Fashion designer B Michael was born and raised in Connecticut. He found early design inspirations in his mother’s creativity and grandmother’s keen sense of style and studied at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology. After working under icons such as Oscar de la Renta, he decided to launch his namesake millinery line and in 1999 launched his first couture collection. 

B Michael’s collections have garnered appreciative fans including legends Cicely Tyson, Valerie Simpson, Beyonce, Nancy Wilson, Susan Fales-Hill, Brandy, among many others. He is a member of the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). In 2016 he was awarded the prestigious Design Visionary Award by the Lighthouse Guild. In 2019, he became the first Black American luxury fashion designer to dress an Oscar recipient, longtime friend and muse Cicely Tyson for her history making red-carpet moment. 

B Michael lives in New York City with his life partner Mark-Anthony Edwards and has two daughters, Saferra and Mychal.

Susan Fales-Hill attended the Lycée Francais de New York and graduated with honors from Harvard College (AB ’84.) An award-winning television writer/producer, author and arts advocate, she began her career as a writer’s apprentice and “warm up” person on the original “Cosby Show.” After two years, she was transferred to its spin-off, “A Different World,” where she became one of Hollywood’s few female and youngest show runners. Ms. Fales-Hill is the author of four books, including a memoir, Always Wear Joy.  Her articles have appeared in publications ranging from Architectural Digest to Vogue to The New York Times. Her 2000 Vogue article about growing up biracial, “My Life in Black and White,” was reprinted in Vogue En Espanol and has been adopted into the syllabi of several universities. 

Ms. Fales-Hill serves on the boards of St. Paul’s School, as well as of American Ballet Theater. She received the Melville Strauss Award, the organization’s highest honor. As Misty Copeland’s first sponsor in 2005, she helped launch and design the ballet company’s diversity effort, now named Project Rise.  “The Wind at My Back,” which she co-wrote with Ms. Copeland, a memoir of the latter’s relationship with pathbreaking ballerina Raven Wilkinson was published in Fall 2022.  She has served on the board of the Lycée Francais de New York and as Vice Chair of her Harvard class reunions. From 2003-2006, she was an elected director of the Harvard Alumni Association.  In 2003, she was elected to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame.  Susan lives in New York with her husband, Aaron Hill, her daughter, Bristol Fales-Hill, and their lab/pit mix, Prince.