The Female Voice

When Claire McCardell stitched up her first denim Popover dress in 1942, she answered the sartorial prayers of American women by creating exactly what she knew they needed. In 1955, she told TIME, "I've always designed things I needed myself. It just turns out that other people need them too." Like the creations of many female designers--Miuccia Prada, Donna Karan, Vera Wang--McCardell's designs were a complete expression of herself.

Over the past century women as much as men have been the innovators in fashion, not just on the runway but also in the boardroom. Women such as Coco Chanel, Anne Klein, Norma Kamali and Vivienne Westwood have been some of the most adventurous and thoughtful players in the business. TIME has celebrated several of these great visionaries on its cover, including Elsa Schiaparelli and McCardell, as well as models like Claudia Schiffer. Our cover highlights another superstar model, Gisele Bundchen, as well as a host of women who have revolutionized fashion creatively and commercially.

Women wield enormous spending power, influencing almost 80% of all consumer decisions in America. But it's not just the Giseles and Chanels of the world who influence what we buy or the way we look. Behind the scenes, women like Margareta van den Bosch, design director of the Swedish fashion chain H&M, have a hand in the look of more than 500 million pieces of clothing a year. Wildly popular entertainers like the Olsen sisters oversee a billion-dollar business that includes fashion and beauty products.

In a season in which femininity, floral prints and a softer silhouette rule the runways, TIME salutes the female voice in fashion. --By Kate Betts