What are the oldest fashion brands? A timeline of fashion history through its most famous names

Last Thursday, Gucci celebrated its 100 years from its foundation, celebrating the anniversary with a new collection and the epic Aria show. One hundred years is a long time for a brand, having overcome them always remaining on top of its game is certainly a demonstration of the strength of its heritage and, of course, Gucci is not the only large fashion house to have passed the century. Indeed, if we wanted to group brands according to the year and decade of birth, we could see, through the chronology, the evolution of fashion and the concept of luxury over the last hundred years. The most traditional luxury brands, in fact, are all grouped at the beginning while, as we proceed towards the present, you can observe the birth, often contemporary, of the different currents and aesthetics of fashion in different points of the globe. A perfect example would be 1985, the year of grace in which both Tommy Hilfiger and Ann Demeleumeester and Dolce & Gabbana were born. But let's proceed in order.

The classics of luxury: 1818-1925

The Belgian wave of the 1980s grew with Dries Van Noten and Martin Margiela, while, back in 1992, Alexander McQueen founded his brand in London and Nigo and Jun Takahashi opened A Bathing Ape and Undercover respectively in '93, in Tokyo. '94 marked the debut of both Rick Owens and Supreme, the following year Raf Simons and the following year still sees the birth of Chrome Hearts – an important moment that marked the expansion of the concept of fashion and luxury outside the classic fashion circles, the brand was in fact based in Los Angeles, largely artisanal and did not produce seasonal collections. Stella McCartney opened the 2000s with her pioneering idea of sustainable fashion, which needed another twenty years to enter the mainstream, while in 2006 the Olsen twins created, with The Row, one of the first luxury brands for millennials; three years later the social phenomenon of Jacquemus began silently while, starting in 2012, Off-White, 1017 Alyx 9SM and Casablanca – recently become the new protagonists of Paris Fashion Week – were born.