FASHION DESIGNERS from United States

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Fashion Designers of all time. This list of famous American Fashion Designers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Fashion Designers.

1. Calvin Klein (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 68.91, Calvin Klein is the most famous American Fashion Designer.  His biography has been translated into 50 different languages on wikipedia.

Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is a designer who launched the company that later became Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery.

2. Ralph Lauren (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 67.39, Ralph Lauren is the 2nd most famous American Fashion Designer.  His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Ralph Lauren ( LOR-ən; né Lifshitz; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his collection of rare automobiles, some of which have been displayed in museum exhibits. He stepped down as CEO of the company in September 2015 but remains executive chairman and chief creative officer. As of April 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$8.8 billion.

3. Tommy Hilfiger (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 64.31, Tommy Hilfiger is the 3rd most famous American Fashion Designer.  His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( hil-FIG-ər; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upstate New York in the 1970s, he began designing preppy clothing for his own eponymous menswear line in the 1980s. The company later expanded into women's clothing and various luxury items such as perfumes and went public in 1992. Hilfiger's collections are often influenced by the fashion of music subcultures and marketed in connection with the music industry, with celebrities such as American R&B artist Aaliyah in the 1990s. In 2005, contestants in the CBS reality show The Cut competed for a design job with Hilfiger in a similar fashion to The Apprentice. In 2006, Hilfiger sold his company for $1.6 billion to Apax Partners, who next sold it in 2010 to Phillips-Van Heusen for $3 billion. He remains the company's principal designer, leading the design teams and overseeing the entire creative process. In 2012, Hilfiger was awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

4. Tom Ford (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 60.09, Tom Ford is the 4th most famous American Fashion Designer.  His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directed the films A Single Man (2009) and Nocturnal Animals (2016). From 2019 to 2022, he was chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

5. Donna Karan (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 58.04, Donna Karan is the 5th most famous American Fashion Designer.  Her biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Donna Karan ( KARR-ən; born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as DK, is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.

6. Vera Wang (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 56.46, Vera Wang is the 6th most famous American Fashion Designer.  Her biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Vera Ellen Wang (Chinese: 王薇薇; pinyin: Wáng Wēiwēi; born June 27, 1949) is an American fashion designer. Wang initially pursued a career in figure skating before transitioning to fashion. She worked for Vogue and Ralph Lauren before launching her own bridal gown boutique in 1990. Wang gained international recognition for her wedding dress designs. Her gowns have been worn by numerous celebrities. She expanded her brand to include ready-to-wear fashion, accessories, fragrances, and home goods.

7. Marc Jacobs (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 53.61, Marc Jacobs is the 7th most famous American Fashion Designer.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was discontinued after the 2015 fall/winter collection. At its peak, it had over 200 retail stores in 80 countries. He 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, and was #14 on Out magazine's 2012 list of "50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America". He married his longtime partner Charly Defrancesco on April 6, 2019.

8. Anna Sui (b. 1952)

With an HPI of 47.12, Anna Sui is the 8th most famous American Fashion Designer.  Her biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Anna Sui (Chinese: 蕭志美; pinyin: Xiāo Zhìměi; born August 4, 1964) is an American fashion designer. Her brand categories include several fashion lines, footwear, cosmetics, fragrances, eyewear, jewelry, accessories and home goods Sui was named one of the "Top 5 Fashion Icons of the Decade", and in 2009 earned the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), joining the ranks of Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Diane von Furstenberg.

9. Tina Knowles (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 46.44, Tina Knowles is the 9th most famous American Fashion Designer.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Celestine Ann "Tina" Beyoncé Knowles (née Beyoncé; born January 4, 1954) is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, and philanthropist known for establishing the brands House of Deréon and Miss Tina by Tina Knowles. She is the mother of singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles and was married until 2011 to their father Mathew Knowles, the manager of Destiny's Child. For her contribution to the fashion business, Knowles was honored at the Accessories Council Excellence Awards in 2001.

10. Irene Sharaff (1910 - 1993)

With an HPI of 40.61, Irene Sharaff is the 10th most famous American Fashion Designer.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Irene Sharaff (January 23, 1910 – August 16, 1993) was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her accolades include five Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Sharaff is universally recognized as one of the greatest costume designers of all time.