‘It-Girl’. A term that has no meaning, and a very specific meaning at the same time. It-Girls forge fashion trends, fill the pages of gossip mags and generally fascinate us as aspirational figures.

Seemingly tailor-made for our celebrity-obsessed times, the term ‘It-Girl’ was actually coined in the 1920s by American screenwriter Elinor Glyn, in reference to the actress and sex symbol Clara Bow who starred in the romantic comedy It. But it was the 1960s that really forged the era of the It-Girl as we know her today: a new breed of female celebrity, who quickly develops both fame and the ability to influence the cultural zeitgeist.

While American It-Girls like Jacqueline Bouvier, Edie Sedgewick, Madonna Ciccone and the late Farrah Fawcett all helped to steer specific international fashion trends in the past, these European counterparts have had a similarly significant impact on women’s fashion, on the continent and beyond.

Defining the style of the Sixties

Twiggy & Mary Quant

No two It-Girls defined London’s Swinging Sixties as much as Twiggy, the ingénue model, and Mary Quant, the designer who dressed her.

The ultimate fashion legacy of the 1960s is undoubtedly the miniskirt. Hemlines in fashion had begun to rise towards the end of the 1950s, and although she isn’t credited with its initial design, Many Quant created the term “miniskirt” – named after the Mini, her favourite make of car – and popularized the risqué look through her designs, and her hip London boutique Bazaar.

Setting the high fashion mod agenda in the early 1960s by creating pop- art influenced garments and coloured and patterned stockings, Quant’s signature looks had no better medium to present them to the world than being worn by the supermodel Twiggy.

Perhaps the most iconic It-Girl of all, Lesley Hornby became the doe-eyed sensation of Swinging London as Twiggy, courtesy of a defining Vidal Sassoon pageboy hairstyle and her wide-eyed non-conventional beauty.

Representing the changing ideals of beauty, from the super-feminine curvy bombshell of the 1950s, to androgynous, slimline Mod, Twiggy was officially named London’s “The Face of ’66” and remained a fashion and style icon for much of the rest of the decade.

Style impact: Short hairstyles with sharp asymmetric cuts. Ultra-mini miniskirts, bold graphic patterns, swing shift dresses, and flat shoes. A makeup palette of pale foundation, brown eyeshadow, white or pale lipstick and false eyelashes,

Marianne Faithfull & Jane Birkin

Rock and roll style

To pigeonhole Marianne Faithfull  & Jane Birkin as “rock & roll girlfriends” does both a serious disservice, despite both of them coming to the public’s attention via their high-profile musician boyfriends, Mick Jagger and Serge Gainsbourg respectively.

A singer and songwriter since her teens, London-born Faithfull gained notoriety during her drug-fuelled relationship with Jagger in the latter 1960s. After ditching both the Rolling Stone and a raging drug habit, she reemerged in the 1970s as a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter in her own right. Her early style is synonymous with long straightened hair, floppy hats, fur coats and knee high boots, so it came as little surprise when she called her former friend Kate Moss out for being a style ‘vampire’ and co-opting her look.

Statuesque model and actress Jane Birkin, who first appeared in the controversial 1966 film Blowup, became a household name in 1969 via the sexually explicit love anthem “Je t’aime… moi non plus”, recorded with her lover Serge Gainsbourg. Although the song encouraged free love and was released at the height of the hippy-led sexual revolution, there was nary a hint of daisies or flares in Birkin’s casually elegant style.

She regularly donned scarves, layers, hot pants, simple minidresses and her trademark wicker basket for an effortlessly Parisian chic look. If in no other way, her style credentials were confirmed in 1984 when luxury fashion brand Hermes created the ‘Birkin’ line of totes in her honour.

Style impact: Long centre-parted hair, floppy hats, boho scarves, fur coats, knee-high suede boots, hot pants, minidresses and anything to show off the legs.

The Teutonic trendsetters

Christiane F. & Nico

Two unconventional beauties from Germany whose rebellion and drug use cast them as unlikely fashion icons are Christiane F. and Nico

The iconic Teutonic ice queen image of Velvet Underground’s Nico remains unaffected, despite a long and tragic descent into heroin addiction that plagued the last 20 years of her life. A former model, who was an integral part of Andy Warhol’s Factory before revealing her singing talents with The Velvet Underground, Nico’s thick fringed curtain of hair and masculine suits only serving to showcase her beauty more. Known for her chic monochromatic style, Nico represented a more sophisticated style in the early 70s, of deep block colours, turtlenecks, classic trenches and tailoring.

In the case of Christiane, her tales of teenage drug use and prostitution, led to a notorious newspaper exposé, a popular book of memoirs, and a cult film in her name. In real life Christiane was an unlikely fashion icon with a spiky femme-punk image conveyed through interviews, photos and a brief musical career. Most enduring however is her 1981 film likeness, portrayed by then 14-year old actress Natja Brunckhorst. In the film version of her life, the vulnerable Christiane runs through West Berlin with long, centre-parted henna-red hair, glossy lips, skinny jeans, stiletto ankle boots and a bomber jackets, an indelible style image that was a precursor to the hipster heroin chic period of the 1990s.

Style impact: The film version of Christiane F popularised a younger take on the glam-rock look with faded skinny denim and ankle boots. Nico represented a more mature, rock-chic silhouette with the shoulder pads and men’s style pantsuits.

Princess Diana & Stephanie of Monaco

Royal style icons

Two European princesses who helped to set the international fashion agenda of the 1980s and 1990s were the late Princess Diana and Princess Stephanie of Monaco.

In the socially divided Britain of the Thatcher era, a well-bred but unsophisticated kindergarten teacher sealed her fate as the most famous woman in the world when she was courted by her future husband, Prince Charles. Diana Spencer’s early style came under media scrutiny and criticism for its maturity and lack of glitz, but before she evolved into the tanned and athletic glamazon in sequins, shoulder pads and tiaras that we all know, Diana’s conservative style had its own unique appeal.

Eschewing power-suit style, Diana’s look was a youthful take on the ‘horsey set’, replete with frilly necked and pussy-bowed blouses, houndstooth, pearls, tortoiseshell sunglasses, v-neck knits and the eponymous short, feathered ‘Lady Di’ hairstyle.

Infamously called  “my wild child” by her late mother Grace Kelly, Princess Stephanie Grimaldi of Monaco became a figure of intense international interest after surviving the car crash that killed her mother in 1982.

Flitting between careers as a model, designer, and pop singer in the 80s and 1990s, Stephanie set herself apart from her classic and regal-looking sister Caroline, with a Mediterranean twist on classic sportswear. Outdoorsy and athletic, Stephanie’s staple looks of Calvin Klein-esque basics like monochromatic shifts and tanks showcased her tanned limbs and cleavage, which she would cover up with blazers, fitted jeans basic t-shirts and turtlenecks for more official occasions, always with slicked back hair.

Style impact: Diana’s early image made a fashion impact with  of pastels, demure blouses pearls, tweed, riding boots and tortoiseshell sunglasses. Princess Stephanie clean lines and sportwear favoured a classic American Hilfiger look with demin, clean lines and sportswear.