Female Fashion Designers Shaping

There's a commonly held misconception that the upper 

echelons of the fashion industry are dominated by women. 

In 2019 a study carried out by professional services 

network Price water house Coopers revealed only 12.5 per 

cent of fashion companies in the Fortune 1000 are in fact 

female led. It's a shocking statistic, particularly when one 

considers around 80 per cent of the people that work in the 

garment industry globally (from manufacturing to retail) are women. 

So for International Women's Day we felt it was high time to 

celebrate those currently leading the charge in menswear, 

from Donatella Versace and Miuccia Prada to Grace Wales 

Bonner, Louise Trotter and Priya Ahluwalia. Below are the female 

fashion designers helping men to dress better.

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  Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen

  Leaving the plastic world of TV far behind them, in 2006 Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen launched The Row, which mainly served the minimalist Upper East Siders of Manhattan with chic, yet eye-blisteringly expensive slip dresses and shaggy fur jackets. In 2016 the brand released a menswear capsule, which then led to the sisters launching a fully fledged menswear division in 2018. The same ethos was carried into the men's line and the pair have consistently presented sharp tailoring, baggy trousers and luxuriously soft cashmere knitwear in muted hues that we can't get enough of at GQ.  

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  Miuccia Prada

  Alongside her role as the creative director of Miu Miu, Miuccia Prada is the co-chief executive and co-creative director of Prada, which was founded by her grandfather Mario Prada in 1913. Having joined the brand in 1978, Prada released her first menswear line in 1995, which is second-to-none, exhibiting expertly cut tailoring, eye-catching graphics, dreamy wool and nylon outerwear, triangle-shaped motif and excellently angular footwear.

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  Sarah Burton

  Following Lee Alexander McQueen's death in 2010 his former colleague and long-term friend Sarah Burton took on the difficult task of continuing the great designer’s legacy. Yet the Manchester-born and Central Saint Martins-educated Burton has succeeded, subtly changing the aesthetic of the house, while remaining true to the late namesake designer's iconoclastic codes. While other houses have gone über-sporty, Burton's seasonal McQueen menswear collections are tailoring-centric, and you'll find thistle-embroidered DB suits sitting alongside floral-printed single-breasted numbers, the latter which have taken Timothée Chalamet's fancy in the past. Burton has received a coveted Order of the British Empire for her services to the British fashion industry, as well as The Walpole Award for British Luxury Design Talent
, the Designer of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards, and a CFDA International Award. 

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  Donatella Versace

  Donatella Versace has held the position of artistic director and vice president of Versace since 1997, after her brother Gianni's death. Introducing accessories and homeware to the brand, she has continued to impress with her men's read-to-wear offering. In 2018 we awarded Versace the GQ Designer Of The Year award for her consistently “energetic, youthful and desirable” collections, as described by GQ Style And Grooming Director Teo van den Broeke, which are filled with logo-heavy denim, brocade shirts aplenty, clashing animal prints and slick tailoring. 

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  Jil Sander 

  In 1968, German designer Jil Sander founded her eponymous luxury label, which is recognised and adored for its minimal and puritanical neutral-hued outerwear and laid-back tailoring. In 1999, the Prada Group bought a 75 per cent share in the company and in 2003 Sander left the house, before returning in 2012 for three seasons. Despite no longer having anything to do with the brand, 77-year-old Sander remains a key figure in the fashion industry and designs that same stripped-blacked clothing for Uniqlo's sellout J+ line.

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  Marine Serre

  At just 29 years old, Marine Serre is one of the most exciting designers in the game. Serre held internships working under Matthieu Blazy at Maison Margiela, Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen and Raf Simons while he was at Dior, before embarking on a role as a junior designer position at Balenciaga under Demna Gvasalia, during which time she also worked on her own label. In 2019, she launched in menswear, with collections characterised by super-fine turtleneck knits, tie-dye silk sweatshirts made of upcycled materials and baggy denim. At the end of 2020, after the likes of Beyoncé and Dua Lipa made her a household name, A$AP Rocky collaborated with Serre on a limited-edition capsule collection. 

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  Aurora James

  Footwear designer Aurora James might not be a household name just yet, but through her brand, Brother Vellies, she's been backed by Kanye West, who supported her during New York Fashion Week in 2015, and Beyoncé, who regularly slips into her heels. Her menswear offering, made up of denim strappy sandals, patent cork and springbok fur Derbies and zebra-print wrap-tie sandals, is crafted using shoemaking techniques from South Africa.