On this website, as you will know, we primarily feature interesting, intelligent, well-dressed men. Which makes sense, this being a website for, well, men. But, as in every other industry, men’s fashion has many interesting, smart and well-dressed women working within it and producing some of the most innovative collections out there. So, in honour of International Women’s Day, we wanted to highlight some of those who have been shaping and reshaping men’s fashion and style, in some cases for several decades. Below is our list of eight of the most important women in menswear right now.

No one does the end-of-show runway strut as well or stylishly as Ms Sarah-Linh Tran of Lemaire. One half of the design duo behind the brand named after Mr Christophe Lemaire, Ms Tran helps to create the boxy trousers and silk shirts that look like they were pulled out of the wardrobe of an extremely Parisian man (you know the kind, perhaps there’s a cigarette and little moustache involved) – only better.  Everything they produce seems to be designed with a modicum of comfort in mind. They have a penchant for generously proportioned trousers and voluminous coats and their eye for muted, earthy colours is excellent. Of course, it’s impossible to know what comes out of Ms Tran’s brain and what comes out of Mr Lemaire’s, but whatever she’s bringing to the table, we love it.

Before landing with a splash at Givenchy to fill Mr Riccardo Tisci’s rather large shoes, Ms Clare Waight Keller worked her way through a who’s who of big-name brands. She started as a stylist at Calvin Klein before moving on to Ralph Lauren, then with Mr Tom Ford at Gucci, followed by Pringle of Scotland and finally a stint as creative director at Chloé. Now she’s the first woman to hold the position of artistic director at Givenchy and has already turned out collections that are a testament to a career well-spent in fashion. A melding of crisp, modern tailoring and flashy sportswear has quickly become her trademark. The first look in her AW19 collection was an elegant robe-like blazer paired with the shiniest patent leather trousers and pointy-toed Chelsea boots. The mix and match of it all, as well as references that span current-era Korean dandyism and a 1930s maharaja, means there’s something rather stylish in there for everyone. If you can call such a seasoned vet one to watch, she’d be the one.

Ms Donatella Versace, who took full control of the Versace brand after the death of her brother, Gianni, in 1997, has been putting her gilded Milanese stamp on menswear for decades. She started as the designer of the diffusion line Versus and the Young Versace collection, but has been the main force behind the continued opulence and extravagance of the house for more than 20 years now. What started under her brother’s direction as a Medusa-laden, golden safety pin-accessorised, satin boxer-shorted collection perfect for outré Wall Street types and certain golden-toilet tycoons has matured, under her leadership, into, well, more of the same. Only nowadays, the brand counts hype boys as fans as well. This is likely due to Ms Versace’s inspired decision a couple years ago to pull several never-used prints from the archives, much to the excitement of trompe l’oeil lovers. Her contribution to the sneaker arms race – the Chain Reaction, a bubble-soled hunk of a shoe – has certainly won her fans as well.

Yet another designer who started with a successful, minimal womenswear line and transitioned to a successful, minimal menswear line. To be fair, Ms Gabriela Hearst, who hails from Uruguay and continues to run her family’s ranch there, created a womenswear line that was heavily influenced by men’s tailoring and featured blazers and trousers in slouchy yet structured shapes, so it wasn’t much of a stretch. Her menswear collections include classic and not-so-classic shirting, luxurious tees, colourful knitwear and pastel trousers. She also designs with sustainability in mind and takes pains to source materials responsibly where possible. She has set herself a goal of eliminating the use of virgin fabrics (brand new, never used material) in favour of deadstock or recycled materials for her clothing by 2022.

Former child actors Mses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen launched The Row in 2006 to some scepticism. Originally it was a collection of “perfect T-shirts”, sateen leggings and a cashmere dress, but it has expanded over the years to include sumptuous coats, buttery leather pieces and slipper-esque shoes. Minimalism is the name of the game and they were early adopters of the look. They even preempted Ms Phoebe Philo’s minimalism revolution at Celine. Now The Row calls to mind the simplicity of 1980s and 1990s-era Calvin Klein. Its slim-fit suits and single-button blazers, not to mention the luscious cashmere knits, would look perfectly at home on a power creative (an architect, say). The generous cuts of their separates, such as their deeply pleated trousers, slippery silk T-shirts and Oxford shirts, somehow walk the line between Japanese-style workwear and elegant Italian tailoring. These tiny New Yorkers know the power of playing with proportion.

Ms Martine Rose’s collections of delightful streetwear are exactly what we need in this dark world we live in. Influenced by the south London reggae and rave scenes of her 1990s youth, her clothes – cartoon-printed T-shirts and sweatshirts, exaggerated square-toed loafers – aren’t for every man, but they provide a humorous ray of light in a world of dark knits and buttoned-up suits. She’s been showered with prizes and recognition for her work. In 2016 she was hired as a brand consultant to Balenciaga, which gave her even more “clout”, as the online hype boys would say, and proved that the industry is looking for such levity nowadays. Her brand is just over 10 years old, which is young compared with some of the designers on this list, but she’s an exciting standard bearer for the future of men’s fashion.

Long the doyenne of all things French, bohemian and desirable when it comes to womenswear (her 2013 collaboration with H&M sold out online in minutes), Ms Isabel Marant launched her men’s line only recently, for SS18. But, it turns out, the textured knitwear and folksy prints for which she is known are – surprise – just as good when rendered for the boys. It makes sense, really. Her designs for women have always been on the androgynous side of the spectrum. The ageless Ms Marant looks like she was born yesterday, but it might surprise you to learn that she launched her brand in 1994, and nine years before that was creating pieces with her friend Mr Christophe Lemaire to sell in a shop in Les Halles in Paris.

Ms Margaret Howell is perhaps the original androgynous cool girl. She’s been producing and modelling her particular take on modern classics since the 1970s. She designed the blood-red corduroy bomber jacket worn by Mr Jack Nicholson in The Shining. The jacket was Mr Nicholson’s own, but he insisted on wearing it in the film, which prompted director Mr Stanley Kubrick to order several from Ms Howell for filming. Is there a cooler brand anecdote? You don’t have to be a crazed, axe-wielding killer to wear Ms Howell’s clothing. Indeed, it’s probably helpful if you have the opposite temperament, given her gently austere focus on trendless minimalism, homely natural fabrics and wonderfully subtle colour palette.