Tom Ford -- Getty Images

The Time magazine list of the 100 most influential people in the world is out and guess what: there’s only ONE fashion person on it: Tom Ford.

Guess the industry isn’t nearly as important as it thinks it is.

Except…except. It kind of depends how you define “fashion.” Many of the other electees, for example, are influential partly because of what they wear: Michelle Obama, for example; Kate Middelton; Blake Lively.

Michelle Obama -- Getty Images

Arguably, their “influence” has as much to do with their ability to communicate via style as anything else, especially in the latter two cases (what else do we know of Ms Middleton, after all? Google her, and it’s all about her recent shopping spree and how she will wear her hair on her wedding day.)

Unfortunately, however, Time isn’t talking about why they picked the people they picked; instead, each listing is accompanied by a hagiography authored by a friend.

Kate Middleton -- Getty Images

For example, Tom Ford is lauded by actress Rita Wilson for his manners and his tendency to wear a three-piece suit during filming, as opposed to the fact that when he relaunched his womens’ wear line he did it under the aegis of a fight against the internet-inspired fashion tide towards all-access to clothes and shows. This decision to go against the grain was presumably the reason for his inclusion in the Time list, though I’m not convinced this has sparked “dialogue and dissent and sometimes even revolution” (all that Time will say about its criteria).