Fashion design is indeed a true vocation far beyond a mere profession. The world’s best couturiers, each with their distinct fashion house, fans, critics, and unique lines of fashionable products, demonstrate this truth. Their individual character and vision have a significant impact on the fashion world. Designers like Miuccia Prada with her innovative approaches at Prada and Miu Miu, and Rei Kawakubo, known for her groundbreaking designs at Comme des Garçons, exemplify this.
The ever-changing landscape of everyday fashion trends leads to the emergence of new clothing brands, each carving its niche in the fashion world and garnering its own following. Esteemed couturiers like Guccio Gucci, the founder of the renowned Italian luxury fashion house, and Salvatore Ferragamo, another iconic Italian designer, have dedicated years to turning their dreams into reality and achieving global recognition. Florence, a city known for its rich fashion heritage, has played a significant role in the success of many of these Italian designer brands.
Every year, the fashion industry witnesses the rise of young and exciting designers whose creations are adorned by celebrities and adored by fashion influencers. Modern popular brands and fashion designers, such as Alessandro Michele at Gucci and Daniel Lee, play a crucial role in the fashion industry, introducing innovative ideas and concepts. These masters, including legends like Hugo Boss and the avant-garde Maison Margiela, work diligently, either alone or with talented teams, to create design masterpieces.
Adapting to the demands of the 21st century, the modern fashion industry now merges environmentally friendly production practices with advanced technology. Leading brands, including those led by figures like Tom Ford, focus on creating collections from recycled materials, reducing emissions, improving occupational safety, and embodying the core values of the new reality.
The path to popularity for any brand is filled with challenges, demanding a mix of public appeal, audience engagement, and effective social networking. Leaders of companies, such as Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci, must navigate through all these aspects, assembling strong teams for years of meticulous work and substantial investment in raw materials, production, and marketing.
Enduring this pressure and thriving amid competition isn’t for everyone. Those who secure their place in fashion’s Olympus gain everything: fan recognition, lucrative contracts or collaborations, and financial success. This article explores those who have climbed the pyramid of success, gained popularity in their segment, and earned the title of the best brand.
Today’s fashion industry is represented by a vast array of brands, each with its unique place in a kind of hierarchy. This hierarchy is differentiated by factors like exclusivity, quality, production methods, and price, catering to consumers of various socio-cultural statuses. The fashion industry is categorized into three price ranges: high, medium, and democratic, with the most legendary brands often occupying the high-end category.
Charles Frederick Worth, an Englishman with a French soul, is considered the founder of fashion. As an aesthete and stylist par excellence, he overturned the beauty world of the 19th century. Worth’s ethos was gravitated toward refinement and elegance, concepts still relevant today. He believed simplicity was the essence of elegance, with refinement and modesty as the hallmarks of a sophisticated style.
Each season, Worth consistently amazed audiences with innovative clothing collections. He was the first to use real women as mannequins, not wooden dummies. Every new line’s debut was anticipated as if it were a magical mystery or a status event of special importance.
Today, the excitement for each collection from famous designers continues. Events showcasing collections from designers like Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, or Maison Margiela captivate the fashion world, proving that fashion has eternally captivated humankind’s imagination.
One of the oldest luxury fashion houses in the world, Hermes began in Paris in 1837. Thierry Hermes, the man behind the French brand, had been creating quality harnesses and bridles made of wrought iron for carriages from the beginning. It was in the 1920s when the clothing and accessory line became popular. Their iconic Kelly bag, named after famous actress Grace Kelly, was introduced in the 1930s, and even today there are lines to buy it.
Hermes is a timeless classic. This brand’s clothing and accessories are made in the finest materials, in calm tones, and incredibly elegant shapes and silhouettes.
Coco Chanel has become a legend in the fashion world. She contributed to the adaptation of pants in women’s closets, created the iconic little black dress, opened the Chanel fashion house worldwide, and proved that you can seduce people even in simple clothes with a simple cut. Her cult tweed suits became the hallmark of the fashion house and a closet staple for millions of women.
The clothes that Coco Chanel invented almost a century ago are still being worn by women around the world. Our closets today are almost impossible to imagine without tweed jackets, little black dresses, and wide pants.
The brand first showed its collection in 1946. The House of Chanel has always been distinguished by a particular elegance. Today, the brand manufacture shoes, clothing, perfumes, and also skin care products. A distinctive feature of the brand is its simplicity and brevity. In addition, the fashion house always pleases its customers with new and unusual collections.
