Fashionista or not, you might be delighted to know that some of the world’s biggest designers have Latino roots like your own. From big household names like Manolo Blahnik, Carolina Herrera to Oscar de la Renta and then some, Latinos have managed to carve out a space for their designs and culture in the fashion world. Here’s a list:

1. Mariano Fortuny

Fortuny was a Spanish fashion designer whose career spanned the years between 1906 and 1946. At the time he managed and designed for his couture house.

2. Cristobal Balenciaga

The Spanish designer and founder of the Balenciaga fashion house rose to fame by designing for Spanish aristocrats. He eventually moved his shop to Paris.

3. Manolo Blahnik

The Canary Island designer gained popularity thanks to “Sex and the City.” The Spanish designer never studied shoe designer formally and learned his skills by visiting shoe factories. 

4. Antonio Del Castillo

The Spanish costume designer won an Academy Award for creating costumes for the film “Nicholas and Alexandra” in 1971. del Castillo studied at the Colegio del Pilar in Madrid.

5. Luis Estevez

Esteves designed numerous wives notable political leaders including First Lady Betty Ford and Princess Grace of Monaco. He also dressed Natalie Wood and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

6. Adolfo Sardi

Adolfo was a milliner and worked in hat workshops in Paris for Balenciaga and Chanel. From Cardenas, Cuba, Adolfo started his career in fashion after encouragement from his aunt who had a fondness for French couture. 

7. Francisco Costa

The Brazilian designer worked for Oscar de la Renta for some time before moving to design for Calvin Klein. There he oversaw the women’s collections.

8. Oscar De La Renta

One of the greatest fashion icons of his time, Oscar de la Renta, used his culture and Dominican upbringing to inspire most of his designs. De La Renta studied painting in Spain.

9. Carolina Herrera

The Venezuelan designer has dressed celebrity likes Sofia Vergara to Penelope Cruz. She grew up wearing made-to-order clothing and was inspired to design after seeing a Balenciaga fashion show at thirteen.

10. Custo Barcelona

The Custo Barcelona brand was created by Spanish brothers David and Dalmau Custo. The two designers presented collections during the NYFW spring 1997 season. 

11. Narciso Rodriguez

This Cuban-American’s minimalistic caught the industry’s eye when he designed John F. Kennedy Jr.’s wife, Carolyn Bessette, wedding dress. He was later awarded Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

12. John Galliano

The controversial Spanish designer restored houses like Christian Dior and Givenchy back to fame with his designs in the 1990s. 

13. Lazaro Hernandez

The Cuban-American designer moved to in New York to get into fashion. His styles have been featured in Vogue.

14. Isabel Toledo

Toledo is another Cuban-American desginer. She studied design at  Parson’s New School of Design and FIT. She dressed Michelle Obama for the first time back in 2008 for her appearance at a New York City fashion world fund-raiser. 

15. Carlos Miele

The Brazilian fashion designer sells his labels in over 30 countries. He specializes in women’s wear. 

16. Alejandro Ingelmo

Like his Cuban grandmother, Ingelmo is a shoe designer. He won Swarovski Award for Accessory Design by the CFDA in 2014.

17. Margarita Alvarez

The “Project Runway” designer from San Juan Puerto Rico specializes in designs for people of all shapes and sizes. Her designs most intriguing aspects have included her runway looks which are infused with her Latino root.s

18. Christian Cota

The Mexican designer studied painting in Paris before he attended Parsons School of Design in 2005. After school, he started his career by assisting for Angel Sanchez. Style.com named Cota one of their “Ten Newcomers to Watch” of 2007.

19. Brian Reyes

The designer from Miami moved toNew York when he was 17 to work for designer Oscar de la Renta. These days he has dressed actresses like Cate Blanchett and America Ferrera.

20. Carlos Campos

The Honduran designer founded his company back in 2006. Before that, he graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and designed costumes for Broadway productions 

21. Rebecca Stirm

Stirm competed on the Jamaican fashion design reality show “Mission Catwalk” back in 2012. At the time she placed third. Three years later she launched her brand TWIG & PEARL.

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