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55 Most Famous Fashion Designers of All Time

Fashion is a form of self-expression, and the people who create it are some of the most creative and innovative minds in the world. From iconic names that have become household staples to trailblazers who challenged the norms, the world of fashion has been shaped by countless creative minds. Their designs have captured our imaginations and inspired us to dress in new and exciting ways.

This article will introduce you to these designers who have come from all walks of life, from humble beginnings to privileged backgrounds. They have created clothes that continue to be worn by some of the most famous people in the world. Additionally, their designs have influenced the way we dress today. Here are  55 of the most famous fashion designers of all time. 

1. Kenzo Takada

Kenzo Takada was a Japanese fashion designer living in France. He founded Kenzo, a worldwide clothing brand, that also markets skincare and perfumes. Takada was a fashion maverick, known for his colourful and free-spirited collections that energized the ready-to-wear runways of the French capital starting in the 1970s.

Takada was inspired by Paris, especially by designer Yves Saint Laurent. Takada’s first men’s collection was launched in 1983. In August 1984, The Limited Stores announced that they had signed Takada to design a less-expensive clothing line called Album by Kenzo. A children’s line called Kenzo Jungle, as well as men’s and women’s jeans, was released in 1986.

2. Coco Chanel

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Coco Chanel was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post–World War I era with popularizing a sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of style.

Coco is the only fashion designer listed on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. A prolific fashion creator, Chanel extended her influence beyond couture clothing, realizing her aesthetic design in jewelry, handbags, and fragrance.  Read more fun facts about Coco Chanel. 

3. Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood was an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new-wave fashions into the mainstream. 

Westwood came to public notice when she made clothes for the boutique that she and Malcolm McLaren ran on King’s Road. 

Westwood opened four shops in London and eventually expanded throughout Britain and the world, selling a varied range of merchandise, some of which promoted her political causes such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, climate change and civil rights groups.

4. Christian Dior

Christian Dior was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world’s top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses are known all around the world, having gained prominence “on five continents in only a decade.

Dior’s skills led to his employment and design for various fashion icons in attempts to preserve the fashion industry during World War II. Post-war, he founded and established the Dior fashion house. Throughout his lifetime, he won numerous awards for Best Costume Design.

5. Jean Paul Gaultier

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Jean Paul Gaultier is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corsets, marinières, and tin cans.

Gaultier founded his self-titled fashion label in 1982 and expanded with a line of fragrances in 1993. He was also the creative director for French luxury house Hermès from 2003 to 2010.

6. Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent was a French fashion designer who, in 1962, founded his eponymous fashion label. He is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century.

Yves Saint Laurent developed his style to accommodate the changes in fashion during that period. He approached his aesthetic from a different perspective by helping women find confidence by looking both comfortable and elegant at the same time. 

7. Hubert de Givenchy

Hubert de Givenchy was a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded the luxury fashion and perfume house of Givenchy in 1952. 

He is famous for having designed much of the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn and clothing for Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1970.

8. Carolina Herrera

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Carolina Herrera is a Venezuelan fashion designer known for her personal style, and for dressing various First Ladies, including Jacqueline Onassis, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump. Carolina Herrera presents her Ready-to-Wear Collection semiannually at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. Read more Incredible Facts about Carolina Herrera. 

9. Pierre Cardin

Pierre Cardin was an Italian-born naturalized-French fashion designer. He is known for what was his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. 

Pierre advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical. He founded his fashion house in 1950 and introduced the bubble dress in 1954.

10. Giorgio Armani

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Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained renown working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport and luxury hotels. 

By 2001 Armani was acclaimed as the most successful designer of Italian origin and is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion. 

11. Oscar de la Renta

Oscar de la Renta was a Dominican fashion designer. De la Renta became internationally known in the 1960s as one of the couturiers who dressed Jacqueline Kennedy. 

Oscar worked for Lanvin and Balmain. His eponymous fashion house has boutiques around the world including in Harrods of London and Madison Avenue in New York.

