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Robert (Bob) Abajian received his training from the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 1978, he received the Mortimer Ritter Award, presented for outstanding achievement in design. He was a member and the president in 1992 of Fashion's Inner Circle.

In a 42-year career in the apparel industry, he served as design director for the apparel company College Town/Panther from 1980 to 1983 and spent 11 years as design director for Bobbie Brooks. He joined Liz Claiborne in 1984 as design director and, after a brief period away from the company, returned in 1987 as vice president of the Lizsport line.

As a senior vice president at Liz Claiborne, he was in charge of coordinating design for the $1.1 billion sportswear division, which consists of three lines. He took over the company's design direction when Ms. Claiborne retired as company chairwoman in 1989. He retired in 1994.

He developed a studio at Liz Claiborne where recent design graduates could work with an established director in developing their skills.

Boston-born menswear designer Joseph Abboud studied Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris before returning to his hometown in the late 1960s to become a menswear buyer for local boutiques. In 1981, he joined Ralph Lauren as a designer and launched his own eponymously named menswear line in late 1986, which retailed at high-end department stores including Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue. Abboud was awarded the CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year in 1989 and 1990, and in 2012, he became the Chief Creative Director of Men's Warehouse. His autobiography Threads: My Life Behind the Seams of High-Stakes World of Fashion was published in 2004.

Hippolyte Pierre "Pol" Abraham was a French architect.

Bella Savitzky Abzug was an American lawyer, U.S. Representative, social activist and a leader of the Women's Movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan to found the National Women's Political Caucus.

Reem Acra was born in Beirut and after studying business at the American University of Beirut, moved to New York to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology where she graduated magne cum laude and won awards for her senior collection. Acra subsequently studied fashion design at ESMOD in Paris and briefly worked in Hong Kong and Taiwan before launching her own bridal wear brand Reem Acra New York in 1997. The brand continues to be known for its bridal looks and high-end RTW eveningwear.

Maud Adams is a Swedish actress and model best known for her roles as a Bond Girl in the James Bond films 'The Man With the Golden Gun' and 'Octopussy.' Adams also made a third appearance in a Bond film, 'A View To a Kill,' as an extra.

Cuban-born Adolfo Sardiña, best known as Adolfo, began his successful fashion career in Paris as an apprentice to Balenciaga. American buyers admired his work and encouraged him to come to New York. In 1953, he became a designer for the milliner Emme. Adolfo hats earned him his first COTY Award in 1955.

In 1962, Adolfo started his own business. A few years later, on the theory that if he could design a hat he could design anything, Adolfo started making Chanel-inspired suits and unusual evening gowns. In 1969, he was presented with a special COTY Award for his contribution to design from head-to-toe. Adolfo carried this practice further in 1976, designing head-to-toe menswear looks for Leon of Paris.

“A person can look put together without appearing too rigid or too extravagant, “says Adolfo. “If people are astute enough to combine different clothes with flair and style, they can create their own fashion. We all must maintain the freedom to show off individuality. Fashion should be revolutionary, but always in the direction of good taste.” Adolfo clients include First Lady Nancy Reagan, Babe Paley, Gloria Vanderbilt and C.Z. Guest.

Gilbert Adrian, known simply as Adrian, epitomized the magic of Hollywood glamour and created a unique and quintessentially American style. He was born in Connecticut in 1903 and began his career as a designer for Broadway musicals. In 1925, he moved from New York City to Los Angeles to work in film, most notably at MGM, until 1941. During the darkest years of the Great Depression, Adrian combined an appreciation for detail in Parisian couture with a distinctive American sensibility and created unforgettable fashions for the big screen. Among his most memorable designs are the bias-cut silk gowns that became Jean Harlow's signature look and Joan Crawford's broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted power suits that pioneered a revolution in the way American women dressed. Other examples from his Hollywood years include the opulent and often seductive ensembles from films such as "Mata Hari," "Romance," "Camille," "Marie Antoinette", "DinnerT," and "The Philadelphia Story." He designed hats for Greta Garbo in "Romance" (1930) and "Camille" (1936), for Jean Harlow in "Blonde Bombshell" (1933), and for Joan Crawford in "The Gorgeous Hussy" (1936).

Gilbert Adrian's career as a high fashion designer flourished in the years from 1942 to 1952 when he had a custom salon in Beverly Hills and a ready-to-wear line in the most exclusive specialty stores of the day. Adrian's fashion designs included his strong-shouldered suits, provocative cocktail dresses, and art-inflected evening gowns. Significantly, contemporary designers such as Azzedine Alaia and Geoffrey Beene admire Adrian for his use of imaginative themes and sophisticated technical constructions, all inflected by his signature wit. In 2002 the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art developed the exhibition ''Adrian: American Glamour'' which presented a comprehensive look at Adrian's lifetime of work as an artist, a costume designer, and an American couturier.

Gorgen 'Ray' Aghayan was born in Tehran, Iran in 1928 and his interest in fashion perked at an early age as his mother was a couturier to the royal court of Iran. His love of Hollywood movies led him to California where he studied and later became a costume designer for the movie industry, garnering three Academy Award nominations for Costume Design and winning an Emmy in 1967 for his costuming work on 'Alice Through the Looking Glass,' an honor he shared with his life partner, Bob Mackie. Stars Aghayan costumed included Diana Ross, Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand and Julie Andrews. In 1984, Aghayan designed the ensembles worn by the US Olympic team for the opening and closing ceremonies at the games held in Los Angeles.

