Pop culture is full of tastemakers who influence everything from how we dress to what we watch, read, and listen to.
We decided to take a closer look at some the people who decide what's "cool" in America, from best-selling music artists to the creative directors behind the nation's most talked-about brands. We chose both industry heavyweights who hold serious clout and pop-culture icons whose every move makes headlines.
Read on to see who's determining your definition of "cool"— whether you realize it or not.
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Amal Clooney
International human-rights lawyer
Last year, the human-rights lawyer and international fashion icon Amal Alamuddin married longtime bachelor George Clooney in Venice, Italy. Like Kate Middleton before her, Amal has become a beacon of style and class. In April, after she purchased a mink baseball cap on a trip to New York City, the store sold out of its stock and received dozens of calls requesting the vintage hat.
People are dubbing the 37-year-old one of the best-dressed working women in the world and cataloging her every outfit, from the cream Stella McCartney pantsuit she wore to her and George’s civil service to the custom heels she favors by Italian shoe label Ennio Mecozzi.
Anna Wintour
Editor in chief, Vogue and artistic director, Condé Nast
For more than 20 years Anna Wintour has helmed Vogue, where she curates a fashion handbook for the masses. Wintour is the most watched — and possibly the most controversial — woman in high fashion with millions of readers and industry peers emulating her style and hanging on her every endorsement. Her fashion prowess earned her a position as artistic director for Condé Nast, where she oversees the company’s 18 print magazines.
We expect to see even more of the fashion icon as the 2016 presidential race heats up. She’s been a supporter of Obama in the past two elections and has already been leading the fashion world in support of Hillary Clinton.
Bridget Foley
Executive editor, Women's Wear Daily
Women’s Wear Daily is widely acknowledged as the Bible of fashion, and for good reason: It’s the go-to trade publication of the industry, providing up-to-the-minute coverage of both breaking news and trends in fashion, making it a must-read for everyone from designers to bloggers. The paper converted to a weekly earlier this year, but it is expanding its digital and international coverage