7 Style Icons that INSPIRE Fashion Thinking
Rock, cinema, and fashion
Text by: Karlyne Manrique
Since we are little, we are inspired by various influences and figures, and with this we begin to build our personality as we grow up. Multiple situations and people inspire us along our life path, profession, or simply in shaping our appearance, taking from them what we feel matches who we are or who we want to be.
There are endless lists shared in magazines and digital media about the style icons we should follow; but without a doubt, each person has their own list of fashion icons we admire and that we continue to build over the years.
Rock and cinema have always been a major influence in my life since my early years, influencing the way I dress in different ways, with inspirations that do not distinguish gender and range from Simon Gallup, bassist of The Cure, to Stevie Nicks; from Lydia Lunch to the Gallagher brothers; and from Isabelle Adjani in the film Subway (1985) to Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones and Keith Moon of The Who. Black and basics have always been part of my style, which is sober and not very extravagant, and is accentuated through brocade textures, velvet, lace, satin, patent leather, and red lipstick.
Here, I share those who have been a great inspiration to me over the years; and maybe, you too can find in one of them a style muse:
Chrissie Hynde
Singer and guitarist of the group The Pretenders, her style is classic rock from the 70s and 80s and is defined by slogan t-shirts, black leather pants, and denim. Her appearance belongs to the purest and simplest rock and roll, which influenced me during my college years, when I copied her hairstyle with short, black, messy hair, minimal makeup, and eyes outlined in black.
Her all-black outfit with a blue denim jacket that she wears in the video for the song Back on the Chain Gang from 1982 was my uniform during those university years. Chrissie represents the essence of rock & roll and its aesthetic made up of simple garments and styling that draw meaning from each piece and the personality of the wearer.
Alexa Chung
If you’re a millennial, Alexa Chung surely influenced the way you dressed during the first decade of the 2000s, as she was one of the alternative fashion icons of that decade.
Hunter rain boots, flats, messy hair, leather jacket, black tights, smoky eyes, and pale lips were the base of Alexa’s style. She perfectly blended the classic with the underground; and at that moment when she inspired Alex Turner’s songs from Arctic Monkeys, we all wanted to be Alexa Chung on the weekend nights.
Julia Restoin Roitfeld
The daughter of former fashion editor Carine Roitfeld has been my compass of inspiration since I discovered her more than a decade ago. Her hyper-simple style is true to her French heritage and consists mainly of black garments such as blazers, sexy dresses, and classic-cut pieces that she combines with accents, without overdoing accessories, makeup, or turning to extravagance.
She reinvents herself purely through her own style in every stage of her life, even now during her years of maturity and motherhood.
Juliette Gréco
Gréco, the muse of existentialism, was a French actress and singer who was associated with important figures such as writers Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, and who was also known for her intense romance with musician Miles Davis.
Gréco is recognized for her music and her deep voice, but also for her style—both with a strong Parisian, dramatic, and bohemian touch. Juliette’s style was simple but recognizable and unmatched. She mainly dressed in black with long dark hair and short bangs framing her face, made up with heavy black eyeliner on her eyes. Her dress was simple, but always full of mystery and personality.
Anna Karina
As a fan of Jean-Luc Godard’s 60s cinema, Anna Karina became an influence for me; though sometimes imperceptible, she’s always present, and it was with her that I fell in love with red tights long before they became a trend in late 2023.
Anna Karina, who today is already appreciated by many but who more than a decade ago was just a cult muse for lovers of European cinema, has much to offer in terms of aesthetics. Her image during those years consisted of typical 60s garments, which, through styling and personality, she gave a unique aura: knee-length skirts, button-up blouses, striped prints, and trench coats that, without making complicated combinations, now become legendary in every frame of films like Made in USA, Pierrot Le Fou, Alphaville, Vivre Sa Vie, and Une femme est une femme.
Carine Roitfeld
From the first time I saw her, I was captivated by the style of this former editor of Vogue Paris, both in her editorials for the magazine and in her personal appearance, which combines Parisian essence with refined sensuality.
Carine is known for wearing iconic pieces from the best designers, mainly in black, accompanied by stiletto heels, pencil skirts, and loose, tousled hair. She is the symbol of a woman who does not lose her essence with age and who maintains her powerful presence, conveyed through her clothing even as years go by.
Christine Centenera
Editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia and co-founder of Wardrobe.NYC, Christine is one of the best-dressed fashion personalities—and one few talk about. She often resorts to black and classic tailoring pieces, transformed through experimental cuts and innovative footwear designs. Although she plays with avant-garde and different cuts and shoes, she does so without losing elegance and without overdesigning, adding a distinctive touch in a very intentional way.
These 7 women show us that being a style and fashion icon is not always linked to excess or blindly following today’s overwhelming trends, but rather to developing a personal style through taste, personality, affinity, culture, and profession.
