45 World famous Fashion designers you should study to learn about fashion

I do not like buying clothes as much as looking at them. This is especially so when it comes to those exquisite clothes designed by the great fashion designers ( not that I can afford to buy them anyway). Looking and swooning and gushing at all those incredibly beautiful clothes is as close to getting a formal fashion education as I could. So I never miss a chance to do it.

These are the Fashion Designers who are the flagbearers of Fashion. These pathbreaking designers have rewritten fashion history many times over with their innovative ideas and their recreations in the form of gorgeous, gorgeous clothes and related paraphernalia (Shoes, bags, fragrances, eyewear, and whatnot).

Alberta Ferretti

Italian designer; she designs under her own namesake brand Alberta Ferretti. Her creations are bold and luxurious and at the same time very feminine and have an ethereal quality about them which makes her a designer of choice for many celebrities
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Alessandro Dell’ Acqua

Italian Fashion designer; He designs ready to wear clothing, footwear, fragrances, bags and eyewear. He is famous for his sensual feminine and modern fashion clothes

Alexander McQueen

British Fashion Designer; He is famous for bringing a sense of rebellion to fashion with his controversial and shocking styles but wonderfully creative and innovative nevertheless. The trend of low rise jeans is attributed to him. He passed away in 2010. Check this Pinterest board for some of his designs

Alexander Wang

A Taiwanese-American fashion designer who is one of the most successful young designers; he launched his first women’s wear collection in 2007 and has been a runaway success ever since. His clothes are a combination of urban downtown chic and disheveled rock grunge cool;  He is called “T-shirt master” because of his emphasis on casual t-shirts and tshirt dresses in his collection. Check out his website for more details.

Amancio Ortego and Rosalia Mera

These are Spanish Designers behind the fashion brand Zara. The brand follows the philosophy of instant fashion to create inexpensive lookalikes of designer creations. It has found great success in coming up with new designs and has opened stores in most of the countries of the world.
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Anna Sui

An American Fashion designer of Chinese origin, Anna Sui launched her first collection in 1981 and went on to establish more than 50 boutiques in eight countries all over the world. Her quirky style has many loyal takers.
Learn more about the designer at her website : annasui.com

Anna Molinari

The Italian fashion designer who founded the fashion house Bluemarine. Her company comes up with Romantic, and vibrant clothes. Check out some of her striking designs on this Pinterest board

Cristóbal Balenciaga

The Iconic Spanish designer who made cocoon coat, balloon skirt, and high-low hem, tunic dress, chemise dress and empire waistlines famous. He rose to prominence after the world war and established his own brand. He came to be known as the master of haute couture. This pioneering designer passed away in 1972.

You can read more about him here.

Betsey Johnson

American fashion designer who is famous for hippie-inspired style whimsical creations characterized by bright colors, and outlandish styles

Learn more about her creations in her website here

Calvin Klein

He started the fashion brand Calvin Kelin in the 1960s which is famous for its minimalism and classic style. Designer jeans is almost synonymous with Calvin Klein. The brand brings out jeans, casual collections, underwear collections and even perfumes

Christian Dior

This French fashion designer is credited with the introduction of the new look which characterized voluminous skirts in contrast with the austere styles during the world wars. He was one of the fashion designers responsible for making Paris the fashion capital of the world.

Christian Lacroix

A French fashion designer with a very luxurious opulent style of clothing.

Colette Dinnighan

A South African born Austalia based designer, Colette’s clothes had a lot beaded work, delicate  laces intricately worked sequins which made for a brilliant collection.

Diane Von Furstenberg

This Belgian-American fashion designer is famous for her wrap dress which has found an iconic status in fashion. She launched her label in the 1970s and has come out with ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags and accessories. DvF is famous for its bold and creative prints and designs.
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Dolce & Gabbana

Domenico Dolce and Stephano Gabbana Italian fashion designers who established the fashion house called Dolce & Gabbana.

More on the brand here

Donna Karan

The founder of the brand Donna Karen New York. (DKNY) She came up with a collection of 7 interchangeable pieces that could be used from morning to evening. DKNY later expanded to include kids’ clothing, home accessories, beauty products and jeans.

Dries Van Noten

A very famous Belgian fashion designer. Very recently he sold a majority stake of his business. 

Learn more about his collections here 

Emanuel Ungaro

A famous French fashion designer; He is famous for his exuberant use of colors, prints and patterns and sparkling embellishments in his creations.

Learn more about his creations here

Emilio Pucci

He is a famous Italian designer known for his bold sense of color and prints and flamboyant designs. He passed away in 1992.

Gabrielle Coco Chanel

She is one of the greatest fashion designers of all time and one of the most influential. Her timeless clothes created a revolution in the early years of the 20th century. A very forward thinking woman much ahead of her times, she is said to have introduced the little black dress for the first time and also made women wear pants as a fashionable attire. Her brand Chanel continues to be a success. She passed away in 1971.

