(REUTERS) - 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 Centre in New York on Tuesday.

The 2015 list that hit newsstands last Friday (April 17) includes 40 women - one less than last year's record-level female representation. In 2015 the magazine honours actress star 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 said her mother was 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.

French politician Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Front, was named as one of the most influential leaders of the world by the magazine.

"It's the recognition of a big political movement - of big political ideas - that I bring, which are recognised, are understood as a force of the future, as a force likely to shake up the status quo that exists today, not only in France but also in Europe," she said. Le Pen shares the leaders category with US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

In the artists category, Time honours actress Julianna Margulies and British stand-up comedian John Oliver, who told Reuters that he thought he did not belong on the most influential list.

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.