12. Ralph Lauren

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Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. 

Ralph launched The Ralph Lauren Corporation in 1967 with men’s ties. Drawing on his interests in sports, Lauren named his first full line of menswear ‘Polo’ in 1968. 

13. Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld was a German fashion designer. Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion houses including Balmain, Patou, and Chloé before joining Chanel in 1983. 

As the creative director of Chanel from 1983 until his death, he oversaw every aspect of the fashion house’s creative output, from designing collections to overseeing advertising campaigns and store displays. He was instrumental in revitalizing the Chanel brand, helping it regain its position as one of the top fashion houses in the world. Read more outstanding Facts about Karl Lagerfeld. 

14. Marc Jacobs

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Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs.  At its peak, it had over 200 retail stores in 80 countries. 

Marc was the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton from 1997 to 2014. Jacobs was on Time magazine’s 2010 Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

15. Valentino Garavani

Valentino is an Italian fashion designer and the founder of the Valentino brand and company. His main lines include Valentino, Valentino Garavani, Valentino Roma, and R.E.D. Valentino.

Valentino’s international debut took place in 1962 in Florence, the Italian fashion capital of the time. In  2007, Valentino announced that he would retire fully in January 2008 from the world stage after his last haute couture show in Paris. He delivered his last women’s ready-to-wear show in Paris on 4 October.

16. Tom Ford

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Tom Ford is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.

After leaving Gucci, Ford launched a line of menswear, beauty, eyewear, and accessories in 2006, named after himself. Ford has described the Tom Ford customer as international, cultured, well-travelled, and possessing disposable income. For women, he added strong women, intelligent women who know their own style.

17. Hedi Slimane

Hedi Slimane is a French photographer and grand couturier. From 2000 to 2007, he held the position of creative director for Dior Homme, the menswear line of Christian Dior. 

From 2012 to 2016, he was the creative director for Yves Saint Laurent. Since February 1, 2018, Slimane has been the creative, artistic and image director of Celine.

18. Gianni Versace

Gianni Versace was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up, home furnishings and clothes.

Versace quickly became a sensation on the international fashion scene. His designs employed vivid colours, bold prints and sexy cuts, which were a refreshing contrast to the prevailing taste for muted colours and simplicity.

19. Diane von Furstenberg

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Diane von Furstenberg is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. Her fashion company, Diane von Furstenberg (DvF) is available in over 70 countries and 45 free-standing shops worldwide.

In 2009, Michelle Obama wore the DVF signature Chain Link print wrap dress on the official White House Christmas card. In 2012, von Fürstenberg launched her first children’s collection with GapKids and a denim collaboration with Current/Elliott. 

20. Dolce & Gabbana

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Dolce & Gabbana also known by the initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmetics and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear.

21. John Galliano

John Galliano is a British fashion designer from Gibraltar. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior.

Since 2014, Galliano has been the creative director of the Paris-based fashion house Maison Margiela. Galliano has been named British Designer of the Year four times.

22. Alexander McQueen

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Alexander McQueen was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001.

McQueen had a background in tailoring before he studied fashion and embarked on a career as a designer. In 2000, McQueen sold 51% of his company to the Gucci Group, which established boutiques for his label worldwide and expanded its product range.

23. Proenza Schouler

Proenza Schouler is a womenswear and accessories brand founded in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez.

Proenza Schouler is derived from the maiden names of the two designers’ mothers: Proenza is the maiden name of Hernandez’s mother, and Schouler is the maiden name of McCollough’s mother.

24. Stella McCartney

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Stella McCartney is an English fashion designer. McCartney became interested in designing clothes as a youth. At the age of 13, she designed her first jacket. Three years later, she interned for Christian Lacroix, working on her first haute couture collection.

A lifelong vegetarian, McCartney uses no leather or fur in her designs. In 2001, McCartney launched a fashion house under her name, in a joint venture with Gucci Group, and presented her first collection in Paris. 

