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InStyle’s June 28, 2024 selection of 21 influential American fashion designers spans the 1960s through the 1990s. It is an editorial list, not a ranked result: the article publishes no scoring method. Its examples show influence in several forms, from signature garments and everyday sportswear to advertising, cultural visibility, and industry milestones.
What makes these designers influential?
The selection treats influence broadly. Some designers changed what people wore; others made American sportswear a defining category, brought fashion into public view through marketing and media, or broke barriers in the industry. The list also includes designers born outside the United States, emphasizing American fashion careers and contributions rather than birthplace alone.
Three threads help make sense of the selection: the Battle of Versailles as a landmark for American fashion, practical clothing designed for modern everyday and working life, and the changing cultural image of American style—from grunge to red-white-and-blue branding. The following names are presented alphabetically here, rather than ranked.
The 21 designers and their influence
Ann Lowe
Lowe built a successful salon serving debutantes and high society, and is widely associated with Jacqueline Kennedy’s silk taffeta wedding dress. InStyle notes that Lowe received a Couturier of the Year award in 1961 and that her work appeared in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2022 exhibition In America: An Anthology of Fashion.
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Anna Sui
Sui’s bold bohemian style and glam-grunge sensibility helped make her a designer associated with setting trends rather than following them. InStyle identifies her as a first-generation Chinese American designer.
Anne Klein
Klein developed sophisticated clothing for American women entering the workforce, including mix-and-match pieces that supported versatile wardrobes. She was the only woman designer selected to represent the American fashion industry at the 1973 Battle of Versailles.
Bill Blass
Blass brought a relaxed sophistication to sportswear, pairing wearability with luxurious fabrics. He also adapted classic menswear elements for women’s clothing. InStyle describes him as the first American couture designer to balance both a women’s and a men’s line.
Calvin Klein
Klein’s minimalist aesthetic appeared across suits, denim, underwear, and fragrance. His provocative advertising helped make the brand’s image as culturally visible as its clothes.
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Carolina Herrera
Herrera became known for polished sophistication and what InStyle characterizes as “chic American elegance.” Born in Venezuela, she represents the article’s broader focus on designers whose work shaped American fashion, not only those born in the country.
Diane von Furstenberg
Born in Belgium, von Furstenberg launched her signature wrap dress in the United States in 1974. InStyle reports that nearly 25,000 dresses were sold each week after its initial launch, attributing that figure to Forbes; the InStyle article does not state the Forbes publication year or provide the original context for the number.
Donna Karan
Karan’s Essentials line was built around seven interchangeable pieces, a concept InStyle connects with the capsule wardrobe. Her DKNY line extended her design reach through a more affordable diffusion label.
Halston (Roy Halston Frowick)
Halston helped define 1970s style with flowing clothes and materials such as cashmere and Ultrasuede. He was also an early example of a designer licensing his name, an approach that expanded fashion branding beyond the garment itself.
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The 1995 documentary Unzipped brought viewers unusually close to the fashion-design process through Mizrahi’s work, showing its anxieties and doubts as well as its creative decisions. Its behind-the-scenes view made the designer’s process part of the public story of fashion.
Marc Jacobs
Jacobs drew attention with his 1992 grunge collection for Perry Ellis. He later rose through his own label and a long tenure at Louis Vuitton, linking a disruptive early-1990s fashion moment with major houses and global visibility.
Michael Kors
Kors’s sportswear emphasizes practical, wearable pieces. InStyle quotes him as saying, “The creative thinking behind sportswear is the same no matter where you are—it’s all about great pieces that women can wear every day.” The article does not give the original interview date or context for the quotation.
Norma Kamali
Kamali’s work includes the sleeping-bag coat, sweats as sportswear, body-conscious dresses, and swimwear. InStyle quotes her saying, “Taste is an evolution and refinement of one’s personal likes and dislikes. This evolution takes place with a constant curiosity and interest in everything.” The article also described her use of AI in 2024; that is a dated account, not confirmation of her current practice.
Oscar de la Renta
De la Renta combined European extravagance with American practicality. He participated in the Battle of Versailles, dressed several U.S. first ladies, and became the first Latin designer to design for Balmain, according to InStyle.
Patrick Kelly
Kelly was the first American admitted to the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. His designs challenged racial stereotypes, making cultural representation central to his fashion legacy. InStyle quotes critic Robin Givhan describing how deliberately Kelly engaged race and culture; the article does not supply the quote’s original publication context.
Perry Ellis
Ellis made American sportswear playful and accessible. His approach is captured in the line quoted by InStyle: “I don’t make fashion—I make clothes.”
Ralph Lauren
Lauren built an idealized vision of American style across settings and identities, from cowboys and preppy dress to Olympians. The expansion of his brand into lifestyle categories made that vision larger than a single clothing line.
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Burrows was the only African American designer in the Battle of Versailles presentation, as described by InStyle. His slim silhouettes, color blocking, and “lettuce edge” finish became signatures. His Stephen Burrows’ World boutique opened at Henri Bendel in 1970.
Tom Ford
Ford’s 1990s glamour and sharp tailoring were central to his work at Gucci. InStyle credits him with helping revive the label, illustrating how a designer’s distinct look could reshape a major fashion house.
Tommy Hilfiger
Hilfiger launched his brand in 1986. A Times Square billboard placed his name alongside Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Perry Ellis, while the label’s red, white, and blue logo became strongly associated with logomania.
Vera Wang
After working as a Vogue editor, Wang designed her own wedding gown in 1989 because she found the available bridal choices unsatisfactory. InStyle credits her with helping make sleek bridal looks prominent.
How the list reflects American fashion’s reach
The designers’ influence is not limited to runway innovation. Klein and Karan addressed changing work and daily wardrobes; Blass, Kors, and Ellis made wearability central to sportswear; and Lauren turned a vision of American life into a broader lifestyle brand. Calvin Klein and Hilfiger demonstrate how advertising and logos could shape fashion’s public identity, while Unzipped made the creative process itself a subject for viewers.
Institutional and cultural milestones add another dimension. The Battle of Versailles appears through Anne Klein, Oscar de la Renta, and Stephen Burrows, while Patrick Kelly’s couture admission and challenge to racial stereotypes mark a different kind of influence. Together, these examples show why “American fashion” in this selection is a story of design, business, media, identity, and access—not a single look or a roster of U.S.-born designers.
InStyle’s article is a useful guide to these careers, but its selection remains editorial judgment. It does not establish that these are objectively the 21 most influential designers, nor does it provide a comparative ranking or method for measuring influence.
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