CHOO Jimmy (Shoe designer)

A white sandal with pearls is trimmed with feathers, an example of the dainty, seductive work of Jimmy Choo, who was born into a family of shoemakers and made his first pair aged eleven. Previously all Choo shoes were handmade; he has recently adapted his perfectionist craftsmanship for an additional ready-to-wear line. Choo attended London's Cordwainers Technical College with a fresh generation of cobblers, including Patrick Cox and Emma Hope. Of his style, Choo says, "There is an elegance, a femininity, maybe a sexiness". It was one that came to be favoured by the Princess of Wales, who would buy one style in several colours for eveningwear and to co-ordinate with her day suits. Choo's Malaysian roots account for his signature palette: a range of crystalline colours that includes aqua blue, fuchsia pink and bright orange. Since 1999 he has also been designing men's shoes. 

Also look up for Blahnik, Cox, Diana, Hardy, Hope

CHÉRUIT Madeleine (Designer)

Monochromes forge a vintage ambience, illuminated by porcelain skin set against dazzling sequins under transparent organza. Marion Morehouse wears a deep V neckline, then considered risqué, that runs to a beltless waist, indicating the move away from the curvaceous prewar silhouette to a relaxed contour. Trained in the 1880s at the couture house Raudnitz, Chéruit was a Parisian designer who, like Lelong and Louise Boulanger, transformed high fashion into the reality of ready-to-wear. She refined the excessiveness of couture for her aristocratic Parisian clientele, who favoured her richly ornamented dresses. Fascinated by the effect of light on fabric, she worked with taffeta, lamé and gauze. With Chanel's move towards simple fashions in the 1920s, her opulent taste lost appeal. She retired in 1923, but her design house continued until 1935 when Schiaparelli famously took over her premises. 

Also look up for Bally, Boulanger, Lelong, Morehouse

CHARLES Caroline (Designer)

In an early design, Caroline Charles uses a chequerboard pattern jacket, worn with long socks. During the 1960s, Charles also worked as a broadcaster and journalist but she stayed with fashion. "Does it fit? Is it useful? Does it create the feeling that someone wants to get close to you?" These practical questions are considered for every piece of Caroline Charles clothing. Charles recalls wanting to be a dress designer from an early age. After graduating from Swindon Art School, she headed to London, which was in full 1960s swing. Following a spell at Mary Quant, she launched her own collection in 1963. Charles's occasion _ and eveningwear were an instant hit with the entertainment trendsetters of the day, including Cilla Black and Barbra Streisand. However, it has been her knack of creating very British clothes _ and, latterly, accessories and interiors _ that has allowed her career to span three decades. 

Also look up for Courrèges, Foale & Tuffin, Quant 

CHANEL Gabrielle (Coco) (Designer)

Coco Chanel is strolling in the Tuileries in Paris, a short distance from the rue Cambon where she lived and had her maison de couture, which she closed in 1939 and re-opened in 1954. She is wearing all the hallmarks of her signature style: suit, blouse, pearl jeweled, scarf, hat, gloves and handbag with gilt chains. She was a perfectionist, and the way she gestures to Alexander Liberman with her right arm manifests one of her fixations _ a comfortable arm movement. She would rip off the sleeves of her suit time again to achieve a perfect fit. The basic idea for her suits came from the concept of military uniforms. As the mistress of the Duke of Westminster, she had taken many trips on his yacht where the crew wore uniforms. The essence of her style was rooted in a masculine model of power, a direction that has dominated twentieth-century fashion.

Also look up for Cocteau, Dalí, Lagerfeld, Liberman, Parker, Di Verdura

CHALAYAN Hussein (Designer)

Moulded from a fiberglass and resin composite, the hard shell of the "Remote Control Dress" opens to reveal a contrasting mass of soft tulle. Operated by a boy on the catwalk with a radio control, this playful counterpoint speaks of the relationship between technology and nature, and our attempts to use one to control the other. Highly inventive collections and conceptual projects have become Hussein Chalayan's trademark since his debut collection in 1994, with pieces including furniture that transforms into garments and a dress made of 200 lasers. Chalayan is celebrated for the complex, almost architectural rigour of his pattern-cutting, which results in structured geometric designs. Coming to prominence in the 1990s, Chalayan was one of a generation of designers, including Alexander McQueen, responsible for the cutting-edge style associated with London's cultural boom in that decade. 

Also look up for Berardi, Cardin, Kawakubo, McQueen, Pugh, Y. Yamamoto

CERRUTI Nino (Designer)

Jack Nicholson wears loose linen separates by Cerruti in the film The Witches of Eastwick (1987). "Fashion, ultimately, is a way of describing the world we live in", says Cerruti, a philosophy that applies itself not only to the world of fashion but also to film _ he has designed costumes for over sixty movies. Cerruti initially studied philosophy and wanted to become a writer, but in 1950 he took over the family textile business in northern Italy. His launch of a menswear range, Hitman, in 1957 was the start of the company's transformation into a luxury label. A women's ready-to-wear collection followed in 1977. Epitomizing the aspirational dressing of the 1980s, the Cerruti label was used in films such as Wall Street (1987). In the 1990s, Cerruti's womenswear enjoyed a period of success while it was designed by Narciso Rodriguez, who introduced contemporary themes such as transparent, embroidered fabrics worn with precise tailoring. 

Also look up for Armani, Von Etzdorf, Gucci, Rodriguez

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS (School)

London's increasingly sophisticated reputation within the fashion industry in recent decades is thanks in no small part to the ferocious training ground that is the CSM fashion department, formed in 1989 when the Central School of Art and Design merged with Saint Martins School of Art. The MA course (under the direction of the highly demanding and formidably straight-talking Louise Wilson since 1992) has garnered a prestigious reputation. Maintaining strong ties with industry power players and an impressive graduate show at London Fashion Week, the fashion department encourages original vision, tempered with an understanding of the tough realities of the modern business. As a result, CSM graduates are some of the most recognizable names in the industry; internationally celebrated alumni include John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Christopher Kane. 

Also look up for Parsons The New School for Design, Royal Academy of Fine Arts