Bill Bowerman coached Oregon track to four NCAA titles, trained 31 Olympians and, as co-founder of Nike, invented the Cortez and the Waffle Trainer.
Sophia Amoruso built the fast-fashion retailer Nasty Gal into one of Inc.'s fastest-growing companies, wrote #GIRLBOSS and founded Girlboss Media after Nasty Gal's 2016 bankruptcy.
Tommy Hilfiger co-founded a chain of jeans stores, launched his own preppy menswear line in the 1980s, took the company public in 1992 and sold it for $1.6 billion in 2006.
Calvin Klein grew up in the Bronx, apprenticed at a cloak-and-suit manufacturer in 1962 and launched the company that became Calvin Klein in 1968.
Tom Ford, previously creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, launched his own brand in 2005 and directed the films A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals.
Michael Kors redesigned his mother's wedding dress at five, sold clothes from his parents' basement as a teenager and built a global fashion brand now part of Capri Holdings.
Blake Mycoskie sold his first business, EZ Laundry, in 1999, sold a Nashville billboard company to Clear Channel after nine months, finished third on The Amazing Race, and founded Toms Shoes.
Kevin Plank, a University of Maryland walk-on football player, founded Under Armour in 1996 and led it as CEO until 2020, returning in April 2024.
Vera Wang went from competitive figure skating to Vogue and Ralph Lauren before opening her own bridal boutique in 1990, and sold her brand to WHP Global in 2024.
Ralph Lauren grew up in the Bronx, sold neckties and launched The Ralph Lauren Corporation in 1967 with a line of men's ties. He remains executive chairman and chief creative officer.
Kim Kardashian turned reality-TV fame into a business portfolio, founding KKW Beauty in 2017, shapewear brand Skims in 2019 and skincare line SKKN by Kim in 2022.
Daymond John started FUBU in his mother's house in Queens after selling $800 of homemade hats in a single day in 1992, and later became a Shark on Shark Tank.
