AVEDON Richard (Photographer)

Penelope Tree is suspended in space, frozen in a joyful leap by Richard Avedon. It is an image that epitomizes the motion and emotion Avedon introduced into fashion photography, resisting the prevailing tradition of static poses. Instead he preferred the mood of street reality; a woman glimpsed on a busy pavement or the unexpectedness of his famous "Dovima With Elephants". Influenced by photographer Martin Munkácsi, who explored the principle of the fashion figure in motion, Avedon established his images of dancing and swinging frenzy, which have retained their freshness to this day. Avedon joined Harper's Bazaar in 1945, moving to Vogue in 1965. He never deserted fashion but, through his keen political convictions and intense interest in subcultures, Avedon became a photographer in service to a vision larger than fashion per se. His work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 2002. 

Also look up for D. Bailey, Brodovitch, Dovima, Moss, Parker, Tree, Ungaro  

AUDIBET Marc (Designer)

This design is entirely about "stretch". There are no hooks, no eyes, no buttons and no zippers. It is a seamless, asymmetrical creation that clings to the body, following the lines of the model's figure. Audibet is both a fashion designer and a industrial designer, and is celebrated in the fashion world for his research into sketch fabrics. His expertise was acquired working as an assistant for Emanuel Ungaro and then as a designer for Pierre Balmain, Madame Grès and Nino Cerruti. An admirer of the work of Madame Vionnet and Claire McCardell, Audibet believes that fashion is a matter of anatomy and that innovation starts with fabrics. In 1987 he became textile adviser to the fabric and fibre company DuPont and together they created and launched single _and two-way stretch fabrics made from DuPont's "Lycra"_ the most important development in fashion in the 1980s. 

Also look up for Alaïa, Bruce, Godley, Grès, Ungaro, Zoran 

ASHLEY Laura (Designer)

A Victorian-inspired, white cotton dress worn under a floral pinafore sums up the mood of romantic rural idyll that made Laura Ashley a household name. She once said that she designed for women who wanted to look "sweet": "I sensed that most people wanted to raise families, have gardens and live as nicely as they can. "She used puffed sleeves, sprig prints, pin-tucking, lace trims and high collars to make romantic references to a pastoral lifestyle, which in reality was a hard one for most. In a way that only fashion can, the look reinvented history and enabled women to dress for a role. It precipitated a movement known as "milkmaidism". In 1953, Ashley and husband Bernard began silk-screen printing textiles by hand in a small workshop in Pimlico, making table mats and napkins. In 1968 they opened their first shop, selling the basic Laura Ashley dress for £5. By the 1970s, it had become a symbol of femininity.

Also look up for Ettedgui, Fratini, Kenzo, Liberty

ASCHER Zika (Textile designer)

In the long tradition of artists turning fabric designers, such as Dufy and Cocteau, the unmistakable sketches of Henry Moore are applied to silk by Zika Ascher. This design, which combines screen printing with batik painting, was selected for use by Nina Ricci. When Vogue asked in 1962, "Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? The fabric or the fashion?", it could have had Ascher in mind. His innovative approach to fabrics revolutionized fashion from the 1940s. He started his own production company and silk-screen print works in London in 1942. In 1948 he approached artists such as Moore and Henri Matisse to design prints. His own inventive approach to textiles acted as a catalyst for fashion designers of that time: in 1952 his highly original large-scale floral prints were used by Dior and Schiaparelli, and in 1957 his shaggy mohair inspired Castillo to create huge enveloping coats.

Also look up for Castillo, Etro, Pucci, Ricci, Schiaparelli

ARNOLD Eve (Photographer)

Eve Arnold's camera captured the gold beaded skullcap, glossed lips and lacquered nails of a model backstage at a Lanvin show in 1977. Arnold rarely used studios; relying instead on natural light and her hand-held Nikon. Her work was always respectful and sympathetic to its subject, background details were never an afterthought _Arnold insisted, "You have to take advantage of the variables. It might be the smile, the gesture, the light. None of which you can predict". She took pictures of black women modelling in Harlem fashion shows in 1948 and continued the project for two years, until Picture Post published her story. As a result, she was offered a job as the first female stringer for the Magnum Photos agency. A long friendship with Marilyn Monroe produced some of her best-known images. But Arnold's work covered a broad spectrum_ "everything from serious disaster to Hollywood hoop-la".

Also look up for Lanvin, Lapidus, L. Miller, Stern

ARMANI Giorgio (Designer)

A man and a woman wear the hallmarks of a great modernist: tailoring that trades stiff formality for assured relaxation. Giorgio Armani laid the groundwork for the easy, minimalist working uniform od emancipated 1980s women and blazed the trail for designers such as Calvin Klein and Donna Karan. His menswear was equally mould-breaking: taking the stuffing and stiffness out of the suit, he made the laid-back style of southern Europe coveted around the world. Armani was assistant to Nino Cerruti before starting his own business in 1973. His name came to the fore when he dressed Richard Gere for the film American Gigolo (1980). Every scene was choreographed to work for Armani's clothes, prompting Gere to ask, "Who's acting in this scene, me or the jacket?" In 2005 Armani made his debut in haute couture with his Giorgio Armani Privé collection. The same year the Guggenheim Museum, New York, dedicated an exhibition to him. 

Also look up for Abboud, Cerruti, Dominguez, Klein, Prada, Valentino

ARDEN Elizabeth (Cosmetics creator)

In one of Baron de Meyer's famous advertisements for Elizabeth Arden, a model resembling a figure from a Modigliani painting wears the Arden face. The name behind one of the century's greatest cosmetic houses was inspired by Tennyson's poem "Enoch Arden" and a love of the name Elizabeth. Her real name was Florence Nightingale Graham and she worked as a beauty treatment girl for Eleanor Adair in New York where, in 1910, she opened her own salon on Fifth Avenue with her signature red door. One of the first gurus to encourage exercise, she opened a spa and health retreat in Maine in 1934, and was passionate about horses. Arden developed a range of make-up for Hollywood that would not melt under the lights and was later used by women when they were out dancing. In 1935 she launched the legendary Eight Hour Cream, which remains to this day a cult beauty product.

Also look up for Bourjois, C. James, De Meyer, Revson, Uemura