European Fashion Designers

Stella McCartney

Stella was on born September 13, 1971 in London, England. She learned her trade at St Martins College of Art & Design. She was almost instantly successful, with her graduation collection being sported at the graduation show by supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. The show made front-page news, and the entire collection was sold to Tokio, a London boutique.
In 1997 McCartney was appointed chief designer at Paris fashion house Chloe, following in the footsteps of Karl Lagerfeld. Her designs enjoyed considerable commercial success. In 2001 she resigned from the house in order to enter into an eponymous joint venture with the Gucci Group. In 2003 she expanded her brand into perfume.
Stella is the daughter of former Beatle Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney. Some in the press have suggested that McCartney's meteoric rise through the fashion industry was partly helped by her having famous parents.
She is married and has one kid.

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel
(AKA Coco Chanel)

Coco Chanel was born August 19, 1883 and died January 10, 1971. She was a pioneering French couturier whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her arguably the most important figure in the history of 20th-century fashion design.

Popularly known as Coco Chanel or "Mademoiselle" by her inner circle, she was born in the small city of Saumur, France in 1883, although she said she was born in 1893, in Auvergne. Two of her most famous creations are Chanel No. 5 perfume, launched in 1923, and the influential Chanel suit,or the an elegant suit comprising a knee-length skirt and trim, boxy jacket, traditionally made of woven wool with black trim and gold buttons.

Donatella Versace

Donatella was born May 2, 1955 in Italy. Like her brother Gianni Versace she is a fashion designer and now oversees Versace. In the 1970s she began designing knitwear in Florence while studying Italian literature. Following her graduation, she shared a flat with her brother in Milan.

Before the murder of her brother Gianni (in July of 1997), Donatella and Santo Versace maintained secondary jobs in his fashion house. However, after the death of Gianni, Donatella took over the running of her brother’s business.