As London Fashion Week (19-23 February) continues, it shines a spotlight on Britain’s world-famous creative industries, with fashion far and away the biggest of them all. The Fashion Roundtable report estimates it’s worth around £60 billion annually to the British economy, and employs tens of thousands of people.
British designers like Dame Zandra Rhodes and Stella McCartney are global icons, and a strong, diverse future is assured by young stars like Grace Wales Bonner, the first Black female creative director of menswear at Hermès, and award-winning Priya Ahluwalia, whose collections fuse her Indian-Nigerian heritage and London roots.
1. Stella McCartney CBE – designer
Her dad Paul, was one of the Beatles; her mother, Linda, was an acclaimed photographer; no wonder Stella McCartney, 54, jokingly referred to herself as ‘one of the first nepo babies’. But over 30 years on from her graduate show, Stella is still innovating and remains committed to environmental work.
‘Designing doesn’t feed my soul,’ she admits. ‘It does creatively, but for me, I really find it rewarding to save the planet.’ Stella’s 2026 ‘Come Together’ cruelty-free collection includes materials like vegan feathers and carbon-capturing denim.
At a time when London Fashion Week is tightening sustainability guidelines, her long-standing commitment to ethical luxury is more relevant than ever.
2) Twiggy – modelling legend
Dame Lesley Lawson, better known as Twiggy, was the face of the Swinging Sixties – and even appeared alongside David Bowie on the cover of his 1973 album Pin-ups. Designers adored her gamine style, and she modelled for Mary Quant and Biba, as well as gracing countless magazine covers.
At 76, she still looks incredible, rocking a sleek black suit for her appearance at Burberry in LFW 2025. ‘Back in my day,’ she recalled, ‘it was so snobby that if you were a photographic model, you didn’t do the catwalk.’
3) Dame Zandra Rhodes – designer
She has dressed royals and rock stars, but Zandra, 85, is a legend in her own right, with one of the most distinctive looks in fashion.
A textile designer and printmaker, her fabulous fabrics and bright colours add to the tailored drama of her garments. Freddie Mercury’s 1974 white pleated satin cape was an onstage triumph.
‘I feel honoured to have been part of the whole Queen experience,’ says Zandra, who founded the London Fashion and Textile Museum in 2003. In an era of embracing bold colour and expressive dressing, her fearless maximalism is strikingly current. ‘
4) The Princess of Wales – Style icon
Princess Catherine, 44, emerged as a style queen after becoming a public figure. She has always showcased British designers – not least Sarah Burton, who created her triumphant Alexander McQueen wedding dress in lace and organza.
Now back to public duties after announcing her remission from 2024’s cancer diagnosis, Kate continues to dazzle on every occasion, from her blue Roksanda dress at Wimbledon 2025, to November’s Cenotaph outfit, where she recycled a 2022 Catherine Walker coat. While Kate is a fan of Jenny Packham and Emilia Wickstead, she’s also a big supporter of the high street, and regularly spotted in Jigsaw, Boden and M&S
5) Katharine Hamnett – designer and campaigner
For more than 40 years, campaigner, environmentalist, and fashion designer Katherine Hamnett, 78, has been at the forefront of fashion’s conscience with her slogan T-shirts like ‘Choose life’ and ‘Save the bees’. She was the first to urge sustainability in fashion. ‘Back then, manufacturers would ask, why should we produce organic cotton since you’re the only one asking for it?’ she recalls.
In 1984, Katherine met Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Downing Street. She wore one of her own T-shirts with the anti-nuclear slogan ‘58% don’t want Pershing’. With fashion brands now under pressure to prove their ethical credentials, her activism feels prophetic – and her early calls for accountability are now echoed across the industry.
6) Betty Jackson CBE – designer
Betty Jackson, 76, has a long history of outstanding contributions to fashion, combining bold prints and textures with classic cuts and pared-back elegance. With many consumers swapping fast fashion for longer-lasting, timeless tailoring, her influence continues to be relevant.
She launched her first collection in 1981; Edina and Patsy sported many of her designs in Ab Fab, and she was one of the founders of Autograph at M&S. Famed for her use of art imagery, she admits, ‘I’ve always been inspired by fine artists, and secretly I’m very jealous of them!’
7) Naomi Campbell – model
Streatham-born Naomi Campbell, 55, was one of the original 1990s supermodels, but her first major booking was back in 1986, when she walked for Jasper Conran at London Fashion Week. ‘It was a big thing,’ she recalls. ‘I was in total awe to be in that show. Thank you, Jasper.’
Since then, she has modelled for everyone from Yves Saint Laurent to Alexander McQueen. She became a mother to a daughter and son, now aged four and two, and last year Naomi led the stunning finale at Richard Quinn’s LFW show.
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8) Lady Victoria Beckham – designer
As a former Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham, 51, knew she’d struggle to be taken seriously as a designer. Her brand launched in 2008 but ran up large debts until the recent success of her make-up and accessories turned its fortunes around, with last year’s glittering Paris show featured in a Netflix documentary. ‘It’s taken so long to get to this point,’ Victoria says. ‘I’m not going to let it slip through my fingers.’
