Top 10 Most Influential Designers of 2012 (so far!)

For all the agony and ecstasy that marked the fall show season, leave it to Phoebe Philo at Céline to prove there are quieter ways to create buzz. Heavily pregnant with  her third child, Céline’s designer asked management for—and received—permission to conduct a mini-presentation instead of facing the stress of a full-scale show. While critics saw it as some kind of feminist statement (the show, after all, fell just a few days shy of International Women’s Day)—and a fashion first  in the name of family—it was purely in keeping with Philo’s ongoing determination to do things her way. The thirtysomething Londoner’s much-vaunted brand of minimalism has always stood in cool contrast to the frippery and over-the-top showmanship that dominated fashion for so long. Having lived through a decade of both corporate debacles and watching elders crash and burn, Philo is now the chic flag-bearer of a new type of designer: one who refuses to be freaked out by pressure. But above all, she stands for a new wave of normalcy that puts pragmatism firmly back on the fashion agenda.