Some of the honourees of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world hit the red carpet for its annual gala at the Time Warner Center in New York on 21 April.

The 2015 list that hit newsstands on 17 April includes 40 women - one less than last year's record-level female representation. In 2015 the magazine honours actress Emma Watson, US diplomat Samantha Power and Indian CEO Chanda Kochhar.

American fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg was listed under the "icons" category, after making the wrap dress a wardrobe staple for many women in the United States since 1974. Von Furstenberg named her mother as the person who influenced her the most.

"But I think it is important, my role is really to empower women. And I do it through fashion and I also do it through philanthropy. And I want to know that every woman can be the woman they want to be," the designer added.

In the artists category TIME honours actress Julianna Margulies and British stand-up comedian John Oliver, who said that he thought he didn't belong on the most influential list.

"I feel like an impostor. It feels like being appointed a cardinal at the catholic church I don't have any of the qualifications to back that position up," the HBO show host said.

Transgender actress Laverne Cox and American ballerina Misty Copeland are named as pioneers. Cox said that the honour felt like a bigger recognition.

"It's about the communities that I represent and them believing that we can live our lives openly, with dignity and respect. That you can have dreams, live those dreams and that they are possible no matter what people tell you," she said.

The list is divided into five categories of titans, pioneers, artists, leaders and icons.

More about celebrity