Inspired By: Friends
Alexander McQueen possessed an unrivaled imagination, finding inspiration in subjects as varied as Alien, Charles Darwin and Harry Potter. But in an interview with Lane Crawford, his successor, Sarah Burton, revealed that the late designer had an unlikely design inspiration: Joey Tribbiani. "I remember him saying to me, 'I watched Friends last night, did you see the shirt that Joey was wearing?” she said. "But then, he would get a Van Eyck book out, so it was this kind of mad mix…He had this way of making you look at everything for inspiration."
Michael Ansell, Warner Bros. / Getty Images; Michel Euler / AP Photo
Inspired By: Love Boat
Growing up in the suburbs of Paris, Jean Paul Gaultier became fascinated by television and film. His pop culture obsession climaxed in spring 2000, when the designer presented an entire collection shamelessly inspired by The Love Boat. The nautical theme has grown to represent the designer, who admits on his website, "My collections always have sailor stripes." Along with, of course, "corsets and tattoos."
ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images; Thomas Coex, AFP / Newscom
Inspired By: The Recession
In perhaps one of the loosest designer-muse associations to date, Dutch duo Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren said their fantastical Spring 2010 collection was a nod to the recession. "With the credit crunch and everybody cutting back," Snoeren told Style.com, "we decided to cut tulle ball gowns."
Getty Images; Karl Prouse, Catwalking / Getty Images
Inspired By: Mexico's "Day of the Dead"
It's unsurprising that Manish Arora's fashion-forward fans include the likes of Nicki Minaj and Kanye West. Case in point: the Indian designer's fall 2011 presentation included enough kaleidoscopic patterns and corset boning to cure the color-blind. The New York Times lauded the spectacle, which also featured skull-like prints: "When there was wild embellishment, it tended to be of the craft variety."
Inspired By: The Muppets
Though it was Lady Gaga who brought the French couturier's affinity for Kermit and Co. to the mainstream, Castelbajac has been sending stuffed creations down the Parisian catwalk for decades. In 1989, he created and sold winter coats festooned with 38 identical bouncing bears. "To me, it's a dream coat, with roots in my childhood emotions and memories," he told People of the eccentric design.
Getty Images; Nathalie Lagneau, Catwalking / Getty Images
Inspired By: Pac-Man
As if the helmet-heads weren't literal enough, Giles Deacon dotted his Spring 2009 runway with yellow pellets in homage to the arcade classic. "I was just looking at the graphic designers of the late eighties and early nineties who I grew up admiring," the British designer explained of the theme. "What they did was ridiculously simple but incredibly graphic."
Richard Drew / AP Photo; Zuma / Newscom
Inspired By: Metropolis
After acquiring a full set of stills from the 1927 sci-fi classic Metropolis, Karl Lagerfeld offered up a Fall 2011 couture collection for Chanel filled with tweeds and taffeta to flatter a robot's curves. That same year, the sometimes-photographer reinterpreted the medium in a cover story for Vogue Germany in which he heavily featured a metallic corset by Thierry Mugler.
Universal History Archive / Getty Images; WireImage / Getty Images
Inspired By: Charlie Chaplin
Before he was embroiled in scandal and fired from Dior, John Galliano found a quiet muse in the Charlie Chaplin classic, The Little Tramp. His Spring 2011 menswear collection featured a series of strung-out Chaplins who progressed from the obvious to the androgynous.
AP Photo; Francois Guillot, AFP / Getty Images
Inspired By: Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham's ruined wealth defines Great Expectations – but also serves as a surprising muse to Marchesa’s design duo known for cupcake confections. "I was watching David Lean’s [1946 version] of Great Expectations,” Georgina Chapman told The Daily Beast of the Fall 2011 collection. "It is so visually decadent and beautiful … I came in and told Keren the next day: ‘We have to do that.’”
Everett Collection; Catwalking / Getty Images
