12 sultans of style

From iconic designers to luxury group titans, power has never looked so good. Fortune traveled the world to photograph the men and women who personify the business of style.

The Cobbler
The Cobbler
Like the tail fins on a '57 Cadillac, the red soles of Christian Louboutin's shoes are both elegant and sensual. Since 1992, his creations (retailing at $520 and up) have inspired a cult following on runways and red carpets alike. Louboutin, who recently launched a handbag line, sells to department stores and plans to double the number of retail boutiques to 18 by 2009. Now he faces a familiar tradeoff: Expanding the brand's reach without diminishing its cachet.

Photographed in his atelier in Paris

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Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2013 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2013 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2013. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.