This brand does not need any introduction, as almost everyone knows about it, even a child. It specializes in sewing quality bags, suitcases, and accessories. Although everyone can find no less extravagant clothes for everyday wear. Louis Vuitton brought fashion not only to quality leather goods but also to logos. The LV logo deserves its chapter in the history of world fashion. The brand managed to make a cult out of it.
Today Louis Vuitton – is not only suitcases and bags but also incredibly fashionable and bright collections for women, elegant men’s suits, and unusual accessories.
Bottega Veneta, which Michele Taddei and Renzo Zengiaro created in 1966, remains a sought-after luxury brand. It produces leather goods like handbags or shoes, but also expands its range with more clothing and accessories.
Bottega Veneta is not just a brand, but a trendsetter in woven leather goods. Their uniqueness has earned the company a name, and today the Italian design house still uses special braiding in both its bags and shoes. However, Bottega Veneta is not afraid to experiment, and every season pleases its fans, both men and women, with bold shapes and bright colors.
While Italy boasts designers with an established heritage, it continues to develop new brands that set the tone for Italian high fashion. Such is Marni, which has been around for more than two decades but is still young by comparison.
Founded in 1994 by Consuelo Castiglioni, Marni has quickly achieved success with leather, fur, and shoes. The brand now boasts a full collection that features prints, silhouettes, and blocks of color on plush fabrics.
The Marni-style girl is a relaxed and confident metropolitan dweller. She wears quality clothes in a beautiful “expensive” palette, is not afraid to experiment, and enjoys the attention of others.
Balenciaga is an old-timer in the fashion world. The brand appeared 106 years ago thanks to the extravagant Spaniard Cristobal Balenciaga. The designer was a lover of everything unusual – the balloon skirt, the geometric square coat, the bracelet sleeve. But due to the fact that conservative beauties of the time did not buy his works, the fashion house was long forgotten.
Demna Gvasalia gave the brand a second breath. Having appeared on Balenciaga’s doorstep a few years ago, he made the clothes even more underground than before. “Ugly’ color combinations, logomania, unbelievable volumes, and other grunge stuff are Balenciaga’s trademark. The prices are over lux, but they guarantee that you won’t find such things anywhere else.
Loro Piana is one of the world’s cashmere manufacturers, offering only the best in the world to produce the most luxurious knitted ponchos, suede jackets, and, of course, cashmere sweaters. With its reputation in cashmere fabrics and garments, it’s hard not to consider Loro Piana when you decide to invest in quality cashmere and knitwear.
Loro Piana is luxury in everything from quality fabrics to timeless silhouettes. Clothes of this brand can be safely handed down as they will never go out of fashion. They are the fashion.
Prada is a historic Italian brand that was prestigious from the beginning. It was founded by Mario Prada and quickly achieved success through its exquisite work with leather, becoming a supplier of leather goods to the Italian nobility.
Prada was the birthplace of a dynasty of talented couturiers. Their names will remain forever in the history of world fashion. Today the Prada Fashion House is headed by Miuccia. The granddaughter of the legendary Mario managed to accumulate all the ingenious ideas and achievements of the whole generation of fashion masters. Her collections consist exclusively of luxurious outfits that exude magnificence and chic.
This brand specializes in the production of suitcases, bags, and outerwear. You can find almost anything in the range. Some people believe that having any Prada item is a sign of luxury. And it is really so because all the products are exclusive and of high quality.
The women’s tuxedo, blouses with flowing sleeves, dresses, and jackets in the safari style, jackets – this is not a complete list of fashion inventions by Yves Saint Laurent, which have been tested for decades and eras. Besides, it is him we must be thankful for the first steps in getting rid of gender borders in fashion and for the unity of catwalks and art.
A woman wearing Saint Laurent clothes is not afraid to wear a see-through blouse, safari dress, or Madonna canon bra. She is not ashamed to change a skirt for the legendary Le Smoking. And she also adores art and the famous trapeze dresses from the Mondrian Collection. After Yves Saint Laurent himself retired, the fashion house had many designers. Concepts were turned upside down – passion, tenderness, rock.
The mess lasted until 2016 when Anthony Vaccarello showed up on the doorstep. A fan of sexuality, he returned the brand to the idea of the founder. Models began to walk the runway again in minidresses with deep necklines, leather corsets, and translucent tops.
Audrey Hepburn was the main muse for the couturier and his fashion brand. Hubert de Givenchy designed clothes for her heroines in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Funny Face. Jacqueline Kennedy, Grace Kelly, and Marlene Dietrich were all admirers of the French couturier’s creations. In 1988 the brand became part of the LVMH group: a few years later the couturier left the company and the look of the collections began to change. At various times the brand was headed by John Galliano then moved to Dior and the flamboyant Alexander McQueen. Until April 10, 2020, its artistic director was Claire Wayne Keller: it was under her supervision that Meghan Markle’s wedding dress was created.
