Intra, March 2003

Power List

The movers and shakers of the design world are increasingly likely to be female. Helen Parton looks at 31 of the industry’s most powerful women.

“Although there are more women in design these days, there are still very few who reach the top,” says academic, design critic and author Penny Sparke. “It’s still difficult to break down the gender barriers.”

So Intra thought it was time we celebrated the influence of women in the design industry today. Asking around, we received dozens of suggestions of architects, interior and product designers, retailers and academics. Among these were some more off-beat names such as Margaret Thatcher, on the grounds that “the obsession with wealth and material things that she encouraged and enabled bred an intense, renewed interest in design”, and Stella McCartney, who “has that star quality that the design world needs for its influence to spread wider”.

Sparke adds that although the balance of power is shifting, the industry still militates against women: “Design is a pretty intensive industry which is not always sympathetic to the lifestyles women have.”

Iris Dunbar, director of the Design School, London, says: ”Women are much more sensitive to keeping the client happy and getting a project off the ground that shouting about their success. But they have got to market themselves better.”

“Women in the design business in this country are a success story,” says Lorraine Statham, founder of textile company Loophouse. But, she adds: “It’s a shame that there aren’t more women in the pantheon of internationally acclaimed designers.”

Intra’s power list is intended as a celebration of women at the forefront of the design industry, women who follow in the illustrious footsteps of Eileen Gray and Lucienne Day. It is by no means exhaustive, and we welcome any comments.

Nineteenth century feminist Susan B Anthony declared in her last public address that “failure is impossible”/ Let’s hope present and future female generations take some of that fighting spirit on board. We’ll be watching this space…

Sarah Gaventa
Partner, Scarlet Projects
After an Art History degree and a year at The Boilerhouse Project, Gaventa studied for an MA in design history at the Royal College of Art/Victoria & Albert Museum but “the V&A curators’ American tan tights and their lack of human contact put me off,” she says. She worked for designers and architects including Daniel Weil and Gerard Taylor and then set up event organiser Scarlet Projects with Claire Catterall, an established design curator and fellow RCA graduate. Scarlet is currently organising a major new graphic design conference called Graphic Europe, opening in March.

Who has influenced you most?
Gavin Stamp for his passion, frankness and being one step ahead, Stephen Bayley for giving me my first job, Chris Frayling for his design showmanship (Ron Arad ditto), Deyan Sudjic for his hands-off management style and the late Clive Wainwright, a curator at the V&A, who could communicate his passion for Pugin so effectively he could convert even classicists. Oh and my mum for advising me not to learn to type too well.

The secret of your success
We really believe in what we do – and put our heart into every project. We also like to have a mix of commercial work and projects with public institutions, keeping a good balance and awareness of the needs of different sectors.