Alexander McQueen became head designer of the Louis Vuitton-owned Givenchy fashion line, and in 2004 he launched his own menswear line. McQueen earned the British Fashion Council's British Designer of the Year award four times, and was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He committed suicide in 2010, shortly after the death of his mother.
Legendary fashion designer Christian Dior exploded onto the Paris fashion scene with designs that flew in the face of wartime restrictions and reintroduced a femininity and focus on luxury to women's fashion. His resulting success, based on the innovation of both his designs and his business practices, made him the most successful fashion designer in the world. His designs have been worn by film stars and royalty alike, and his company continues to operate at the forefront of the fashion industry. 
Fashion designer Coco Chanel is famous for her timeless designs, trademark suits and little black dresses. In the 1920s, she launched her first perfume and eventually introduced the Chanel suit and the little black dress, with an emphasis on making clothes that were more comfortable for women. She herself became a much revered style icon known for her simple yet sophisticated outfits paired with great accessories, such as several strands of pearls.
Spanish fashion designer and the founder of the Balenciaga fashion house. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as “the master of us all” by Christian Dior and as “the only couturier in the truest sense of the word” by Coco Chanel, who continued, “The others are simply fashion designers”. He continues to be revered as the supreme deity of the European salons. On the day of his death, in 1972, Women’s Wear Daily ran the headline “The king is dead” (no one in the fashion world had any doubt as to whom it referred).
Donatella Versace grew up with two major fashion influences: her mother was a dressmaker and her older brother, Gianni Versace, was a budding designer. She went to work for her brother in the late 1970s, serving as his muse and adviser. Donatella Versace became the designer for the company's Versus line in the 1980s. After her brother was murdered in 1997, she became artistic director of the Versace Group.
Giorgio Armani is an iconic clothing designer who has expanded his empire to include restaurants and hotels. His popularity skyrocketed in America in the 1980s when his men's 'power suits' appeared frequently on the television series Miami Vice and in the 1980 film American Gigolo, which starred Richard Gere in Armani's signature garb.
While studying architecture at the Paris campus of the Parsons School of Design, Tom Ford decided to switch to fashion. He became Womenswear Designer for Gucci in 1990 and Creative Director in 1994. Under Ford's direction, Gucci's annual sales grew to $3 billion. Since resigning from Gucci in 2005, Ford has launched his own fashion brand and he also directed several movies.
Considered one of the most unconventional and outspoken fashion designers in the world, Vivienne Westwood rose to fame in the late 1970s when her early designs helped shape the look of the punk rock movement.
As a teen, Yves Saint Laurent left Algeria for Paris to work for designer Christian Dior and gained acclaim for his dress designs. In 1966, he launched his own fashion labels, where his adaptations of tuxedos for women garnered him fame. He was the first living designer to receive a solo exhibition in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1983.