The fashion world is ramping up for its busiest time of the year. Before shows by Thom Browne and Todd Snyder in New York, or fantastical runways from Chanel and Dior in Paris, take place, there’s a litany of model fittings, steaming, and sewing to be done. And before any of that, there’s a moment, a spark of inspiration that the best designers draw upon.
While some designers’ influence is readily and intentionally identifiable (think Virgil Abloh’s “three percent rule” or Jun Takahashi’s multiple Kubrick-themed runways), others’ muses enjoy if-you-know-you-know status. Ahead of the Spring/Summer 2027 season, CULTURED turned to the designers who’ve made it on our CULT100 lists to for their deeply personal and often unconventional inspirations, from professional athletes to the Muppets.
Willy Chavarria
“William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist guides me through everything, visually and philosophically. The color, the costume, the sound—all exquisite. The story is ultimately about the fight between good and evil. I like that good wins.”
Pieter Mulier, Versace
“I am very much influenced by the street. One of my favorite things to do wherever I am is to sit outside a bar and look at people passing by. That’s also one of the reasons I love taking the train and the subway—real life, real people.”
Zac Posen, Gap and Old Navy
“Jim Henson.”
Tory Burch
“Ithaka, a poem by Constantine P. Cavafy. I reread it all the time. And Song of Myself by Walt Whitman. It reminds you that we all contain multitudes.”
Patric DiCaprio, Vaquera
“My favorite movie right now is Morvern Callar, directed by Lynne Ramsay. When I’m feeling burnt out, it’s so inspiring to discover a new work of art in whatever medium. It helps me realize there is always something more to see and feel out there.”
Bryn Taubensee, Vaquera
“The book When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön taught me to pursue experiences that make me feel scared or uncomfortable.”
Rachel Scott, Diotima and Proenza Schouler
“Whenever I feel I need grounding, or I need to return to my foundation, I always go back to Discourse on Colonialism by Aimé Césaire. It can and should be read and reread; it is always timely and urgent.”
Thom Browne
“The most inspiring people to me are professional athletes, because I know in a small way how much work it takes to get to that level. To start something and see it to actually succeeding takes endurance.”
Aurora James, Brother Vellies
“Nature and the outdoors really inspire me. Time in the wild grounds me in what I’m building with Brother Vellies—all of my designs are rooted in place and community.”
Arnaud Vaillant, Coperni
“My favorite movie of all time is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry. I don’t know why it follows me. It’s not a specific moment of my life—more a recurrence. I think there is a timeless poetry in it that I feel ‘accompanied’ by, through different steps of my life.”
Sébastien Meyer, Coperni
“Steve Jobs’s biography by Walter Isaacson. It really changed my perception of work and life in general.”
Camilla Cucinelli, Brunello Cucinelli
“I recently reread The Great Gatsby, and it got me thinking deeply about the value of emotions. Reading works like a mind booster—it pushes you to explore thoughts you wouldn’t usually dwell on.”
Claire McKinney, SC103
“Memories of odors—good and bad.”
Sophie Andes-Gascon, SC103
“Family reports from the jungle.”
Ludovic de Saint Sernin
“The book I keep referencing over and over again is Just Kids by Patti Smith. At a moment when I was questioning my identity as a young adult, reading it was a revelation to me sexually, but also in my identity as a designer and as an artist. What did I want to stand for and what would be my contribution be to the world? This book gave me purpose and gave me the courage to launch my own brand.”
Daniella Kallmeyer, Kallmeyer
“Stone Butch Blues. I read it out loud on FaceTime while I was living alone in a studio apartment during the early quarantine days of Covid. It gave me so much gratitude for my privileges as a queer woman today, and so much perspective about the importance of clothes, style, and identity in society, culture, and community.”
LaQuan Smith
“I’m obsessed with old school designers. Gianni Versace and Azzedine Alaïa and so many others who shaped what sexuality looks like in fashion and the womenswear market.”
Catherine Holstein, Khaite
“We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates.”
More of our favorite stories from CULTURED
How Cat Cohen Predicted Her Own Stroke With a Comedy Routine
Does a New Exhibition at the Tate Dim the Power of Ana Mendieta’s Legacy?
Our Food Editor on the 8 Cookbooks Everyone Should Have in Their Kitchen
15 Young Collectors Reveal How They Broke Into the Art World
We Took a Bushwick Line Cook to See ‘Tony.’ He Had Notes.
Sign up for our newsletter here to get these stories direct to your inbox.
in your life?
