Ayn Rand is pictured here in front of the Grand Central Terminal in New York City in 1962. “When she came to Hollywood, people remarked that she had no style whatsoever,” says Anne C. Heller, the author of the forthcoming biography Ayn Rand and the World She Made.
New York Times Co. / Getty Images
Rand testified in 1947 before the House Un-American Affairs committee about Hollywood movies that inaccurately portrayed life in the USSR. The movies Mission to Moscow and Song of Russia, Rand declared, gave an unfairly rosy picture of life in her native Soviet Union. Rand's decadent and sometimes strange sartorial choices at these hearings may have been her silent protest.
Leonard McCombe, Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images
Gary Cooper starred as Howard Roark in the 1949 film adaptation of The Fountainhead. Rand fought with director King Vidor and demanded that a speech from her novel be recreated verbatim for the movie. She won that battle, and the monologue runs for nearly six minutes.
Everett
Although Rand worked for three years in the RKO fashion department, she was actively disinterested in fashion. But in the 1980s, when “greed is good” became the governing ethos, her ideas can be seen in artful, extravagant clothing like these sculpted coats from Pierre Cardin’s 1980 fall collection.
AFP / Getty Images
Structured shoulders were in vogue at the Valentino show in Rome in 1984—and they’re back again this fall, thanks to trend-setting collections from Marc Jacobs, Balmain and others.
Sambucetti Massimo / AP Photo
Here, a model wears a tailored woman's suit from the Spring and Summer 1986 collection of Yves Saint Laurent in Paris. Although designers didn’t credit Rand as an explicit influence, the looks embodied her glorification of self-empowered individuals.
Pierre Gleizes / AP Photo
Rand is Ralph Lauren’s favorite writer (along with Ernest Hemingway) – and it shows. Models strutted down the catwalk in Gordon Gekko-style suits during his Spring 1996 collection..
Richard Drew / AP Photo
The Passion of Ayn Rand was one of two movies based on Rand's life. Helen Mirren, who portrayed Rand, won an Emmy Award for her performance in the 1999 independent film. The movie focuses on an affair Rand had with psychologist Nathaniel Branden, who built an institute to help spread Rand's ideas.
Showtime Networks Inc. / Everett; Frank Micelotta / Getty Images
Kimberly Ovitz, a popular LA-based designer, discovered Rand's literature three years ago. Influenced by her readings, Ovitz says that those ideals that attract her to Rand have translated into her designs. The Virtue of Selfishness is her favorite.
Mark Von Holden / Getty Images
Designers Shipley & Halmos recommend Rand for creatives types. The design duo named their fall collection "The Individual," featuring pieces for the self-empowered and determined, and sent their models down a zig-zagged runway.y.
Neilson Barnard / Getty Images; Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images; Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
Ralph Lauren presented his spring 2010 collection this fall at New York City's Fashion Week. The pieces, tailored suits and romantically draped dresses, could have come straight from the wardrobe closet for the forthcoming film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged.
Richard Drew / AP Photo; Fernanda Calfat / Getty Images for IMG (2)
