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 Bythewood, 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.

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