WomensBoots.com created a stir when it released the following list of top fashion icons of the century. Please find the ranking below followed by the media firestorm:
Inspired by fierce debate surrounding Fashion Week, the staff at www.WomensBoots.com, a leading footwear website, has compiled its list of the Top Fashion Icons of the past century. These designers, celebrities and king-makers were selected as each decade's leading fashion luminary:
1900s: Jeanne Lanvin
Lanvin made such beautiful clothes for her daughter and soon she was asked to make dresses for their mothers, some of the most famous women in Europe.
1910s: Anna and Laura Tirocchi
The Tirocchis managed to distinguish themselves from over 800 dressmakers in Providence at the time.
1920s: Coco Chanel
Her simplicity and modernist fashions debatably made her the greatest designer of the century.
1930s: Elsa Schiaparelli
Heavily influenced by Surrealists, she was a fierce competitor of Coco Chanel.
1940s: Christian Dior
His voluptuous designs reestablished Paris as the center of fashion after WWII.
1950s: Marilyn Monroe
After her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve she was a worldwide fashion and sex symbol.
1960s: Jackie Kennedy
She influenced the style in the sixties with her clean suits, A-line dresses and pillbox hat.
1970s: Valentino Garavani
Known for his glamorous and flamboyant style, he catapulted into the 70s after winning the Neiman Marcus Award, the equivalent of an Oscar in the field of fashion, in 1967.
1980s: Princess Diana
Princess Diana's style and use of the color red sparked imitation throughout high-end boutiques. She frequently wore Versace, Christian Lacroix, Ungaro and Chanel.
1990s: Anna Wintour
Since 1988 she was editor-in-chief of Vogue and revived the fashion publication. She is known for her demanding ways and support of younger designers as portrayed in the film, The Devil Wears Prada.