25. Donatella Versace

Donatella is an Italian fashion designer, businesswoman, socialite, and model. She is the sister of Gianni Versace, founder of the luxury fashion company Versace, with whom she worked closely on the development of the brand and in particular its combining of Italian luxury with pop culture and celebrity.

Upon Gianni’s death in 1997, she inherited a portion of the Versace brand and became its creative director. She is currently the brand’s chief creative officer.

26. Anna Wintour

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Anna Wintour has become an important figure in much of the fashion world, praised for her eye for emerging fashion trends. She is also the artistic director of Condé Nast and the Global Editorial Director of Vogue. 

Her use of the magazine to shape the fashion industry has been the subject of debate within it. Animal rights activists have attacked her for promoting fur, while other critics have charged her with using the magazine to promote elitist views of femininity and beauty.

27. Zac Posen

Zac Posen is an American fashion designer. In 2000, Posen received a prominent career opportunity after a dress he made for Naomi Campbell changed hands several times among several fashion insiders.

His awards include the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s 2004 Swarovski’s Perry Ellis Award for Womenswear. Posen has become a favourite of Natalie Portman, Rihanna, Amanda Seyfried, Andy Dick, Kate Winslet, Claire Danes, Cameron Diaz, Dick Clark, Jennifer Lopez, Mischa Barton, Mr Kool Aid and Beyoncé.

28. Christian Louboutin

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Christian Louboutin is a French fashion designer. His stiletto footwear incorporates shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature. Initially a freelance designer for fashion houses, he started his shoe salon in Paris, with his shoes finding favour with celebrity clientele. 

Louboutin has partnered with other organizations for projects including limited edition pieces, gallery exhibits, and a custom bar. His company has since branched out into men’s luxury footwear, handbags, fragrances, and makeup. Read more remarkable facts about Christian Louboutin. 

29. Hussein Chalayan

Hussein Chalayan is a British-Cypriot fashion designer. Chalayan established his own company in 1994, Cartesia Ltd., as well as his ready-to-wear line. In 2002 Chalayan expanded his design portfolio with his menswear line, the exclusive rights of which were sold to internet retailer Yoox.com in 2007.

30. Jonathan Saunders

Jonathan Saunders is a Scottish fashion designer, known for his work with prints and use of traditional silk screening techniques. Celebrities who have worn his designs include Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Sienna Miller and Michelle Obama.

Saunders continued to show regularly at London Fashion Week until 2008 when he decided to take his collection to New York Fashion Week in a move he described as “a natural progression”.He returned to London Fashion Week in 2010. 

31. Rei Kawakubo

Rei Kawakubo is a Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris. She is the founder of Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market. The company features its main collections during Paris Fashion Week and Paris Men’s Fashion Week.

In recognition of the notable design contributions of Kawakubo, an exhibition of her designs entitled Rei Kawakubo/Commes des Garçons, Art of the In-Between opened on 5 May 2017 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, modelled by Rihanna.

32. Alexander Wang

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Alexander Wang is a Taiwanese American fashion designer. Wang launched his eponymous fashion brand in 2005 and came to prominence after being awarded the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2008. He is known for his urban-inspired designs and use of black. From November 2012 through July 2015, Wang was the creative director at Balenciaga.

33. Azzedine Alaïa

Azzedine Alaïa moved to Paris to work in fashion design. In Paris, he started to work at Christian Dior as a fashion designer. His career skyrocketed when two of the most powerful fashion editors of the time, Melka Tréanton of Dépèche Mode and Nicole Crassat of French Elle, supported him in their editorials. 

34. Yohji Yamamoto

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Yohji Yamamoto is a Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris. Considered a master tailor alongside those such as Madeleine Vionnet, he is known for his avant-garde tailoring featuring Japanese design aesthetics. Yamamoto has won notable awards for his contributions to fashion.