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Gaby Aghion

Gaby Aghion is an Egyptian-born French designer who established the world-famous fashion brand Chloe. The fashion phrase “pret-a porter” denoting ready-to-wear by designers is said to be coined by Gaby Aghion. Affordable and wearable fashionable clothes that could be bought “off the rack” were a revolutionary concept at that time. She has clothed many illustrious clients like Jacqueline Kennedy, Brigitte Bardot, Maria Callas, and Grace Kelly.. Read more on her origin and growth here

Gianfranco Ferre

Italian Fashion designer. Wikipedia calls him “the architect of fashion”.  He passed away in 2007. He is famous for his larger than life persona and beautiful tailoring of even casual dresses. His flamboyantly beautiful and perfectly tailored dresses, suits, and ballroom gowns made him famous.

Gianni Versace

World famous Italian fashion designer who founded the brand Versace with a line of luxurious clothing and accessories and even cosmetics.

Giorgio Armani

Iconic Italian Fashion Designer; His brand is famous for its stylish elegant and tailored menswear. The Guardian calls him the patron saint of fashion in Italy 

Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy

The French designer who established the fashion house Givenchy in the year 1952; He was famous for his beautiful haute couture clothes which embodied  French elegance and was favored by many celebrities like Audrey Hepburn.

Guccio Gucci

The Italian designer who founded the famous fashion brand Gucci. He opened his first leather goods and small luggage store in 1921. He is famous for beautifully crafted leather accessories, which he also recreated in hemp and linen

Issey Miyake

A famous Japanese Fashion designer known for his technology-driven collections which are contemporary and sophisticated

Learn about him here 

Kenneth Cole

American designer who founded the brand, Kenneth Cole.

Kenzo Takada

Japanese Designer who founded the label Kenzo. The clothing is characterized by youthful urban influences and vibrant prints and patterns. He is said to have brought Japanese fashion to the attention of the rest of the world.

Luciano Benetton

The founder of the world-famous fashion brand Benetton.

Maria Nina Ricci

The French fashion designer behind the fashion house Nina Ricci. She specialized in designing elegant feminine gowns

Nino Cerruti

The Italian Fashion designer who founded the haute couture fashion house of Cerruti. He founded Hitman, a firm specializing in the production of menswear, incorporating Italian tailoring tradition to casual chic men’s clothing.

Norman Norrell

This is the professional name of the designer Norman David Levinson. He was a pioneer in the American fashion industry and is referred to as the father of American high fashion. His clothes were designed under his own label Norman Norell Ltd. and were notable for their simplicity even when they were luxurious. 

Oscar de la Renta

A very famous American fashion designer born in the Dominican Republic, Oscar de la Renta is famous for his unique feminine dresses, which has adorned a lot of celebrities down the years
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Pierre Balmain

A French fashion designer born in 1914; he founded the Balmain house of fashion. Pierre Balmain designed gorgeously opulent evening gowns and luxurious wedding dresses.

Roberto Cavalli

Italian fashion designer; He is best known for his luxury clothing brand Roberto Cavalli. He is known for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. His glamorous style of clothing in exotic prints and flamboyant styles made him very popular.

Stella McCartney

A British born fashion designer who was famous even before she was born, because she is the daughter of the Beatles star Paul McCartney; In the fashion scene she wowed fashion connoisseurs with her feminine clothes and continue to do so. She is an environmental activist and uses only animal free fabrics/materials in her work, adding to her charm.
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Todd Oldham

He is an American Designer with a lighthearted style of fashion. In 1999 he stopped designing clothes.

Thomas Jacob Hilfiger

American fashion designer behind the fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger, famous for its Classic American style clothing; this brand specializes in sportswear and casual wear and also has many fragrances to its credit.

Thomas Burberry

Thomas Burberry established the iconic British brand Burberry in 1856; The brand has proved its mettle many times over and is known for its unique tartan pattern and also for making the Trenchcoat into a fashion icon. It is one of the largest branded clothing businesses in Europe. 

Vera Wang

One time editor of The Vogue, this American Fashion designer is an entrepreneur par excellence. She has transformed a small boutique she started catering to the bridal segment into a big business worth a billion dollars or more. 30 years in the bridal business has made her the queen of this segment and none does bridal like Vera wang. Should I stop?
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Valentino

Valentino Garavani is an Italian designer who founded the flagship company Valentino SPA with Haute Couture and ready to wear lines under the company Valentino. He has dresses world famous celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy

Check out his beautiful dresses in this virtual museum.

Vivienne Westwood

She is a British fashion designer who is very unconventional in her approach to life as well as fashion; Vivienne Westwood mainly  created modern punk-inspired clothes
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Yohji Yamamoto

World-famous Japanese Dress designer who has a namesake label, Yohji Yamamoto. This brand’s women’s ready-to-wear line is named Y’s. Oversize silhouettes in black are his signature style.

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent 

The French fashion designer who founded the famous fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (YSL). He started out as an assistant to Christian Dior. In the 1960s he started his own fashion house and it has now become a global brand. He is known for his tailored women’s suits. He made chic ready to wear fashions available to common people. Yves St-Laurent passed away in 2008, a legend.

If you aspire to be counted among the top fashion designers you need to start right – with a world-class fashion education at a premier institution. Check out this post on the best fashion schools/colleges in the world offering the best fashion designing courses

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