MASTERS OF FASHION VOL 39 – Renegades

Without the designers mentioned in this book, fashion would have ultimately stagnated decades ago. Renegades, no matter their talent, perspective, or unique way of life, are those who refuse to be content with the confines of which the box society deems appropriate for all. They are the dreamers, the rebels, the auteurs, without which culture would have never flourished. They push the boundaries of the box – sometimes escaping it entirely – in order to push what human beings are capable of in unique and sometimes astounding directions. In the case of broader society, renegades are men and women who revolutionised politics, science, philosophy and social values by breaking free of the status quo and enlightening others to do the same. They have protested on behalf of millions of oppressed people; created the ideas that gave birth to democracy, and revolutionised the world by refusing to accept the established order of science in favour of bold – and ultimately correct – new leaps. There is danger in acting as a renegade, to refuse the accepted rhetoric of the larger rabble in pursuit of one’s own ideals, but when renegades are capable of engaging with the wider public they can inspire society to new awakenings – and once their ideas take hold in society, there can be no going back. These fashion renegades helped shape the course of human history and popular culture.