35. Thom Browne

Thom Browne is an American fashion designer. He is the founder and head of design for Thom Browne, a luxury fashion brand based in New York City. Browne debuted his womenswear collection in 2014.

In 2008, Browne teamed up with the Italian sportswear company and down apparel specialist Moncler to design their men’s top line Moncler Gamme Bleu, which launched in January 2009. The line was shown at Milan Fashion Week.

36. Mary Quant

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Mary Quant was a British fashion designer and fashion icon. She became an instrumental figure in the 1960s London-based Mod and youth fashion movements and played a prominent role in London’s Swinging Sixties culture. 

37. Phoebe English

Phoebe English is an English fashion designer and head of her eponymous brand of women’s wear and menswear. was founded in 2011 and has since focused on creating clothing with close attention to detail and narrative. 

The studio has dual roots in textile craftsmanship and reduced environmental impact: aiming to develop ways of working with design, and its surrounding systems, that better fit within the realities of our planetary boundaries. 

38. Virgil Abloh

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Virgil Abloh was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. One of the most influential and respected fashion designers of his generation, he began his own line of luxury streetwear clothing, Pyrex Vision, in 2012, and became the chief executive officer of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013. 

Abloh was also the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection beginning in 2018 and was given increased creative responsibilities across the LVMH brand in early 2021. Read more on the Best Black Fashion Designers. 

39. Martin Margiela

Martin Margiela is a Belgian fashion designer, artist, and founder of the French luxury fashion house Maison Margiela. He is considered to be one of the most influential fashion designers in recent history for his iconic deconstructed, upcycled aesthetic and oversized silhouette.

40. Jonathan Anderson

Jonathan Anderson is an Irish fashion designer and the founder of JW Anderson which he started in 2008. JW Anderson has evolved into an internationally renowned and award-winning brand. 

Its unique design aesthetic offers a modern interpretation of masculinity and femininity by creating thought-provoking silhouettes through a conscious cross-pollination between menswear and womenswear elements. 

41. Elsa Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli, a fashion designer from an Italian aristocratic background instilled a creative spirit in 20th-century fashion with her inventive imagination and revolutionary vision on sportswear, Haute Couture, art, fragrance, and ordinary elements turned into elaborate creations. 

Her iconic collaborations with artists like Dalí, Cocteau, Man Ray, Giacometti and Marcel Vertès became legendary.

42. Simon Porte Jacquemus

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Simon Porte Jacquemus is a French fashion designer and the founder of the Jacquemus fashion label. He was 20 years old when he created his brand Jacquemus. 

He promoted his designs by having friends wear his creations in shops during Vogue’s Fashion Night Out in 2010 in Paris. In 2012, he was invited to present his collection during Paris Fashion Week.

In 2017, Jacquemus added a line of footwear to his collections. He also announced in 2018 that he would be designing menswear, creating the line in 2019. In addition to shoes, Jacquemus also designs handbags and hats.

43. Tomo Koizumi

Tomo Koizumi is a Japanese designer. With no professional training, Koizumi began experimenting with design at a young age when he created custom-made garments for his female friends. His moment came when Sara Maino, an editor of Vogue Italia posted an image of his work on Instagram.

44. Ann Demeulemeester

Ann Demeulemeester was an instrumental member of the Antwerp Six designers, who stormed London fashion week in 1986, changing the international reputation of Belgian design. The Ann Demeulemeester brand has come to represent an intelligent approach to fashion. 

 For Ann Demeulemeester, fashion is a form of communication. Ann Demeulemeester creates a serene and darkly romantic world with an intriguing mix of edgy rebellion and sophistication.  

45. Demna Gvasalia

Demna is a Georgian fashion designer, currently the creative director of Balenciaga and the co-founder of Vetements. Demna joined Maison Martin Margiela, where he was responsible for women’s collections until 2013. 

In 2013, he was appointed senior designer of women’s ready-to-wear collections at Louis Vuitton, initially under Marc Jacobs and briefly under Nicolas Ghesquière.

