Diane von Furstenberg’s wrap dress. Illustration: Michael Kirkham

Diane von Furstenberg: the wrap dress

Forty-four years later, I have to say that my favourite thing I have ever designed is the little wrap dress I created in Italy in my early 20s. I did not think it was special at the time but somehow something magical happened – tens of millions of women wrapped themselves in it and felt confident. It became a cultural symbol of liberation and empowerment for women. At this point I think the wrap dress created me and not the other way around.

Donatella Versace: the Tribute bag

Donatella Versace’s Tribute bag. Illustration: Michael Kirkham

I first designed the Tribute bag with Gianni in 1992 and reinterpreted it for my Tribute collection because I think it represents what Versace stands for today: timeless elegance with a modern, daring attitude. Right now I have an obsession with this bag, which features leather straps and golden Medusa medallions. I still remember how the references to bondage culture were looked at with raised eyebrows, but Gianni and I always loved to go against taboos and break the rules.

I remade the bag not just as a tribute to Gianni, but as my way to tell younger generations a story. I realised that a lot of people were curious to know more about the Versace history; by reimagining pieces like this now, I am building a bridge between Versace’s heritage and its present. As with everything Versace, it is about empowering women, making them feel confident to express who they are and using fashion as a weapon to achieve their goals.

Victoria Beckham’s dove grey dress. Illustration: Michael Kirkham

Victoria Beckham: the dove grey dress

Recently, my brand has become more about wardrobing pieces, but dresses are still at the core of all my collections. For me, this is one of the best. It was part of my SS14 collection, the season that marked five years as a brand. I was really playing with my signature silhouette; the dresses were a little more flirty and playful. That whole collection felt slightly sporty, but this dress in particular was still sexy. I think it has stood the test of time. The dove grey colour still feels really fresh and modern, and it fits so well to the body.

It’s tricky to say what wider impact this dress has had, but I hope my journey into fashion – which includes this dress – has inspired others. I was really new to the industry 10 years ago, and in hindsight was probably a little naive, but I wasn’t trying to prove anything to anyone but myself – I hope that’s inspiring to others, especially those who are dreaming of a career in design.

Jeremy Scott: the Tuxedo Tandem jacket

Scott’s Tuxedo Tandem jacket. Illustration: Michael Kirkham

This January, for the AW18 Moschino menswear, I revisited something I did in my student show, which was the Tuxedo Tandem jacket. It’s a man’s tuxedo and a woman’s tuxedo, and they have tails and they merge into one so it becomes a tandem. Originally, I made it and sewed it myself, but of course I never got it to look exactly the way I wanted it to look, as I had to do it on my own. As good as I became at being able to sew and put a garment together and make patterns, my talent lies in the creation of the idea.

I had always wanted to bring it back and have its perfect moment, and I felt like I had that moment for the show in January; to do it in a way that was exactly how I imagined it to be. That was a nice feeling and it was something very special. Even though I brought it to Moschino, it was created in the same year I celebrated my 20th anniversary as a designer – there’s something cyclical about that.

Giorgio Armani: the velvet jacket

Armani’s velvet jacket. Illustration: Michael Kirkham

Velvet has been used by Italian tailors for years and has always fascinated me. In the late 70s, I started to experiment, looking for new silhouettes and using fabrics in unusual ways. My focus was on a new type of jacket – one that was lighter, more unstructured and explored the idea of deconstruction and softer, more relaxed tailored clothing. I do believe this contributed to a small revolution in fashion design. It was at that time that I showed how versatile velvet could be, using it in men’s clothing.

Velvet has a unique way of capturing the light, reflecting and absorbing it. It is trans-seasonal, too, because it can be made from silk, or cotton, or technical fabrics, thus resulting in different weights and qualities. Furthermore it is peculiar because though it is a refined fabric, it is also relaxed and casual. It has become a staple of the Armani women’s wardrobe, too, and defined the essence of the Armani aesthetic: elegance and comfort combined. It has been a cornerstone of my design since the beginning.

Illustration by Michael Kirkham. Illustration: Heart Agency

Howell’s unlined jacket. Illustration: Michael Kirkham

Margaret Howell: the unlined jacket

Iproduced this jacket in the mid-70s. It was made by one of my shirt machinists and broke all the rules of tailoring construction. I had memories of stone-coloured rayon jackets that an older generation of man would wear on his summer holidays and I wanted to emulate the floppiness but I didn’t like the limp feel of the manmade fibre. Instead, I had recently discovered an Irish linen that would give life to my jacket, creasing naturally and becoming soft with wear. It sold just as well to women as it did to men. I don’t think of my designs as fashion in the usual sense of the word, but I am fond of some of my early pieces that I now can see clearly reflect a consistency of my design values.

Tommy Hilfiger: the Rolling Stones’ leather jacket

Tommy Hilfiger’s Rolling Stones’ leather jacket. Illustration: Michael Kirkham

I will always love the cool, rebellious style that inspired me to become a designer in the 70s. I was obsessed with the fashion worn by music legends such as the Doors and the Who, and wanted to design clothes for them. One of my favourite pieces is a leather jacket with the Rolling Stones’ iconic tongue hand-painted on the back. It celebrates our official apparel sponsorship of their Exhibitionism international exhibition.

Becoming a designer has allowed me to collaborate with incredible rock legends that I always loved, like the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Lenny Kravitz. Working with pop culture icons continues to be an important part of our brand DNA. It creates a unique connection with fashion, adding surprising twists to our incredible collections.

Olivier Rousteing’s Fabergé inspired dress for Balmain. Illustration: Michael Kirkham

Olivier Rousteing: the embellished dress

I think my favourite piece is look four from my AW12 Balmain collection which was inspired by Fabergé. This dress has been really important for me, as it was about bringing French couture back to Balmain. It took three months to make because I was reintroducing techniques traditionally used for furniture. My atelier was not expecting to be asked to mount a dress in the same way that they would mount a chair, but it was interesting for them to see me, a 24-year-old boy, remodernising the clothes. I found it an emotional experience. With that collection, you can identify who I am and what I love – craftsmanship, maximalism, old French couture and Paris, the city of light, which, like the collection, shines a lot.

It also opened up the world of French luxury to a younger generation and the world of hip-hop, which loved it. That dress was worn by Kim Kardashian to her bachelorette party and quickly became the most photographed dress for Balmain. It is currently the dress Kim stands in in Madame Tussauds in London.

Vivienne Westwood: the tartan kilt

Vivienne Westwood’s tartan kilts. Illustration: Michael Kirkham

For me it’s not about favourite pieces, it’s more about favourite fabrics, and as I am English it is impossible for me to ignore British culture in my designs. The kilt, for example, is a wonderful garment on its own, although tartans in general are absolutely brilliant. Tartan looks wonderful with everything and tartan with tartan also looks great. It’s a heroic image: the kilt flying and the idea of climbing mountains in this garb with the wind blowing behind you. They have all got stories, these fabrics. The ones I use are often very British: English flannel and barathea wool, Irish linen and Scottish tartan. These fabrics benefit from classic British manufacturing techniques, as represented by Savile Row tradition. However, there are other influences in my work. In particular, I strongly believe that modern fashion results from the fusion of English tailoring techniques and the French couture tradition.