A List of Top 10 Most Influential Male Designers

Designers devote their time and skill to make people look better by dressing them in their own clothes. Clothes are very big part of our lives. The biggest, I would say. And wearing good clothes makes people feel confident. It exhibits control and passion. Clothes define who we are in every aspect. These designers have made it to this list because you have definitely heard about their brand, if not them, and they have revolutionised the clothes and shoes industry, in one way or another. They made style statements a part of their designs. They became icons. These designers made world a better place by doing what they do best.

The list is in no particular order:

1. Gianni Versace

Even though this list is in no particular order, he will make it to the top. Gianni Versace was the founder of the Medusa faced clothing brand “Versace”. Gianni was one of the most influential designers and his designs are still considered in trend. His aesthetic combined luxury with overt sexuality, making him an instant hit due to the bold prints, material and colour used in his designs. His main rival was Giorgio Armani. Versace’s tag against him was “Armani makes clothes for the wife, Versace makes it for the mistress.”

Source : mirror.co.uk

Gianni’s Oroton discovery and use made Versace dresses iconic for a millennium. He invested a lot into the material and quality of his clothes and accessories. He worked closely with many famous celebrities like, Princess Diana, Eric Clapton, Tupac Shakur, Madonna and Naomi Campbell. His assassination was a big blow not only to his family, which consisted of his brother Santo and his sister Donatella, but to the whole design industry.

2. Virgil Abloh

Virgil is probably the most popping designer in today’s time. To trace back his work, you need to start from his Fendi internship with Kanye West. He is a designer at Louis Vuitton and founder of the street fashion company, Off-White. Virgil’s designs are known for his collaborations with Nike to launch many models of Off-White x Nike shoes and merchandise. He is the artistic director at Louis Vuitton alongside his Off-White venture.

Source : architectmagazine.com

Abloh’s quotation marks to highlight the obvious is one of the most iconic work he has done. It is hugely followed and copied in multiple other designs. Virgil has gained a huge following for his state of the art work on multiple paintings and artwork alongside Japanese contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami.

3. Tom Ford

Tom Ford has had the staple yet intense fashion designing career. He was the creative head at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent before launching his own brand. He has also directed a few films which have gained huge recognition, such as A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals. Tom Ford has to work in the US after his education, but then grew tired of the monotony, and shifted to Europe where he worked at Gucci. He was then put in charge of YSL when it was acquired by Gucci. He made a few controversies as suggested by YSL who showed a very stern dislike towards Ford’s designs.

Source : www.nytimes.com

Ford launched his one menswear line with De Sole as the chairman in 2006, with suits, shirts, formal pants, fragrances and all other men accessories you can think of. He dressed the most known Hollywood stars like Beyonce, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway et cetera. He designed the infamous James Bonds suits for Daniel Craig in the last three movies. He is has made himself into one of the most iconic designer’s list because his sheer classic designs and bold statements; which make him shine out. 

4. Marc Jacobs

He is a Parsons School Of Design graduate who started his own label. He was the creative director at Louis Vuitton. He had started designing his own shirts in his label name while working at Louis Vuitton. During his time at Louis Vuitton, he worked for big names Stephen Sprouse, Kate Moss (for whom he designed a dress for the MET gala), Kanye West and Takashi Murakami. His famous,’ I paid my taxes, I want my rights’ shirt was his way of showing his support for legalisation of gay marriage. In 2013, he was made in charge of the diet coke campaign.

Source : hypedb.com

In 2014, Marc Jacobs left Louis Vuitton to concentrate on his own label.  His label already had about 300 outlets before he left Louis Vuitton. Even though his label was evaluated at $100 million dollars, after him leaving LV, he closed down stores and started losing huge amounts of revenue annually. Despite his downfall, he still remains highly influential due to his work for the design industry and gay community.

5. Giorgio Armani

The name itself oozes opulence and makes you feel expensive. Armani’s net worth is $8.2 billion, making him the most successful Italian designer ever. He worked a lot under other companies and designers, in all kinds of fields, but solely constricted to design. He was 41, in 1975, when he founded Giorgio Armani. He opened many different lines for different economic regions and products. Within the first 5 years of his opening, he had launched, fragrances, Emporio Armani for experimentation, Armani Junior, Armani Jeans, followed by Emporio swimwear and underwear. He currently solely owns 12 lines under Giorgio Armani. He has his own restaurants, cafes, hotels and even chocolates.

