Fashion designers are artists, who create some design and able to convince the population of their genius. They should be able to sell their work. That ability to sell whatever they created is what legitimises them, otherwise they are insignificant. The business is a mix of arts and commerce. Here is a list of some of the greatest fashion designers who convinced us.
12. Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer who made a name for himself by using the fabrics worn by women to make menswear, and power suits made by components used in men’s suits for women. He began his career in 1950s after dropping out of medical school. His brand was bolstered when the wardrobe for Richard Gere’s character in the movie “American Gigolo” was designed by him. His company has expanded to sportswear, watches, eyeglasses and cosmetics sector. In 2001, Forbes listed Armani as one of the most successful and greatest fashion designers in the world.
11. Mary Quant
Mary Quant is an English fashion designer who popularized the miniskirt. She is a instrumental figure in the 1960s London based Mod fashion movement. She opened her first shop in London with her husband in 1955. Her shop became a hangout for the hippest of the ‘Swinging London’ crowd.
10. Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer who is known to take everyday and comforting things and make them into the most luxurious things in the world. In 1997, he was named the Creative Director of Louis Vuitton. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs which was introduced in 2001.
9. Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood is a British fashion designer who is credited with making modern punk and new wave fashions mainstream. She joined Malcolm McLaren, the manager of The Sex Pistols to open a shop in London, the now-famous SEX. Westwood was responsible for The Sex Pistols look, which included dog collars and expertly arranged safety pins.
8. Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto is a Japanese fashion designer who is known for his avant-garde tailoring featuring Japanese design aesthetics. He held his first fashion show in Tokyo in 1977, and debut in Paris in 1981. His debut shocked the fashion world, and the initial reception in Paris was negative, which later changed as he is now regarded as one of the greatest fashion designers of all time. He has contributed to renowned houses like Mikimoto and Hermes. His collaboration with Adidas in 2002 to create a women’s line is one of the first highly successful partnerships between a designer and sportswear company. He is the only Japanese designer to have received France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres.
7. John Galliano
John Galliano is a Gibraltar-born British fashion designer who was the head designer of Givenchy, Christian Dior and his own label John Galliano. His first collection was inspired by the French Revolution. He was named British Designer of the Year in 1987, 1994 and 1997. He is known for his flair, outrageous colors, and flamboyant costuming.
6. Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld was a German creative director, fashion designer who was the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, from 1983 until his death and also creative director of the Italian fashion house Fendi, and his own fashion label which was named after himself. He began his career at fashion house Balmain, but split from them to be on his own in 1961.
5. Claire McCardell
Claire McCardell was an American fashion designer who was the best selling ready-to-wear designer and the creator of American sportswear. She was the first designer to bring zippers, thin-strapped evening gowns, and ballet flats. She avoided Parisian fashion shows, which helped her develop a particularly American look. In 1990, Life named McCardell one of the 100 most important Americans of the twentieth century.
4. Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent was a Algeria-born French fashion designer who is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers in the twentieth century. Christian Dior chose him as his successor at 21, few months before his death. When he lost his job at the fashion house, he sued them and won. With the cash reward and american investment he and his partner Pierre Bergé launched his self titled label in 1961. He popularized pea coats, safari jackets, trench coats, and smoking jackets for women. He reinvented ready to wear and female tuxedos. In 1983 he became the only living designer to have the met gala dedicated to him at only 47.
3. Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton was a French fashion designer who was the founder of the Louis Vuitton brand of leather goods. He arrived in Paris in 1837 at 16, walking 270 miles. He began as a apprentice to luggage-maker Monsieur Marechal. In 1853, Vuitton founded his own company as a luggage manufacturer, called Malletier à Paris. He became so popular that he was appointed as trunk-maker to Empress Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III. To avoid others from copying his designs he created the Damier Canvas pattern, which became the Louis Vuitton trademark and is their current monogram, since it is illegal to copy a monogram. It is currently owned by LVMH, and the brand is synonymous with luxury, and the classic creations which will never go out of style.
2. Hubert de Givenchy
Hubert de Givenchy was a French fashion designer who founded the house of Givenchy in 1952. He began by working for Robert Piguet, and Lucien Lelong where he worked alongside Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior. He also worked with Elsa Schiaparelli before going solo. Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy showed up at the funeral of JFK in 1963, in a custom design by Givenchy. In the same year he met actress Audrey Hepburn for wardrobe fittings for her upcoming film Sabrina. He continued to style Hepburn for later movies, like the high-bosomed princess dress she wore in the beloved film, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, and the two forged a lifelong friendship.
1. Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel was a French fashion designer who founded the eponymous Chanel brand. She is credited with liberating women and YSL with empowering them. Chanel was famous for her little black dress and classic cut suits. Her rise was a deathblow to corseted female silhouette. She brought the fabrics and comfort of menswear to women’s style, freeing ladies from clothes that constrained them. She gave us Chanel No. 5, the first fragrance to have a designer name on the label. In 1999, Time named Chanel as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. Her reputation has suffered recently as the information of her closeness to a Nazi officer has come to light, but can’t tarnish her reputation as one of the greatest fashion designers ever.
