2020’s Most Influential Fashion Designers

The industry of fashion and design is one of the most profitable around the globe for years. The need for aesthetic upgrade exists in human nature, and it is evident if someone takes a quick look at our history. Archeological findings indicate that art appeared long before writing. Even though the prehistoric people didn’t have other luxuries in their daily lives, they did seek the elegance that we usually take for granted. Drawings depicting women in beautiful colors and men in the middle of the fight with dangerous animals have been found worldwide. As time goes by, and we grow as a society, the social and economic relationships change. The way we dress, the furniture we buy, and the structures we build are different. However, we still put a lot of effort into just ”look good,” and we are willing to spend fortunes in the shake of design and good taste. Below we present some designers who are at the same time excellent businessmen and are at the top 5 richest among their colleagues.

1. Miuccia Prada
   Her net worth reaches $11,1 billion! The head designer of Prada and founder of Miu Miu has been in the top richest list for years even though some doubt her wealthiness in 2020. The Italian fashion designer comes from a long tradition, as she is the granddaughter of Mario Prada and the most talented among her siblings in terms of business skills. Her career skyrocketed after she married Patrizio Bertelli. She is a real art lover and collector and owns a contemporary art gallery.
2. Giorgio Armani
   His net worth is estimated at 9,6 billion dollars, leaving his next competitor $1,4 billion behind. His work is associated with Haute couture and ready-to-wear and home interiors, florist service, and even hotels. Lately, he initiated a partnership with Emaar Properties PJSC in the real estate sector. The Italian designer has publicly identified as bisexual and is now 86 years old.
3. Ralph Lauren
   That’s right, his net worth is $8,2 billion. Only in 2019, his wealth was estimated to be $6,3 billion by Forbes. Ralph left his business degree to work in fashion. Apart from a successful businessman, he is also a philanthropist. Polo is his ”child” brand, and the online shop of polo only came out in 2020. He is still the executive chairman and chief creative officer of the company, leaving the position of C.E.O. to Stefan Larsson in 2015.
4. Dominico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana
   The net worth of each of them is $1,7 billion. Dominico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana are the owners of the famous fashion house that was founded in 1985. They have exhibited all over the world and dressed celebrities, such as Madonna.

   They have been accused of being racists and sexists, especially after their public statements that they disapprove of gay families and that they believe that the only type of family that could ever exist is the traditional type of family.

   

5. Valentino Garavani
   Far below the first on the list, Valentino Gravani’s net worth is at $1,5 billion. Again Italy dominates the list since Valentino comes from Rome. The owner of the ”Valentino” brand started as a local designer and ended up with a 45-year career.

   The company has a history of changing hands, and it was only in 2012 that it was sold to Mayhoola for Investments S.P.C. for more than 700 million euros. In 2020 the company announced that they would stop using alpaca wool, and later on, the abuse of thousands of animals came out in public.

   

6. Tory Burch
   Sixth in our list, with a net worth of $900 million, is again a woman, the famous American philanthropist Tory Burch and actually a pretty young one since she is only 54 years old. She is the creative officer of Torry Burch L.L.C. and one of the world’s top hundred most powerful women. In 2004 she started the ”TRB by Tory Burch” which is now established as ”Tory Burch”. In 2019 they partnered with Shiseido, and there are 250 stores of the brand internationally.
7. Calvin Klein
   Calvin Klein holds the last spot on our list with a net worth of $700 million. Calvin Richard Klein founded Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968 at the age of 26. He has been married and divorced twice and has a daughter from his first marriage, Marci, who is the Talent Producer for N.B.C.’s Saturday Night Live. In 2002 the company was sold to Phillips Van Heusen Corp (P.V.H.), while Calvin Klein the creative head of the collections.
8. Stephan Caras
   After attending the Fashion Designer’s Academy of Melbourne, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and the St Martin’s Theatre School in Australia as a teenager, he has gone on to establish the prestigious couture fashion house, ‘Stephan Caras Design Inc.’ in the heart of downtown Toronto in Canada.

   Stephan Caras, who was born in Corinth, Greece has designed some of the most sophisticated and distinctive creations for men and women around the world. Today, he is not only considered an internationally renowned designer, but also a sensitive man who understands, respects and can define a woman’s femininity and sensuality. This is what has enabled him to successfully and masterfully create intriguing collections that promote elegance, class and self assurance.

Written by Anna Siampani.