Giorgio Armani- (Source : https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/giorgio-armani)

He has been able to provide a taste of luxury on everything he could get his hands on. He is the perfect embodiment of ‘grabbing any opportunity presented in front of you.’ He is one of the most iconic designers of all time and will stay on this list, time and time again.

6. Ralph Lauren

Before starting about his successful designing career, being an automobile enthusiast, I want to appreciate Ralph Lauren has one of the most comprehensive car collections in the world, with about 100 cars in his collection worth $350 million. He has the world’s most expensive car in the world in his collection, the 1962 250 Ferrari GTO. Now that is what I call money well spent.

Source : businessoffashion.com

Alright enough about my interests and more about Hilfiger’s career. He single handedly started ‘Polo’ out of the Empire State Building and personally delivered his packages in 1968. Within a few years of launching his shop, he designed the iconic cast of The Great Gatsby. With his simple polo concept and multiple colours for the same, which could be worn by men and women was truly revolutionary. His design is almost like a patent and no one can make polo t-shirts as exceptional as Ralph Lauren. He has been involved with more than 100 magazines like GQ, Forbes and Vogue. His $50 million penthouse in New York is extremely well-known and adds to his iconic identity. 

7. Domenico Dolce

Dolce is one half of the world renowned Dolce & Gabbana luxury designer brand. The other being Stefano Gabbana. Dolce alone is worth around $2 billion dollars making him one of the richest designers out there. His influence in the fashion industry is impeccable. The Italian duo met in 1980 where they worked under the same employer. They opened shop in 1985, designing women’s swimwear. They continued to export to Japan, United States and other designer heavy countries of the world. They had a shaky start related to sales but after 15 years of their company’s opening, D&G had a turnover of $500 million. Their feminine perfume line did extremely well, along with a very popular male perfume.

Domenico Dolce(right) with Steffano Gabbana(left) - (Source : pinterest.com)

The duo also designed costumes for the fabled Romeo and Juliet movie. Since the 1990s, Dolce & Gabbana has launched many lines under the D&G label. They have their own bridal collection, jewellery, and cosmetics. They give a tough to the other Italian boss designers like Versace and Armani.

8. Michael Kors

He was originally born Karl Anderson Jr. He started his company in 1981 under Celine. At the age of 5, he redesigned his mother’s wedding dress giving an hint at a total design prodigy.

Michael Kors - (Source : https://stylesage.co/blog/truth-by-numbers-michael-kors-2/)

He started off by making women's clothing but then opened up a men’s clothing line in 2002. He left Celine in 2003 to concentrate on his own label. He has dressed numerous celebrities like Taylor Swift, Olivia Wilde, Heidi Klum and even Michelle Obama. He has been a judge on multiple shows on the television increasing his influence within the design industry. He is currently worth $600 million making him very influential and his company extremely successful.

9. Pierre Cardin

Source : wwd.com

Just the signature of Pierre Cardin is probably more iconic than the brand. Pierre Cardin is a French-Italian designer known for his chic and out of the box geometric designs. His brand is known for its luxurious perfumes, watches, pens and jewelry other than its fashion. He has been a part of many vehicle designs as well like private jets and cars. Cardin has also been involved in designing furniture.

10. Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein is one of the most well-known brands in the world. They have all kind of luxury items ranging from clothing, watches, jewelry and perfumes. World’s most renowned models and celebrities have been involved in advertising CK, for example, Kendall Jenner, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes and many more. The high value of Calvin Klein has made their products very memorable and iconic. The sportswear and under wear made by Calvin Klein is hugely popular, and not only within the luxury categories but within the budget of a common man.

Calvin Klein - (Source : https://the-talks.com/interview/calvin-klein/)

Calvin Klein has really changed the definition of luxury fashion by availing it to the common man. He had really made an affect on people with his standardizing of his products.