How Gloria Vanderbilt Turned Denim into a Designer Offering and a

By A Mystery Man Writer

Gloria Vanderbilt was an “intrepid heiress, artist, designer, and romantic, who began her extraordinary life as the ‘poor little rich girl’ of the Great Depression,” thanks to her starring role in a salacious custody battle between her mother and her aunt. Having survived family tragedy, multiple marriages, and a few divorces, the Associated Press reports, she died Monday at the age of 95. More than merely a designer known for her wildly popular – and still enduring – denim collection, Ms. Vanderbilt has been tied to the rise of design denim, a trend that got its roots back in the 1970s and ’80s, and for which she was a pioneer.