Henry Zankov, founder and creative director of Zankov and artistic director of Diane von Furstenberg, talks about juggling his two roles, being open to new inspiration and working through his creative process one step at a time.

It’s the process designer Henry Zankov has been following since founding his own label in 2020 after designing and consulting across the fashion industry for over 15 years for the likes of DKNY/Donna Karan, Edun and Diane von Furstenberg. And it’s certainly working.

“Helmut Lang said this back in the ’90s — ‘Everything I do is a work in progress.’ I feel that’s kind of how I see it. I would never admit to say I know everything right away. Rather, I’m always learning something every day,” Zankov told WWD.

“I feel really grateful that from when we started until now, things have been growing really steadily and in a meaningful way, and that’s always been really important to me,” Zankov said, adding that while he’s certainly a business person and designer simultaneously, since launching his label it’s been about going “slow and steady. Where every day informs the next one.”

Over the last six years the Russian-born, American founder and creative director has grown Zankov from an eye-catching, colorful emerging knitwear label into a fully fledged fashion brand that sits within New York’s new vanguard of designers alongside the likes of Rachel Scott, Christopher John Rogers, Willy Chavarria, Raul Lopez and more. In September 2025, Zankov made his runway debut with his spring 2026 collection, filled with new categories of tailoring and evening, during New York Fashion Week after seasons of standing presentations.

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