living in australia i feel akira igosawa is quite underrated.. im not sayin that i like his work but i feel he needs more credit. that and Haartman and Nordenholz .. i cant seem to think of too many names at the moment...
I don't know how valid my contribution is, but from my limited fashion knowledge, I have to say Jean Pierre Braganza (his work is incredibly beautiful and very much influenced by grunge. It is like what Marc Jacobs what trying to achieve this season, but failed miserably) fuk.co.uk He shows at London Fashion Week, but his clothes has only been available in the UK once or twice (at certain fashion festivals). So many people would be amazed by his work if he had more exposure. In fact I think most of the designers who show at London Fashion Week have talent but fail to get the recognition they deserve. Future Classics Karen Walker Roksanda Ilincic Robert Cary-Williams Giles Deacon Jessica Ogden (fuk.co.uk, Vogue.co.uk)
great list hpl. why havent I heard of this Roksanda Ilincic? shes great! though hes been around, I think hussein chalayan deserves more recognition.
A lot of these designers listed although very much well known to those in the fashion know (i.e. lots of TFS-ers!), are not really successful on an international commercial level....... but with some designers, I think that's ok. Labels like Future Classics and Jean Pierre Braganza - I like the fact that they have a small but staunch following. I think a lot of labels don't necessarily need to be mainstreamed to be successful.
I'm going to say Fendi. Fendi may be a huge label recognized by many, but I think it's mostly recognized for it's covetable accessories. Fendi is like Lagerfeld's experimental brand and I really don't think it's appreciated as much as it should be. I guess the chance to experiment with fur leads to experimenting with all of the fabrics he uses, but I think people just look at photographs of the new Fendi collection, see a lot of different shapes that don't appeal to them and then ignore it, when the art is always in motion - noone stays as still as a photograph, and neither do clothes. Lagerfeld continues to surprise me with the new designs he churns out for each of his major fashion labels, but none please me as much as at Fendi. Fendi is the sort of house I'd like to work for. style.com
There are not underrated designers, only overrated ones. That's what makes fashion so dull and boring right now, there're a lot of overrated people out there. Too many.