Tina Chow

Given how enduring her influence has been, it's surprising to realize Tina Chow was never a mainstream beauty. Half Japanese, half German-American, she started modeling as a teen (and did so sporadically her entire life), but it wasn't until she moved to New York in the early seventies and became a Warhol-circle regular that her personal style gelled. Chow loved fashion and wore it with élan. She amassed a legendary collection of vintage clothing and counted Manolo Blahnik and Antonio Lopez among her closest friends. But it was her innate skill at pared-down elegance that still entrances: sleek, clipped hair, minimal makeup, a daily uniform of white T-shirts, black Kenzo trousers, and maybe one of her bamboo-wrapped crystal jewels. Proof that, as Yves Saint Laurent said, "fashion fades; style is eternal."