Hubert de Givenchy liked to repeat that simple and elegant black was his favorite color. His collections were often monochrome, which is not the case with today’s Givenchy. Today the fashion house tries to combine the English-French style.
Christian Dior, the founder of the eponymous Dior fashion house, knew everything about women’s beauty. He knew how to emphasize the advantages and hide the disadvantages, so he became a breath of fresh air for the fashionistas of his time.
It was Christian Dior who returned to fashion the deliberate elegance and femininity that had been lost for objective reasons in the years after the Second World War. He was convinced that a woman’s waist and other silhouette features had no right to be hidden under shapeless shirts.
The history of the legendary brand began after the war: in 1946 Christian Dior opened his own Fashion House, and in 1947 he released his first collection “New Look” in which he presented the revolutionary concept of women’s clothing.
Today the brand produces all kinds of clothes, shoes, and bags that the most stylish girls around the world chase after, as well as cosmetics and cult perfume.
Alexander McQueen has earned the title of one of the most respected designers in the fashion world. The peculiarity of his creation lies in his integration of contrasting elements: fragility and strength, tradition and modernity, fluidity and heaviness. This love of creating blends extended to his perfume range as well.
The famous designer was nicknamed the hooligan of the haute couture world: at his hand, the conservative British fashion scene became famous for its flamboyant innovations. His collections featured clothes decorated with stuffed birds and animalistic ornaments created on a 3D printer, models at shows were attacked by robots, and the catwalk was set on fire and flooded with water.
After McQueen died in 2010 Sarah Burton took over the running of the brand and created Kate Middleton’s wedding dress. Under her leadership, thestarted to produce slightly more discreet clothes. Characteristic features of the Alexander McQueen brand today are filigree silhouettes with an accent on the waist, asymmetry, and boldness in the treatment of prints.
The world owes this brand to the famous designer Gucci, who first showed the world the results of his work in 1921. Since then, his name has been on the list of “the best brands. The house specializes in leather goods, accessories, clothes, and perfumes.
Gucci is one of the oldest Italian clothing brands, which is also one of the best-selling brands in the world. Its history began in 1921 and was named after its patriarch, Gucci. Initially a modest leather goods store, it grew through its appealing aesthetic. Gucci looked to its French and British counterparts for inspiration, but found its voice, embodying the Tuscan style.
The founder of this company is considered to be Thomas Burberry. For the first time, the world saw badges with Burberry inscriptions in 1856. The company specializes in producing quality outerwear and plaid. To date, the firm has not lost its popularity. Moreover, every year it only increases.
Burberry is invariably associated with the iconic red and black check on a beige background, which the fashion house includes in all its collections. For 2018, Burberry is breaking in more than spectacularly and painting the signature plaid in the colors of the LGBT flag. In addition to high-profile fashion statements, Burberry offers plenty of timeless classics – beige trench coats, shirt dresses, blouses, and polka dot skirts.
Fendi, founded by Adele and Edoardo Fendi in 1925, was immediately recognized for its impeccable design and excellent style. In 1965 German designer Karl Lagerfeld joined Fendi and became head of ready-to-wear from Fur and Women. Today, Lagerfeld still provides artistic direction for the brand along with the founder’s granddaughter, Silvia Venturini Fendi, who oversees the brand’s accessories, children’s, and men’s lines.
The Fendi fashion house has charged itself to success. In 2007 it became the first brand in history to hold a large-scale show on the Great Wall of China. On the 88 meters, long catwalk 88 models walked. Since then Fendi leather and fur is a symbol of wealth and belonging to the elite of society.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are the most famous designers in the world, who managed to acquire the status of very scandalous and provocative persons. Despite a rather tainted biography, the great and beautiful house Dolce & Gabbana will always be the most important brand in Italy and all over the world.
The Italian company came into existence in 1985. Its founders are Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Clothing models produced by this brand, are distinguished by beauty and graceful appearance. Thanks to this, the brand quickly became very popular and world-renowned, and it does not give up its position to this day.
Giorgio Armani is one of the most famous fashion designers in the world and comes from Italy. In addition to his place on the list of influential designers, he is also one of the top richest people on the planet. Giorgio Armani founded his own fashion house in 1975 and before that, he worked with Nino Cerutti, the owner of the Cerruti brand.
The main subject of Giorgio Armani’s attention was a men’s suit. At first, he took care of gentlemen: he saved jackets and pants from padding, arrows, patched shoulder pads, and overstarching details, thanks to which a two-piece suit became more comfortable than ever, but its aesthetic component was not only preserved but increased.
