Not all well-known fashion designers are open to the public. Perhaps the majority of us are familiar with them and even wear clothing bearing their illustrious mark. Few of us can, however, picture what Calvin Klein or Tommy Hilfiger might look like.
We discovered pictures of the individuals who were hiding behind the names of labels from upscale retailers. We fully acknowledge how difficult it was for us to tell these prominent designers apart from regular folks on the street.
1. Marc Jacobs, age 59
Fashion designer Marc Jacobs was born in New York in 1963, and he is well-known for his iconic pop culture trends. He grew up with his brother and sister, and his father died when he was just 7 years old. Due to his mother’s repeated remarriages and divorces, his family was forced to relocate.
He moved to his grandmother’s house in Manhattan when he was a teenager, where she taught him how to knit. This motivated him to research the fashion business, and he subsequently developed an interest in fashion design. He worked at a garment store and applied to the High School of Art and Design at the age of 15. In that store, he made the acquaintance of Perry Ellis, a fashion designer who later served as his mentor. He attended Parsons School of Design after finishing high school, where he produced a great deal of work and received numerous prizes.
At the age of 23, Jacobs created his first collection for the Marc Jacobs brand with the help of sponsors. He was acknowledged as the youngest fashion designer to ever receive a coveted award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America at the age of 24.
2. Christian Louboutin, age 59
Born in Paris, Christian Louboutin has three sisters. He claimed in an interview that he had substantially darker skin than his relatives, which led him to think he was adopted. He learned that his mother had a covert relationship with his biological father and that his father was Egyptian. When he was only 12 years old, after being expelled from school three times, he made the decision to leave. His mother gave him permission to stay at a friend’s place.
Since he was a young man, Louboutin worked as a freelance designer, producing women’s shoes for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Maud Frizon. In terms of his profession, he created various styles with heels over 4.72 inches and brought stilettos back into vogue in the 1990s and 2000s. His goal was to give women an air of elegance and beauty and to elongate their legs as much as possible. But Louboutin is most renowned for its red leather high heels, which the brand started producing in 1993. Although his sketches didn’t quite correspond to his ideals, he was happy with the famous outcomes.
He made the decision to start his own business and open a store at the age of 27. Soon after, he began producing shoes for royalty and Hollywood stars, and his signature red soles went on to become one of the most identifiable fashion fads ever.
3. Michael Kors, age 63
In 1959, Michael Kors was born in New York. He was a model as a youngster, taking part in numerous commercials for products like cereal and toilet paper. When he was five years old, he received a new name because his biological parents divorced when he was still a little child. His mother eventually married Bill Kors, a businessman. He had the freedom to select his own first name, and his top two choices were Michael and David. He was thrilled that his mother allowed him to create her wedding gown because he was so passionate about fashion.
Kors began creating clothing as a teenager and selling it out of his parent’s cellar. He enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City when he was 17 years old, but he left after nine months and went to work in a fashion store. Four years later, he launched his own women’s clothing line at the same shop. When Kors was 23 years old, he invited Anna Wintour, a fashion editor, to take a look at his collection. Soon after, he won numerous prizes for his creations.
4. Tommy Hilfiger, age 71
Tommy Hilfiger was the second of nine children to be born in New York in 1951. His father made watches in a jewellery store, and his mother worked as a nurse. Due to his height and weight in high school, he was unable to participate in sports, and his dyslexia prevented him from being a top student.
He used to purchase jeans as a teenager, reproduce them, and then sell them. He started selling hippie suits at the age of 18, and as they quickly gained popularity, he went on to build several other stores. Then he wed Susie Carona, a member of his staff who worked at his shop. They soon attained designer status, but his true goals were to establish his own private label and rise to fame.
Hilfiger launched his own clothing store at the age of 20, but he filed for bankruptcy five years later. He then relocated to New York and worked for many labels there. At the age of 28, he founded Tommy Hill, his own apparel design business. Six years later, with the aid of sponsors, he founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, which quickly rose to the top of the global apparel industry. There are currently hundreds of his stores spread across numerous nations.
5. Christian Lacroix, age 71
French-born artist Christian Lacroix has always enjoyed sketching historical clothing. He launched his own couture business and began getting ideas from various other civilizations. Many individuals, nevertheless, condemned his work and claimed that the garments he produced weren’t what women actually required. He began producing jewellery, shoes, handbags, and other items in 1989, and eventually built shops for them overseas. He began to gain notoriety for his imaginative, fantastical thoughts.
