The glitzy runway shows of Paris, Milan, London and New York attract designers, models, journalists, buyers, celebrities, wealthy clients and knock-off merchants. They are all players in a multi-billion-dollar industry. But who sits where? This first film explores the political map of fashion. It also looks at the evolution of the superstar model.

From haute couture to high street to street cred, personal identity can be bought off the peg in the form of fads, trends, looks and national styles. Tonight's film analyses the ways in which people create identity through the uniforms they choose to wear.

For these three fashion designers, cloth is the essence of the art of design. Futurist Issey Miyake makes hi-tech, innovative use of fabric; Gianni Versace , loved by film and pop stars, uses vibrant silk prints; and Christian Lacroix creates clothes out of fabric painstakingly hand-woven by former down-and-outs.