New York Fashion Week is in full swing and there are some brilliant designers we think you should keep an eye out for. One such designer is B.Michael who we interviewed in 2009; one of the few black designers showing at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. B.Michael’s show takes place on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 at 8PM at the Plaza Hotel, 5th Avenue. To RSVP, email [email protected].
“Advanced American Style
Right from the start, b.michael was fated to be a fashion designer. Growing up in Durham, Connecticut, he found early inspirations in his mother, whose family extends back four generations. Her creativity and keen sense of style passed on to her son, and like his eclectic family tree, b.michael incorporates the fantastic with understated cool, sensational color with elegance and emotion with design.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut and a former account executive for a Wall Street firm, b michael decided to pursue his creative side and launched a successful millinery line after designing for Oscar de La Renta and Louis Feraud among others. The designer launched his first couture collection in 1999 with the help of PR Guru Eleanor Lambert, as with his approach to millinery, his designs exuded a glamorous clean aesthetic. His juxtaposition of creativity with simplicity is exemplified by the kaleidoscope dress (from the Spring 2004 collection), which was sewn together from fourteen fabrics, consisting of fifty pieces. He has shown his collection in Beijing, China, Korea and Shanghai.
Particular to b.michael, he heightens his couture aesthetic by infusing emotions such as joy, adding a discernible feeling and festive mood to his creations. The designer describes his signature style, “It is a modern approach to glamour. It is also about achieving a very sophisticated, yet simplistic look. A woman who wears b.michael knows how to wear a basic dress and make it look glamorous.” His collections has garnered appreciative fans including socialites and personalities such as Ms.Cicely Tyson, Tamara Tunie, Susan Fales-Hill, Alicia By thewood, Amy Fine Collins, Victoria Rowell, Nancy Wilson, Beyonce Knowles, Colleen Atwood, Pearl Nipon, Lena Horne, Lynn Whitfield, Angela Bassett, Myrna Colley-Lee.
His designs have been featured editorially on Halle Berry and Cate Blanchett. Sisters Venus and Serena Williams have been spotted sitting front-row at his runway shows wearing b michael clothes. But B Michael is not just a nine to five o’clock designer. He’s a consummate entertainer, an avid collector of vintage books, artifacts and photography, which can be seen throughout his home. His dinner parties are much spoken about – from engaging conversations to the table setting to floral arrangements.
b.Michael is no homebody either; you might find him in some of New York’s trendiest spots. In 1998, b.michael became a member of the CFDA, an organization known to recognize America’s leading fashion and accessory designers. Always willing to take on new challenges, he is a guest lecturer at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and serves on several charitable advisory boards, including New Yorkers For Children and Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. b.michael is also actively involved with Autism Speaks, Dream Yard Project, and Cicely Tyson School Of Performing And Fine Arts.”
Photocredit: Life.com
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
