized for military use and caught on when they made their appearance on the silver screen. Humphrey Bogart wearing a trench in “Casablanca” was enough to start a trend, which found momentum when Audrey Hepburn sported a similar Mackintosh in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. With gender-neutral appeal, the trench became an irreplaceable part of modern style.

#6: The Miniskirt

The rising hemline, pioneered by rebellious young women, was once met with much brouhaha. Although short skirts were nothing new, considering they were fairly common thousands of years ago, modesty was an issue the modern world had lots of opinions on. So, when Josephine Baker showed up at the Folies Bergère in Paris wearing a rubber banana skirt, she challenged those norms. Over the next few years, short skirts became a thing of the future as they were featured in sci-fi works. It was only when American and British teenagers started cropping their skirts in the sixties that fashion houses caught on to the craze. Designers like Mary Quant and André Courrèges put miniskirts on the runway and the rest, as they say, is history.

#5: Jeans

Skinny or baggy, blue or grey – there are innumerable varieties of denim pants in the market today. According to the documentary “Riveted: The History of Jeans”, it all started with captive African people in America, who, with their knowledge of indigo, created the first iteration of blue jeans. Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis added rivets to the fabric, making the trousers ideal for working-class Americans doing manual labor. Cowboys were particularly fond of denim and those fond of cowboys – usually women – naturally romanticized the garment. Hollywood bad boys Marlon Brando and James Dean made them even cooler and soon, jeans were everywhere. Today, denim is used for tops, bottoms, jackets, dresses, and more and its popularity is showing no signs of waning.

#4: Saint Laurent's Le Smoking

YSL’s first-ever women’s tux from 1966 was for the bold and beautiful. It gets its name from a men’s suit that prevented cigar smoke from settling on one’s outfit in a smoking area. Through Le Smoking, Saint Laurent wanted to enhance its wearer’s femininity by contrasting it with the angular tux. However, it didn’t immediately stick with his clientele. So, he took the price down a notch and marketed it to a younger consumer base, who lapped it up. It wasn’t long before greater fame followed. Bianca Jagger, ex-wife of The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, paired a Le Smoking blazer with a skirt on their wedding day. Slowly but surely, the tux became a signature look for stylish women, who were unbothered by social conventions.

#3: The Chanel Tweed Jacket

Coco Chanel prioritized comfort above anything else when designing this legendary piece during the Jazz Age. She was inspired by the tweed used in Scottish workwear, which her then-lover, the Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, often wore. It was a rough fabric but Coco softened it by blending in cotton, wool, and silk. Thus, a lighter material was produced, which lent itself wonderfully to the relaxed structure of the Chanel jacket. Decades later, the item got its second wind, emerging in stark opposition to the cinched silhouette of Dior’s ‘new look’. Coco’s jackets opted for a liberating yet flattering shape, which was both refreshing and empowering. When Karl Lagerfeld took up the mantle from the Mademoiselle, the jackets evolved while maintaining their core, remaining evergreen.

#2: The Hermès Birkin Bag

This lucrative bag was born from a simple request. Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas met actress and singer Jane Birkin on a flight in the eighties, where she mused about a roomy handbag she could give up her trusty wicker basket for. Rumor has it, that the Birkin was sketched on the plane itself! Unfortunately, when the bag first came out, it didn’t make a big splash. Being name-dropped in an episode of “Sex and The City” finally got the demand going. Today, a huge part of the frenzy surrounding the Birkin is because of its exclusivity. They’re unbelievably expensive, which makes them more coveted and each piece has a waitlist. So, as long as the Birkin remains a privilege, its desirability will continue to rise.

#1: The Little Black Dress

The concept of an LBD, introduced by Chanel in the Roaring Twenties, remains an influential force in fashion to this day. It was this dress that severed the connection of black garments with mourning and gave them an invigorating, versatile twist. Over several decades, variations of this dress have been produced by almost every fashion house and it has never gone out of style. Givenchy created Audrey Hepburn’s unforgettable black dress from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and Christina Stambolian gave Princess Diana her famed revenge dress. Not just celebs but any ordinary woman could transform into a femme fatale with an LBD, thanks to its accessibility. In this case, ubiquity did not devalue the dress but uplifted it.

Which grailed luxury fashion piece is on your wishlist? Tell us in the comments down below!