Phoebe Philo and Natalie Massenet named on Time mag’s 100 most influential people list

Phoebe Philo is of course, the creative director of Céline. Lauded for her work reviving the fortunes of the classic French brand, she is also credited with kickstarting a wider trend for minimalism from her first collection for the label, a trend which ran through until her ‘maximalist’ experiments in her critically lauded Spring-Summer 2014 show. The British designer had previously headed up another Parisian luxury brand, Chloé. Philo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to fashion in the 2014 New Year Honours list.

Philo’s friend and former Chloé colleague Stella McCartney has written a piece for the magazine on the Céline designer, who was included in the Icons section. “When people invest in her work, they have it for life,” says McCartney, explaining her friend and rival’s appeal.

Massenet, who features in the Pioneers section, is an equally giant name in the fashion world. The American entrepreneur is the founder of online luxury retailer Net-a-Porter, a global fashion e-tail empire which now includes The Outnet and Mr Porter.

J. Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons has penned an accompanying article for Massenet; “she saw a world where people would pay $2,000 for a pair of jeans, a world where you can buy what you covet, where the magazine pages meet the FedEx man. You want it? You can have it. Click here.”

The list features figures from diverse domains including entertainment, science, technology sports, politics, religion, education, health and activism.

Time Magazine’s annual list’s 2014 edition is set to hit newsstands tomorrow.