Few folks can command international recognition by a single identify—Iman, born Iman Abdulmajid, is one among them. A muse of the world’s best-known designers, from Yves Saint Laurent to Gianni Versace and almost everybody in between, Iman captivated the Paris and Milan runways within the mid-Nineteen Seventies along with her unmistakable presence and poise.
That signature sense of self quickly prolonged past the catwalk, as Iman turned a fixture on crimson carpets and at main awards exhibits, sporting glowing creations from lots of the high labels she walked the runway for. Her marriage to the late David Bowie, from 1992 till his passing in 2016, stays one of the vital iconic—and trendy—unions in superstar historical past. And almost 5 a long time after her runway debut, Iman continues to be a formidable presence, leaving her mark on the worlds of entrepreneurship and activism.
Right here, relive the most effective of Iman’s singular trend sense, from the Nineteen Eighties all the best way till now.
In 1981, a fresh-faced Iman attended that yr’s Met Gala with Calvin Klein.
Even whereas comparatively new to the modeling scene in 1982, Iman had her signature model already all the way down to a science.
Individually, Bowie and Iman are trend royalty. Collectively? The couple by no means did not ship on the style entrance.
Earlier than the style women of at the moment had been busy rocking this sheer Alaïa bodysuit, Iman wore it to a 1991 premiere, after all.
Iman has all the time recognized how you can make a press release, so her model evolution actually simply goes from greatest to higher through the years. Exhibit A: This straightforward black swimsuit Iman-ified in 1991 by voluminous hair and an overload of pearls.
Exhibit B: This full head-to-toe checked look in 1995.
Nobody pulls off gala dressing like Iman.
Jean Paul Gaultier outfitted the runway star on this shimmering tangerine costume for the 1995 VH1 Fahsion & Music Awards.
Iman and Bowie even dressed up for the airport terminal.
Iman has by no means been one to stray away from coloration. For the opening of Chanel’s NYC Flagship in 1996, the mannequin will need to have made fairly the doorway on this neon ensemble.
Iman is trend royalty, so why wouldn’t she costume prefer it on the 1997 Met Gala?
Iman, in Versace, and Bowie knew their manner round a black tie costume code.
Partying prefer it’s 1999.
Iman arrived on the 2000 Met Gala in peak model—and with Naomi Campbell as her date.
Glittering from head-to-toe is how Iman does the little black costume.
The mannequin has by no means been shy about mixing patterns.
Nobody wears denim like Iman—particularly on the opening of the Louis Vuitton NYC retailer in 2004.
In recent times, Iman has traded in her daring furs and equipment for extra refined silhouettes. However as this glowing white costume (on the 2005 CFDA Awards) proved, she has no plans of mixing in anytime quickly.
And proved she nonetheless had her signature It-factor on the 2013 amfAR Inspiration Gala in New York.
The mannequin selected a trend ahead Juan Carlos Obando search for the 2014 CFDA Awards.
In 2021, Iman made her triumphant return to the Met Gala, attending the occasion for the primary time in 18 years in a jaw-dropping Harris Reed look full with a halo.
The mannequin introduced her penchant for suiting (and sparkle) to Broadway in 2025.
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