Marella Agnelli was born Princess Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto in Florence, Italy on May 4, 1927. Agnelli attended the Académie des Beaux-Arts and Académie Julian in Paris, studying art and design. She moved to the U.S. in the early 1950s, where she modeled for and apprenticed under Vogue photographer Erwin Blumenfeld. Agnelli's neck became a point of conversation thanks to a now-famous photograph by Richard Avedon. Marella married Gianni Agnelli on November 19th, 1953. The newlyweds became an it couple in the European jet-set. No expense was spared in cultivating and maintaining their lavish lifestyle. Throughout the late 20th century, the couple mingled with European and American glitterati. After Gianni Agnelli passed away, Marella spent her time rehabilitating a villa in Marrakech named Ain Kassimou. Marella Agnelli passed away on February 23, 2019, in Turin, Italy.

President and CEO of Sanofi Beaute, Lawrence Aiken began working in the fragrance industry in 1980.

Azzedine Alaïa was born in Tunis, Tunisia on February 26th, 1935. The son of a Tunisian wheat farmer, Alaïa was accustomed to working hard. His twin sister Hafida taught him how to sew as a way to make some extra money. Alaïa spent much of his youth reading fashion magazines from Paris. He studied sculpture at the École des Beaux Arts in Tunis before moving to Paris in 1957. Christian Dior hired him but the job lasted only five days; Alaïa's paperwork was not in order. Two aristocrat women took him under their wing, hiring the young designer as an au pair. Alaïa slowly accumulated customers, including Greta Garbo and novelist Louise de Vilmorin. The dancers at the Crazy Horse cabaret taught him the art of revealing the right amount of skin. While working at the houses of Guy Laroche and Thierry Mugler, Alaïa perfected his couture art, visiting textiles factories to research fabrics and spending his free time working with his private customers. In 1979, Alaïa opened his own house. The timing could not have been better as the designer's powerful and seductive garments were perfect for the 1980s. Throughout the decade, countless celebrities chose to wear his garments. Alaïa was unwilling to play by the rules, and by the mid-90s, he was not showing in accord with the set fashion schedule. He had private clients who kept him in business through the rest of the decade. In 2000, Prada acquired a stake of his company but seven years later, Alaïa bought it back to sell to the Richemont group. His one condition in the transaction was that he would work on his own pace. Alaïa showed collections sporadically throughout the 2000's and 2010's. His last collection was in July of 2017. Four months later, Azzedine Alaïa passed away.

Larry Aldrich was born in 1906 to Russian immigrant parents in New York. In 1924, he attended Columbia college to earn a law degree but decided to pursue fashion after a summer job in the garment district. Aldrich opened his first fashion firm in 1927, but his name did not appear on the clothing label until the 1940s. The firm continued its operations until 1966 when it was sold. After retiring, he focused solely on collecting art, a hobby of his since 1937. Aldrich founded the Aldrich Museum for Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, Connecticut in 1967. Aldrich died in 2001 at the age of 95. During his career in fashion, Aldrich acted as president of the New York Couture Group.

Dr. Fernando Aleu was born in Spain in 1929. He moved from Spain to the University of Iowa for a residency as a neurologist. While working at NYU in the neurology department, he and his business partner started a fragrance company called Compar. His business was created in November, 1969 as a way to distribute the scents of his friend, the designer Paco Rabanne. Since then, the company has worked with many other brands including Carolina Herrera, Prada and Nina Ricci. In 1970, a fragrance his company produced, Calantra, was a nominated for an award by the Fragrance Foundation, and in 1976 Aleu was offered as position as president of the Fragrance Foundation. He served as president for a total of fourteen years, and also held the position of President of the Fragrance Foundation Research Fund.

Pearl Alexander Lipman (née Pearl Levy) was the co-owner and designer for the trend forecasting subscription services André Studios and Creator Studios. At the age of twelve, she sold her first designs to children’s wear manufacturer Joseph Love. At seventeen, she started her own business before studying fashion and design at Cooper Union and the Traphagan School. Levy was employed as a designer by coat manufacturer Rubin Endler, Inc. before striking out on her own. In 1930, Levy married Albert Louis “A. L.” Alexander, a police reporter-turned-radio announcer. After her marriage, Levy became known, both personally and professionally, as Pearl Levy Alexander, Pearl L. Alexander and Pearl Alexander. She eventually married a second time, and by the early 1960s was going by Mrs. Pearl Lipman.

Victor Alfaro is a Mexican fashion designer based in New York City. His collection is sold under the VICTOR ALFARO label, and his company’s ready-to-wear collection is available at luxury retailers such as Barneys New York, The Room, Lane Crawford, Net-a-Porter and several boutiques throughout the U.S. Alfaro also designs a home furnishings collection under the CASA by Victor Alfaro brand, sold exclusively at The Bon-Ton Stores.

Alfaro came to the U.S. in 1981 from Mexico and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1987. Since the inception of his company, he has been honored with numerous industry accolades and awards recognizing his talent, including the Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent at the 1995 CFDA Fashion Awards.

Born Linda Marie on May 27, 1940 in Akron, Ohio, Linda Allard is a fashion designer known for her work at Ellen Tracy. Following her graduation from Kent State University in 1962, Allard was hired as an assistant designer for the brand Ellen Tracy, which was owned by Herbert Gallen. In 1964, Allard was promoted to Head Designer, but it would be another twenty years before her name was added to the Ellen Tracy label in 1984. Allard married Herbert Gallen--Ellen Tracy's founder and chairman--in March, 2000. Allard has acted as a design critic for students at the Fashion Institute of Technology.