Lacroix originally intended to work as a museum curator. At the age of 20, he relocated to Paris and enrolled in the École du Louvre and the Sorbonne to study art history. But soon after, he developed a stronger enthusiasm for garment design. He had already founded his own haute couture house by the time he was 36.
6. Miuccia Prada, age 73
One of the most well-known fashion designers, Maria Bianchi, was born in 1949 to a wealthy family in Italy. She has two siblings. She first pursued a career in politics and earned a PhD in political science.
When she was 29 years old, the eldest granddaughter of Mario Prada took over the family company of creating high-end goods. She had, however, fantasised as a young girl of working as a mime at the Teatro Piccolo. Even longer, she had been giving performances there. She created and unveiled her first women’s collection at the age of 40. She also released a men’s collection five years later. According to Forbes, Miuccia Prada was on the list of the most powerful women in 2014.
7. Jimmy Choo, age 73
A Malaysian fashion designer with current headquarters in the UK, Jimmy Choo was born in 1948. He is well known for creating unique women’s shoes.
At age 11, Choo created his first pair of shoes. He relocated to the UK from Malaysia to attend Cordwainers Technical College in London. Following graduation, Choo began working for a design firm, and not long after that, he established his own shoe store. At London Fashion Week, his abilities and creations were rapidly recognised, and he went on to achieve international fame.
8. Yohji Yamamoto, age 78
Embed from Getty ImagesJapanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto presently divides his time between Tokyo and Paris. He earned a law degree and then abandoned everything to work with his mother in the dressmaking industry. He acquired his attention to detail there. Following that, he enrolled in Bunka Fashion College where he completed his degree in fashion design. When Yamamoto presented his line for the first time in 1981 in Paris, he quickly gained worldwide recognition.
9. Calvin Klein, age 79
In addition to being a well-known fashion designer, Calvin Klein is also the creator of numerous perfumes, timepieces, and pieces of jewellery. He was born in New York in 1942 and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology there with a doctorate.
In his early years, Klein worked in a number of New York City fashion firms. He occasionally worked as a street artist. At the age of 26, he and his friend Barry K. Schwartz founded Calvin Klein Inc. in New York. Menswear was the company’s first focus, but later he added womenswear to his production line.
10. Manolo Blahnik, age 79
Fashion designer Manolo Blahnik is well-known for his high-end shoe line. He was born in Spain, and he and his sister were raised on a banana plantation owned by his mother’s side of the family. He was homeschooled rather than attending school, and he later double majored in politics and law.
11. Roberto Cavalli, age 81
Embed from Getty ImagesDesigner and inventor Roberto Cavalli, who was born in 1940, is well-known for his hip patterns and jeans made of sand. His name is also associated with numerous leather goods and scents.
On a handloom, Cavalli explored weaving techniques, which quickly captured his interest. He made the decision to discontinue his studies and launch his own textile printing company, which gradually gained more notoriety. Cavalli successfully debuted his first collection at the Paris Salon for Prêt-à -Porter at the age of 32. Soon after that, he launched his name-brand clothing line and built his own fashion store in Saint-Tropez.
12. Luciano Benetton, age 87
The Benetton Group, a renowned Italian fashion brand, is named after Luciano Benetton, who was born in 1935. After his father passed away, Benetton, then 14 years old, was forced to leave school and start working in a clothing store. His father ran a small business.
He eventually managed to save up enough cash to purchase a knitting machine, and he went on to successfully launch his first line of vibrant sweaters. Benetton, his sister Giuliana, and his two brothers, Carlo and Gilberto, founded the Benetton Group when he was 30 years old.
13. Paco Rabanne, age 88
Embed from Getty ImagesFrancisco Rabaneda Cuervo is his true name, and he was born in Spain in 1934. While earning money by creating design illustrations for Givenchy and Dior, he studied architecture.
When Paco Rabanne first entered the fashion industry, he created jewellery for Givenchy, Dior, and Balenciaga. Rabanne founded his own fashion brand at the age of 32 and showed his debut collection in Paris, which was constructed of paper, plastic, and metal. He enjoyed a prosperous career during the ensuing decades since it garnered the attention of the international press.
Would you start your own label or use an existing one if you were a prominent designer around the world? Please leave comments for us; we’d love to hear from you!
Please note: This article was updated in August 2022 to correct source material and factual inaccuracies.
Preview photo credit JBMPHOTOS/JBM PHOTOS/EAST NEWS, PHIL LOFTUS/CAPITAL PICTURES/EAST NEWS
