The Fashion Chronicles

From Eve's fig leaf to Hilary Clinton's pantsuit, the way we choose to clothe our bodies can carry layer upon layer of meaning. Across cultures and throughout history people have used clothing to signify power and status, to adorn and beautify, even to prop up or dismantle regimes.

Here, explore the best-dressed figures in history, from Cleopatra to Beyoncé, Joan of Arc to RuPaul. Some have influenced the fashion of today, while some have used their clothing to change the world. But all have a sartorial story to tell.

Entries include:

• Tutankhamun
• Boudicca
• Eleanor of Acquitane
• Genghis Khan
• King Philip II of Spain
• King Louis XIV of France
• Catherine the Great
• Marie Antoinette
• Karl Marx
• Amelia Earhart
• Josephine Baker
• Frida Kahlo
• Malcolm X
• Marsha Hunt
• Beyoncé
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• ...and many more