ARAI Junichi (Textile designer)

Junichi Arai has been described as the "truly enfant terrible of Japanese textiles... a naughty boy playing with high-tech toys". His favoured toys are the jacquard loom an digital computer. The fabric illustrated here is typical of his work, which commonly uses metallic fibres and turns them into exquisite works of art destined only to be admired. The son and nephew of weavers, Arai was born in Kiryu, a historic centre for textiles. He initially worked with his father on kimono and obi cloths, which he developed, eventually acquiring three-dozen patents for new fabrics. From 1970 Arai worked experimentally and began long-standing collaborations with Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake, who would suggest phrases such as "like clouds", "like stone" or "driving rain" for Arai to magic into a representative fabric by using his idiosyncratic weaving techniques.

Also look up for Hishinuma, Isogawa, Jinteok, Kawakubo, Miyake 

APFEL Iris (Icon)

"Rare Bird", the title of the popular 2005 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition featuring Iris Apfel's couture collection, summarizes the style icon's character perfectly. The Queens (New York) native, textile entrepreneur and former Women's Wear Daily staffer has become a figure in pop culture revered for her honest intelligence and witty style. The only child of a clothing boutique owner and mirror manufacturer, Apfel possessed an affinity for fashion at an early age. Her lauded wardrobe, assembled with care over the course of her life, is a rare combination of haute couture and flea-market gems, showcasing her eclectic taste and individuality. Seen here modelling Rei Kawakubo's designs for Comme des Garçons for the cover of Dazed & Confused magazine in 2012, her irreverent personality and distinctive sense of style is ever apparent. Apfel has stated "the worst fashion faux pas is looking in the mirror and seeing somebody else".

Also look up for Blow, Cunningham, Guinness, Kawakubo, Wintour

ANTONIO (Illustrator)

Antonio's watercolour model embraces a deconstructed mannequin for Italian Vogue in 1981. This surreal element, a tradition created by Dalí, Cocteau and Bérard in the 1930s, was a theme used by Antonio throughout his career. Texan Jerry Hall was painted with Lone Star emblems and cacti growing from her Stetson, while Pat Cleveland was metamorphosed into a stiletto boot. Despite this visual play, Antonio worked from life, building sets as a photographer would. Antonio was inspired by the drawings of Boldini and Ingres, which becomes clear when looking at the fine finish on his pencil drawings. His work dominated fashion illustration for a decade, encouraging a discipline that had diminished throughout the 1950s. Antonio worked with a clique of international models and high-profile friends who converged on Paris in the 1970s. Tina Chow, Grace Jones and Paloma Picasso were regular sitters.

Also look up for Chow, Dalí, G. Jones, Khanh, Versace