From the Wrap Dress to Grunge

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Byline: Robin Givhan

Fashion designers pick their most iconic contributions to American culture.

Grunge. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's wedding gown. The wrap dress. All inventions that changed the fashion industry and resonated throughout the culture.

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Council of Fashion Designers of America decided to commemorate as many of those iconic trends as possible. So the CFDA asked its members--everyone from industry veterans to relative newcomers--to assess their impact on style for a new book and accompanying exhibition. (Deceased members were appraised by a selection committee.)

The result was a bit like a therapy session conducted in the language of straight pins and …