Big-name designers are generally expected to be graduates of esteemed fashion schools such as Central Saint Martins, Parsons, and Pratt, the recent trend of designers with no design background has been taking the industry by storm. From both small, high-end boutiques to Barneys stocking their labels, as well as being validated by hallowed CFDA by taking home many of the past years' most distinguished awards, these designers with varying professional backgrounds have proven that in order to garner commercial success, a fashion degree is optional. Raising the question of whether fashion craftsmanship or inherent fashion styling sense is the key to success, the new movement perhaps signals a shift in consumer demand, in which buyers are looking for polished day wear looks seen on the streets.

Narrowing down some of our favorite labels, here is psychoPEDIA’s guide to designers who have taken the non-traditional path to make their mark on contemporary style:

Patrik Ervell
Swedish-born, California-bred designer Patrik Ervell, nominated for this year’s CFDA Swarovski Menswear award, served five years as V’s Contributing Fashion Editor before starting his eponymous label in 2005. While the menswear designer who experiments with unique, durable fabrics like parachute nylon, gossamer polyurethane, and foil metallics, and describes his line as “romantic futurism,” would seem to have honed his design skills at a well-known fashion institution, the 30-year-old actually began as a Political Science major at UC Berkeley before moving to New York in 2001 where he made his introduction into fashion. While he’s already being hailed as one of the future hard-hitters of menswear, Ervell currently operates out of Bushwick, creating collections centered on classic American sportswear with a twist, and sell at high-end men’s boutiques like Oak, BBlessing, and LA’s South Willard.

Scott Sternberg
Scott Sternberg, who majored in economics in Ohio, started his career as a Hollywood agent at Creative Artists before becoming the acclaimed designer of men’s label Band of Outsiders and newer womenswear, Boy-– a reinterpretation of men’s clothing for the female figure. With his label name taken from a Jean-Luc Godard film, Sternberg’s menswear line is inspired by nostalgic American silhouettes with a touch of French flair. Despite lacking a collegiate fashion background, Sternberg learned about the process of making functional menswear from his Brooklyn-based tailor Martin Greenfield-– the same man who passed his skills along to respected designers Calvin Klein and Donna Karan. While his West Hollywood-based studio hasn’t taken him far from his days as an agent, and his clever Polaroid look books have featured the likes of indie-actor Jason Schwartzman–- his line being carried at Barneys, Jeffrey, and Ron Herman, and taking home the 2008 Swarovski Award for Menswear-– show that he’s come a long way from his days in Hollywood.

Michael Bastian
As a former men's fashion director and buyer for Bergdorf Goodman, Michael Bastian later transitioned into becoming creative director at Bill Blass before launching his eponymous label in 2006. Known for creating modern American sportswear, this 2007 CFDA Newcomer Menswear nominee makes luxe but comfortable day and evening wear, focusing on a few contemporary yet timeless pieces for every man’s wardrobe–- including his favorite staple, shorts. Understandably stemming from his extensive experience examining all types of menswear labels and collections, though only now in his fourth season, critics are already anticipating Bastian as a future icon of American menswear.

Rag & Bone
Rag & Bone, which began simply as a line of high-quality denim, was started in 2002 by a trio of young English men: David Neville, Marcus Wainwright, and Nathan Bogle (a former model who recently left the company), who wanted to create clothes that their friends would wear, as well as themselves. While their pieces exude a distinctly American aesthetic indicative of the 60-year-old North Carolina-based factory where the collection is produced, the designers cite that their line is a mix of the English attire worn in their upbringing with the practicality of American workwear. With Neville and Wainwright having met at Wellington College boarding school, their introductions to the fashion world were initiated by their respective wives, make-up artist and Lancome executive Gucci Westman and model Glenna Neece. Now with established men’s and women’s collections, and the 2007 Swarovski Award for Menswear under their belts, Rag & Bone is stocked at stores from Odin and Scoop to Bergdorf Goodman.

Adam Kimmel
New York-based designer Adam Kimmel studied Architecture at NYU, where he graduated in 2001. However, leaving building design for another artistic venture, in 2005 Kimmel launched his eponymous label, which he now runs out of his Chelsea design studio. Describing his line as influenced by artists Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, his designs are focused around the philosophy that clothes are meant to fit everyone, and therefore stray from the typical, tight-fitted silhouettes of more recent trends and opt for the robust structures and classic fits of the 1940s. With an inner-circle of friends that reads like a downtown New York’s “Who’s Who” list, faces who appear in his look book (shot by his fashion photographer half-brother, Alexei Hay) include artists Ryan McGinley, Dan Colen, Nate Lowman, former V editor Christopher Bollen, actor Michael Pitt, and DJ Mark Ronson. However, despite his long list of connections, Kimmel has proven himself as a legitimate part of the fashion world, having been honored recently as a featured designer of the Italian menswear tradeshow, Pitti Immagine Uomo.

~Leann Peterson