Fashion Designers: C

The Apparel Search designer directory is arranged alphabetically by the designer's first name. This page covers the letter C — by any measure the directory's most decorated letter, holding the founder of haute couture, the founder of the New Look, and the defining name of American minimalism on a single page.

The designers are listed in the directory links directly below. This section does not contain every fashion designer in the world: it lists selected famous designers, chosen as the developers of famous brands. The wider Designer Directory, linked below, reaches further.

Illustrative image created for this guide — an artistic impression, not this designer's own garments.

The C Names in Brief

Charles Frederick Worth stands first in more than alphabet: the English-born Paris couturier who founded the House of Worth in 1858 and is remembered as the father of haute couture — the first designer to present collections on live models and to sign his work like an artist. Coco Chanel and Christian Dior carry the letter's Parisian weight forward into the twentieth century: Chanel liberating the wardrobe with jersey, the suit and the little black dress; Dior re-feminizing it with the New Look of 1947.

The Christians continue with Christian Lacroix, couture's great colorist, and Christian Louboutin, whose red-soled shoes made a signature visible from across a room. Carolina Herrera brings the letter its polished New York elegance, Collette Dinnigan its Australian delicacy — and Calvin Klein, whose record begins in this item with his collections, dresses and fall pages, its American minimalism: the clean line as a complete philosophy.

Using the Letter Lists

Each letter page works the same way: the letter's designers first, in the directory links at the top, then the routes onward — the B and D lists neighboring this one, and the full alphabet for readers following a name they only half remember. Because filing is by first name, the four Christians share this page as neighbors, whatever their houses' rivalries.

From any name, the guide pages go deeper: collections, seasons, fashion week, news, profiles and runway records for the designers who have them. The C list is the natural starting point for readers who want the directory's history in one letter.