After that, Armani decided to help women in the matter of comfortable and representative clothes as well. In the 1980s, on the wave of strengthening in the USA the ideas of feminization, he suggested that girls also try on suits-doublets with a man’s shoulder. It was a revolution in fashion and in the office, which also went down in history as a decisive step for women in the fight for their professional credibility.
The Italian designer became a classic of evening fashion, which at the time of his creative activity had the best actresses, singers, royalty, and first ladies making dresses for special occasions. For a wide range of customers, Valentino Garavani revealed the beauty of red colors: he once said that this range suits every woman in the world, you just need to remember that there are about 30 shades of red and find your ideal one.
Today Valentino plays an important role in the fashion industry, offering a wide range of products, including accessories, clothes, bags, perfumes, and shoes for women and men.
Like Armani, Ralph Lauren is on the list of the richest men in the world. He was born in the USA in 1939, and in 1974 he founded his brand, Ralph Lauren. The fashion designer is notable for his love of adapting rustic styles in the modern world of fashion. For example, he often borrows details from the country or western, skillfully integrating them with elegant polo clothing.
Ralph Lauren has created a globally recognizable American preppy style that has proven to be completely timeless and suitable for all continents. Polo shirts, sweaters, bomber jackets, and knitted dresses of his authorship became a real classic and a symbol of the comfortable and ideal life. In addition, Ralph Lauren was not limited to just clothes: he created a real empire, which today also produces decorative objects, furniture, textiles, wallpaper, crockery, and much more.
The Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace gave us the famous Versace fashion house and also helped to popularize the profession of a model. For his shows, he invited only the most famous models and actresses, who outshone each other by presenting his bold but stylish clothes.
For the first time, you could see clothes with the logo of the world brand in 1978. Gianni Versace is considered the founder of the brand. His clothes are used by many artists and people who are often in public. The models are distinguished by their luxurious appearance, sophistication, and sexuality.
Gianni has always been distinguished by his boldness. Even in the 1980s, when the public often criticized him, he used bright colors, frank cuts, and large prints. He was not afraid to go against the norms, and that’s why he became one of the most famous fashion designers in the history of the world.
Stella is the daughter of the famous musician and member of The Beatles Paul McCartney. She sewed her first jacket at the age of 13, and at the age of 29, she presented her graduation collection as an art college graduate. At that time her friends Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss were presenting their collections.
Stella’s main trick was to express in her clothes her social position. Today brands compete vying with each other in the degree of their eco-friendliness and consciousness. Stella McCartney, on the other hand, from the very beginning of her independent design career, refused to use fur and leather, which caused many questions in the 2000s, but she stood firm through a wave of perplexity, insisted on her style, and eventually set an example for other designers.
The French fashion house Balmain opened its doors in 1945 and was founded by designer Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain. When they started, their focus was on postwar bell-shaped skirts, and celebrities like Katharine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich adored the tiny waist designs. Their signature original style remains today, but it’s modernized and embellished with luxurious details. The chic monochrome and retro revival of the elegant silhouette is the dominant influence on their new collection.
Today Balmain is not only sexy silhouettes with sharp shoulders and a lot of metal details but also a collection of incredible feminine perfumes and cosmetics.
American designer Rick Owens reached the status of a trendsetter by the age of 55 and still hasn’t slowed down. Whether designing clothing, shoes, or furniture, he continues to amaze audiences with his chic silhouettes and stays true to his glamorous grunge aesthetic.
Rick Owens’ aesthetic is shaped by black and white Hollywood movies, the punk underground of the 1980s, and the grunge and glamour of the 1990s. Fans of the brand include Kate Moss, Courtney Love, Madonna, Rihanna, and other celebrities.
You are unlikely to find more than a photo or two of the designer or any details about his life. But you will find the echoes and quotations of Maison Martin Margiela in the work of almost all modern top brands. In the 1990’s it was Margiela who began to develop in fashion the direction of deconstructivism, so all the asymmetric silhouettes, conceptualism, and even post-irony we owe today to him.
Margiela is all about unusual silhouettes and understated colors. The clothes of this powerful house can be seen on the pages of the most progressive magazines and the Instagram profiles of the most stylish celebrities.
The House of Lanvin was founded in Paris in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin. She began to create the fashionable looks worn by all the fashionable Parisians of the time. Her extraordinary vision inspired her to create an exquisite closet for her daughter, which eventually brought her recognition and she was able to open her store. This incredible woman built an empire of children’s clothing, hats, women’s collections, lingerie, perfumes, and more. Her legacy lives on today, but with a modern approach to Parisian life.