1. Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent gained popularity in the world of fashion due to his creativity in redesigning masculine clothing into beautiful, feminine pieces for women. Yves was the first designer to introduce ‘power dressing’ for women in the form of trendy, high fashion power suits in 1966.
He is credited with designing the men’s smoking jacket, and goes down in history for his legendary ‘ready to wear’ fashion clothing, a fresh concept during his time.
2. Giorgio Armani
The outstanding Italian fashion designer, Giorgio Armani, is truly a living legend. He established the fashion power house, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was announced as the most successful designer from Italy.
Successful is an understatement for Giorgio Armani, earning an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a personal fortune of $7 billion as of 2012. Armani is the first ever designer to ban models who had a Body Mass Index under 18, revolutionizing the fashion industry and transforming how the industry thinks about body image.
He is famous for the clean, tailored lines of his menswear collections.
3. Coco Chanel
Born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, “Coco” was a fabulous French fashion designer and founder of the well known Chanel brand. Her belief in practical design, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important and influential figure in 20th-century fashion. Coco Chanel was the only fashion designer to be named on the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.
4. Donatella Versace
After the murder of Gianni Versace in 1997, his younger sister Donatella Versace took the reigns and took the Versace name to new heights and enormous fame.
She ensured that Versace stores and boutiques would cater to different fashion centers around the world, particularly Milan and New York. Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Madonna have endorsed the company’s fabulous collection of clothing, accessories, fragrances and home furnishings.
5. Allegra Versace
The niece of legendary designer Gianni Versace. She was born in Italy and has an estimated net worth of $800 million dollars. Allegra Versace received 50% of the Versace design empire after her uncle’s murder in 1997.
6. Donna Karan
The renowned fashion designer launched Seven Easy Pieces with her first collection in 1984, transforming the way women dressed and thought about style. Donna Karan’s understanding of the needs and desires of the modern woman is conveyed through every piece.
7. Christian Dior
Debuted in 1947, the iconic French designer suits and dresses revolutionized the way women dress and considered fashion following World War II. The house made headlines in July of 2016, naming Maria Grazia Chiuri as the first ever female artistic director in Dior’s seven decades of male leadership.
In two short years, she has already made an incredible impact on the fashion house, using the runway as a platform to spread messages of women empowerment, feminism, and the arts.
8. Calvin Klein
Born in 1942, the Bronx native studied fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, before apprenticing for a designer for a coat and suit manufacturer in the New York garment district. Calvin Klein has dominated the fashion world as a top house for over 75 years.
When he established his company in 1968, he transformed style in an age where hippie-style clothing was all the rage. His timeless aesthetic is portrayed in his collections, emphasizing classic modernity with simple yet trendy and fashionable pieces.
9. Tom Ford
Tom Ford has served as creative director for both Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, before creating his own fabulous label.
He is one the most famous contemporary designers, creating high fashion, high end accessories and clothing that we can’t get enough of.
He originally wanted to become an actor, but fate had other ‘designs’ for him. The icon’s popularity reached its peak in 2000, when he won the award for Best International Designer.
10. Marc Jacobs
The New York designer Marc Jacobs has taken the fashion world by a storm with his bold, high fashion pieces worn by Lady Gaga, Cara Delevingne, Kate Moss, and Dakota Fanning, just to name a few.
Since he established his successful label in 1986, Marc Jacobs has never gone out of style, continuing to impress fashion lovers across the globe.
11. Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen was highly regarded in the fashion industry, recognized for his iconic sense of style and extravagant, extraordinary design.
He perfected his tailoring skills at reputable names such as Anderson & Shepherd, Barmans & Nathans and Romeo Gigli before launching his own brand in 1992.
McQueen took his own life in 2010, shocking the fashion world and beyond. The Alexander McQueen label designed Kate Middleton’s wedding gown in 2011, praised across the globe for its beautiful craftsmanship.
12. Valentino Garavani
Valentino Garavani was Born in Italy in 1932. He started his own line in Rome in 1959, after working for impressive houses like Dessus and Laroche.
Valentino studied fashion design at a young age, training in Paris in 1950.
The Italian maestro dressed influential women such as Jacqueline Kennedy, and goes down in history for his signature fabric shade, Valentino Red.
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13. Stella McCartney
Born and raised in London as well as the English countryside, Stella McCartney graduated from Central St. Martins in 1995 and two years later had already debuted two collections, and was appointed the Creative Director of Chloe in Paris. The fashion icon launched her fashion power house in 2001, famous for chic designs and the brand’s opposition to leather and fur.
The now 51-year-old designer’s collections include women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, accessories, lingerie, eyewear, fragrance and kids.
14. Michael Kors
Michael Kors was born on August 9, 1959, in Long Island, New York. He attended the Fashion Institute of Technology but dropped out after two semesters.
Kors launched his women’s collection in 1981 and became a judge on Project Runway in 2004. His collections are vastly worn worldwide, even First Lady Michelle Obama posed in a Michael Kors dress for her first official portrait.
15. Vera Wang
Bridal gown expert, Vera Wang began her career as the youngest editor ever of Vogue where she spent 17 years. She launched her own collectionIt at the age of 40 and after 2 years working for Ralph Lauren. Since, Vera Wang has become a lifestyle brand offering a variety of fashion and home products.
