Karl Lagerfeld Conquers Fashion One’s Top 10 Designers of 2014 List

There’s no doubt, ‘King Karl’ Lagerfeld takes the reign as the Top Designer of the year.

This German born 81-year-old designer has been unstoppable year after year and 2014 was no different. Karl, who actually got started in couture with the fashion house Balmain, which he left to become head designer for Chloe, nowadays juggles countless projects as the creative force behind Chanel, Fendi and his own label. According to the Business of Fashion, “Renowned for his renaissance-like intelligence, Lagerfeld’s voracious intellect informs his dry, sporadically controversial wit, and imbues his aesthetic with culture and historical reference points.”

This year Karl has made a lot of accomplishments including being enlisted in Louis Vuitton’s ‘The Icon And The Iconoclasts’ project, developing a Karl Lagerfeld Hotel with casino operator SJM which will open in 2017 in Macau, China, having PVH Corp. as a minority shareholder in his eponymous brand, and opened his first only men’s wear store Paris just weeks after the inauguration of a shop in shop at the Galeries Lafayette and becoming the 18th retail outlet opened by the Karl Lagerfeld brand in less than two years. American toy manufacturing company Mattel made a limited edition Barbie inspired by him which completely sold out within hours after going on sale. Adding newspaper publisher to his list of accomplishments, the designer launched his own newspaper called 'The Karl Daily', which covers all things pertaining to the creative director's life.

In addition, Lagerfeld staged several elaborate and talked about shows for Chanel such as his Fall 2014 supermarket themed runway, followed by the feminist protest we witnessed in Paris for the Spring Summer 2015 collection and the annual Métiers d'Art show which he took to Salzburg, Austria. He also collaborated with some of the biggest names in entertainment and fashion, such as British actress Keira Knightley, music superstar Pharrell Williams, “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart, the world’s highest paid supermodel Gisele Bundchen and fashion ‘it girls’ Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner, for some of his Chanel campaigns as well.

And these are actually just a few of Karl’s 2014 agenda items. It is hard to imagine a day in the life of this eclectic, busy complex and creative genius but we sure are happy with all the results of his hectic schedule and this is why Karl Lagerfeld is clearly the Top Designer of 2014.

2014 hosted a lot of exciting and history-making events, collections, collaborations and headlines. The wonderful world of fashion and the power players and creative minds that run it may have their ups and downs, and we are more than happy to have witnessed so many great things and accomplishments happen in the lives of these design geniuses. Karl Lagerfeld took the title but here are the other 9 designers who have made 2014 a monumental year in fashion.

Fashion One’s Top 10 Designers of 2014

1. Karl Lagerfeld
2. Diane von Fürstenberg
3. Tory Burch
4. Stella McCartney
5. Michael Kors
6. Victoria Beckham
7. Alexander Wang
8. Vivienne Westwood
9. Raf Simons
10. Jeremy Scott

Now that the 2014 list has been revealed, we wonder what to expect next in the eccentric world of fashion. We’ll be sure to keep a close watch during 2015 to see if our favorites stayed on top or if newcomers will swipe in and take their places. Learn more about the Top 10 Designers of 2014 exclusively on Fashion One, FO and Fashion First. Check your cable operators for your local TV channel listing.