Avant-garde

Balenciaga

Balenciaga is a Spanish luxury fashion house founded in San Sebastián in 1919 and established in Paris in 1937. Its foundational innovation lay in radical silhouette transformation—broadening shoulders, removing waists, introducing tunic and chemise dresses, and culminating in the kimono-cut Empire line. This constituted its most important contribution: a new silhouette for women. To protect design integrity, Balenciaga shifted press showings to the day before retail delivery in 1957, defying industry norms and resisting both press expectations and the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne, of which he was never a member.

Colette (boutique)

Marc Jacobs

Martin Margiela

Maison Martin Margiela is a fashion house founded in 1988 in Paris through a collaborative venture with Jenny Meirens. Its debut show took place in fall 1989 at a derelict playground in a North African neighborhood on the outskirts of Paris. The show used an uneven runway and intentionally stumbling models to create a shocking public spectacle. The debut collection rejected contemporaneous extravagance in favour of ripped sleeves, frayed hems, and clumpy shoes. Local children hand-drew invitations in school art classes and sat in the front row to honour the community. The label’s trademark is a cloth badge numbered 0–23, attached with four small white tack stitches, exposed externally on unlined garments. Margiela consistently remained backstage and declined to take a bow after shows, distinguishing himself from peers. From 1988 onward, Margiela refused all formal interviews and photographic appearances.

Pierre Cardin

Schiaparelli (fashion house)

Walter Van Beirendonck

Dover Street Market

Ann Demeulemeester

Kansai Yamamoto

Maison Margiela

Paco Rabanne

Thierry Mugler

Comme des Garçons

Comme des Garçons is a Japanese fashion label founded by Rei Kawakubo in Tokyo in 1969. It is anti-fashion, austere, sometimes deconstructed—and deliberately rejects consensus notions of beauty, history, and fit.