With today’s news that Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts has become the highest paid person in the UK, we delve into the world of big paychecks and low public profiles. Just who are the women in fashion who make the big-money decisions that eventually end up in our wardrobes? You may not see them outside the business pages, but they’re ruling the rails and making a fortune while they’re at it… 

Angela Ahrendts - Burberry

Burberry Chief Executive Angela Ahrendts is hitting the headlines today, as it’s emerged that her earnings at the luxury label make her the highest-paid person in corporate Britain. The first woman to ever hit the top spot, and only the third woman to make it on to the FTSE 100 list, the American CEO was paid £16.9 million last year, which includes her bonus, benefits and shares. Before her position at Burberry, Ahrendts was previously President of Donna Karan International, and was executive vice president of Liz Claiborne International prior to that.

Delphine Arnault - Dior

Deputy general manager at Christian Dior, Director at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, newly appointed board member of 21^st Century Fox and daughter of France’s wealthiest man, Delphine Arnault’s CV is as impressive as her family heritage. Though it would be easy to ascribe the 37-year-old’s success to nepotism, in reality Delphine’s hard graft and strict attention to detail has transformed the house of Dior in recent years, making Arnault very hot property indeed.

Maureen Chiquet - Chanel

St Louis native Maureen Chiquet dreamed of living in Paris and working in the luxury business when she was growing up. Now as the Global CEO of Chanel, she’s pretty much nailed it. The chic 50 year old showed her business mettle previously at companies such as Old Navy and Banana Republic, but her leadership at Chanel through the years of recession will be her longstanding legacy. Prioritising the brand’s exclusivity above all else, Chiquet’s approach at Chanel is, "Let's not be thinking about how big we can make this, but how exclusive and special we can keep it"

Sara Blakely - Spanx

The world’s youngest female self-made billionaire, Sara Blakely is the woman responsible for the eradication of the VPL and the muffin top, thanks to her invention of Spanx. Women all over the world are indebted to the genius of the Florida native, who at age 29 invested her life savings ($5000) in her foundling company. Within 6 months of selling them out of her apartment in Atlanta, Oprah Winfrey named Spanx her product of the year, and they have now become the indispensable underpinnings of womankind.

Rosalia Mera - Zara

The wealthiest self-made woman on the planet, Rosalia Mera is co-founder of Inditex, best known for its high street label Zara. Mera dropped out of school aged 11 to work as a seamstress, and began designing gowns and lingerie in the 80s before founding Inditex with her then-husband Amancia Ortega, the world’s third richest man. She controls a 5.1% share in the $20.56 billion company.