Sixty-five-year-old Prada came in at number 75, dropping 17 places on last year and is the only Italian to make it into this year’s list.

With a net worth of $10.4 billion (€7.6 billion), the Milan-born designer is a powerful force in the fashion world. She was described by Forbes as being “always spot-on trend” and “widely credited with recreating the brand's image, making it synonymous with understated, clean-cut elegance.”

In February she stepped down as chairman of the Prada brand, founded by her grandfather a century ago, moving to work alongside her husband Patrizio Bertelli as co-CEO.

Another notable name from the fashion world in the rankings hails from the US, with Vogue editor Anna Wintour at number 39. The 64-year-old’s position in the industry was cemented earlier this month when New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art inaugurated the Anna Wintour Costume Center.

Although numerous American women made it into the rankings, they were beaten to the top spot by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Christine Lagarde, the French managing director of the International Monetary Fund, came in at an impressive number five.

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