46. Craig Green

Craig Green is a British fashion designer specialising in menswear. In 2013, Green presented his first collection as part of a Topman/Fashion East initiative hosted by the British Fashion Council’s London Collections: Men event. His work was widely commended in the fashion press.

47. Kim Jones

Kim Jones is an English fashion designer. Jones launched his eponymous brand in 2003, and in 2005 showed it as part of the first season of MAN in conjunction with Fashion East, showcasing a short fashion film. 

Alongside his own brand, he collaborated or worked with a wide range of other brands during this period, including Hugo Boss, Topman, Umbro, Mulberry and Iceberg. 

48. Simone Rocha

Simone Rocha is an Irish fashion designer. She launched her graduate collection in 2010 at the Tate Modern and at London Fashion Week. She was named Young Designer of the Year in 2014 by Harper’s Bazaar, and Womenswear Designer of the Year 2016 at the British Fashion Awards.

In 2018, she collaborated with the Italian brand Moncler as a part of their Genius Collection series. In March 2021, Rocha had a collaboration line drop with Swedish Fast fashion company H&M. 

49. Dries Van Noten

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Dries Van Noten is a Belgian fashion designer and an eponymous fashion brand, which he co-founded with CEO and business partner Christine Mathys. Van Noten freelanced for a variety of local designers before launching a menswear line in 1986.

That year, he presented his first menswear collection in London as part of The Antwerp Six collective. That led to a small order from Barneys New York. Louis, Boston, was one of the first to bring Dries to the USA, carrying his collection and selling it in Boston. He currently creates four collections a year, men’s and women’s, both for summer and winter.

50. Helmut Lang

Helmut Lang is an Austrian artist and former fashion designer and mentor who lives and works in New York and on Long Island. His first Helmut men’s collection debuted in 1987 and a decade later he moved his label from Vienna to New York. Lang used unconventional materials such as rubber, feathers and metallic fabrics and redefined the silhouette of the 1990s and early 2000s. 

51. Rick Owens

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Rick Owens is an American fashion designer. Owens launched his fashion line in 1994, operating out of a store on Hollywood Boulevard. He gained notability after Kate Moss was photographed by Corrine Day for Vogue Paris in one of his signature leather jackets. 

This attention led to Vogue America sponsoring its first runway. In 2018 and 2019, he collaborated with Birkenstock and the French sneaker brand Veja, respectively. The latter collaboration continued for five seasons, with its conclusion announced in November 2021. Read more on 10 of the Most Famous American fashion designers. 

52. Isabel Marant

Isabel Marant is a French fashion designer. Her collaboration with H&M in 2013 was so successful that the company’s website crashed under the demand and the collection was sold out within 45 minutes.

Celebrities wearing Marant’s designs include Alexa Chung, Katie Holmes, Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Kate Bosworth, and Rachel Weisz.

53. Jil Sander

Jil Sander is a German minimalist fashion designer and the founder of the Jil Sander fashion house. In 1973, she launched a collection under her own brand name. 

She subsequently flourished through the 1980s and 1990s and soon achieved an international following. In 1999, Prada Group bought a 75% share in her company. Sander remained the creative designer and became chairwoman in the new joint venture. 

54. Miuccia Prada 

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Miuccia Prada is an Italian billionaire fashion designer and businesswoman. She is the head designer of Prada and the founder of its subsidiary Miu Miu.

The youngest granddaughter of Mario Prada, Miuccia Prada took over the family-owned luxury goods manufacturer in 1978. Since then, the company has acquired Jil Sander, Helmut Lang and Shoemaker Church & Co.

55. Consuelo Castiglioni 

Consuelo Castiglioni is a fashion designer. Though she has no training in fashion, she founded the fashion label Marni in 1994, and the line has recently risen to prominence. 

In 2009 she worked with Kim Gordon on geometric designs for Marni. Castiglioni was ranked in the 2010 100 most creative people in business. In 2013, the brand launched its first, eponymous, fragrance. 

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