Designers

Camila Alves’s rags-to-riches story is an inspiration to many. The Brazilian beauty went from being a waitress to the brand ambassador of a Macy’s collection. She designs the Muxo brand of bags and has also dabbled in hosting, lifestyle blogging, and entrepreneurship. Camila is also known as Matthew McConaughey’s wife.

Filippo Brunelleschi was an Italian architect, sculptor, and designer. Regarded as Renaissance architecture's founding father, Brunelleschi is hailed as the first modern engineer. Among his famous accomplishments is the design of the dome of the Florence Cathedral. He is also credited with inventing hydraulic machinery and designing machinery that was used in churches to re-enact Biblical stories through theatrical performances.

Production designer Bo Welch is best known for his BAFTA-winning work in Edward Scissorhands. He has also earned Academy Award nominations for his designing work for films such as Men in Black, The Birdcage, and A Little Princess. He has been a production designer for many of Tim Burton’s films.

Ecco2K is a British-Swedish model, singer, designer, and director. He is best known for his innovative and experimental songwriting. Ecco2K is also a successful entrepreneur, having launched his own product line called g'LOSS.

Salvatore Ferragamo was an Italian shoe designer. An innovative designer, Ferragamo is remembered for inventing the Cage heel. Also a pioneering shoe designer, Ferragamo experimented with materials including fish, crocodile, and kangaroo skin. He is also credited with founding the popular luxury goods company, Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. Today, his company has extended its operations to include a ready-to-wear clothing line.

Ettore Bugatti was an automobile designer and manufacturer. He is credited with founding the popular car manufacturer Automobiles E. Bugatti, which gained prominence as the maker of some of the fastest and technologically advanced cars of its day. In 2000, Ettore Bugatti was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Aeronautical designer R. J. Mitchell joined Supermarine at age 21 and worked for them throughout his life. Remembered for designing sea planes, he was also the man behind the fighter aircraft Spitfire, which was used extensively during World War II. The film The First of the Few chronicled his life.

Hungarian artist László Moholy-Nagy was known for his non-representational art and his love for constructivism. Though he initially studied law, he later experimented with many forms of art, such as painting, sculpting, and photography. He also taught at the Bauhaus school of avant-garde design and co-edited the Bauhausbook series.

Swiss-French artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp initially studied textile design and later began creating multimedia art called Duo-Collages, along with her husband, German-French abstract artist Jean Arp. Apart from teaching at an art and craft school, the Dadaist had also used dance, painting, and sculpture to showcase her artistic talent.

Best known as the founder of the Design Museum in London, British designer and restaurateur Terence Conran had begun a furniture studio while still a student. He later launched popular interior and furniture design firms such as the Conran Design Group and Habitat. He has also penned several books.

Colin Chapman was an English inventor, design engineer, and builder in the automotive industry. He is credited with founding the popular British automotive company, Lotus Cars. Chapman is best remembered for achieving major automotive technical advances through his sports car company Lotus Cars. Under Colin Chapman’s leadership, Team Lotus won six F1 Drivers' Championships and seven Formula One Constructors' titles.

Apart from being an award-winning horticulturalist and landscape designer, Jamie Durie has also proved himself to be a skilled TV host. He also owns the architecture company Patio, later renamed Durie Design, and has gained fame for his shows such as The Outdoor Room and HGTV Showdown.

Augustus Pugin was an English designer, architect, artist, and critic. He is best remembered for his contribution to the Gothic Revival style of architecture. He is credited with designing the interior of the popular Palace of Westminster in London as well as the palace's iconic clock tower. Augustus Pugin also designed the Alton Castle in Staffordshire.

Jonathan Ive is a British-American product, industrial, and architectural designer. The former Chief Design Officer (CDO) of Apple Inc., Ive played a major role in the designs of several Apple products, such as the iPhone, MacBook, iMac, iPad, and iPod. He also played an important role in the designs of Apple's architectural projects, such as Apple Stores and Apple Park.

Though a high-school drop-out, Dutch aviation designer and entrepreneur Anthony Fokker showed his interest in mechanics quite early. He designed over 40 types of fighter aircrafts for the Germans during World War I. The aircraft that completed the first nonstop flight across the U.S. was also made by him.

An automobile designer known for his involvement with the AC Shelby Cobra and Ford Mustang, Carroll Shelby was also a well-known racing driver, and a successful entrepreneur, who established Shelby American after a heart ailment put an end to his racing career.  Meanwhile, he also ran a a high-performance driving school and published a memoir entitled The Carroll Shelby Story.

For Moki Cherry, there was no strict boundary between design, art, drama and music. An interdisciplinary artist, she worked in all kinds of mediums, including textiles, woodworks, painting, and ceramics and at the same time excelled in set and costume designs, creatively collaborating with her husband, jazz musician Don Cherry, drawing inspiration from Indian, Tibetan as well as folk arts.

El Lissitzky remains to be one of the greatest figures of the Russian avant-garde movement. Apart from excelling as a painter, an architect, and a photographer, he also pioneered 20th-century nonrepresentational art. He was also part of the De Stijl and had taught at the Bauhaus, too.

Swiss expressionist painter Johannes Itten developed his own color theories. Before joining the German art school Bauhaus, he had received elementary school teachers’ training. He often skipped correcting his students’ mistakes, fearing it might spoil their creative impulse. He followed the neo-Zoroastrian fire cult Mazdaznan and practiced meditation and vegetarianism.

Born in Austria, Ettore Sottsass later moved to Italy, where his architect father was posted. He had been part of the Italian army during World War II. Initially part of the Memphis Group, he later formed his own architectural consultancy, Sottsass Associati. His works later became symbolic of pop culture.