William Ralph "Bill Blass" (June 22, 1922 - June 12, 2002) was an American fashion designer, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is known for his tailoring and his innovative combinations of textures and patterns. He is the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999).

Fashion career

Blass began his New York fashion career in 1946. He was a protege of Baron de Gunzburg.In 1970, after two decades of success in menswear and womenswear, he bought Maurice Rentner Ltd., which he had joined in 1959, and renamed it Bill Blass Limited. Over the next 30 years he expanded his line to include swimwear, furs, luggage, perfume, and chocolate. By 1998, his company had grown to a $700-million-a-year business.

Blass designs are best known for being wearable. In a time when other designers were designing clothes which were known more for being a work of art, Blass was designing clothing which even everyday women could wear day or night. According to Ellin Saltzman in the New York Times, "He took American sportswear to its highest level...giving it a clean, modern, impeccable style... He, probably more than any designer knew his customer and understood her."

Due to the lack of imported hats and the need to wear a hat in hot climate areas, cabbage palm hats were also a popular item of early Australian dress. These hats are significant as the only distinctive item of Australian dress made entirely from Australian materials, with the plaiting often done by local Aboriginal groups.
Serena Linden, Myers winning hat, Melbourne, 2006

Serena Linden, Myers winning hat, Melbourne, 2006. Courtesy of Serena Linden and Victorian Racing Club.

Emu feathers and horses have also influenced local dress since the 1800s. By 1900 an emu feather plume adorned the slouch hats of the Australian Light Horsemen, worn on active service in the Boer War and again in Egypt during the First World War soldiers fought for the right to wear this plume.

The Akubra hat, made from rabbit hair in a mechanised felt making process, perhaps epitomises the look of bushwear. The label 'Akubra' was coined in 1918 and has become synonymous with the hats themselves (Eager 1998).

Feathers, felt and trimmings continue to play a large part in the labour intensive Australia's headwear and millinery industry. A Millinery Award and Design Award is presented each year at the Melbourne Cup by the Victorian Racing Club. Styles vary from the quirky to the outrageous and draw their inspiration from Australian flora and fauna as well as other global influences. Millinery themes, colour, materials and inspiration can vary from sea aneonome through serpentine trees to a black cockatoo's plume and tropical flowers as evidenced by Serena Linden's creations winner of the Myer Fashions on the Field Millinery Award at Flemington in 2006.

Today the headwear/millinery industry comprises manufacturing of high volume production headwear, and creation of customised millinery, in an small trader and fashion environment. An estimated 280 businesses employed 2,560 people, generating an annual turnover of $245 million, in 2000-01.

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Kenneth Cole (March 23, 1954) is an American clothing designer. Born in Brooklyn, his father Charlie Cole, owned the El Greco shoe manufacturing company. Before learning the family business and starting his own company in 1982, Cole studied law at Emory University in Atlanta.

Birth of a Shoe Company

Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. is a mid-grade American fashion house founded in 1982 by Kenneth Cole. Wanting to preview his line of shoes at Market Week at New York's Hilton Hotel, but unable to afford the purchase of a hotel room or showroom to display his items, Kenneth Cole inquired about parking a trailer two blocks from the Hilton Hotel. When discovering that permits for trailers were only granted to utility and production companies, innovative Cole changed the name of his company from Kenneth Cole Incorporated to Kenneth Cole Productions, and applied for a permit to film the full-length film, "Birth of a Shoe Company". In two and a half days, Kenneth Cole Productions sold forty thousand pairs of shoes, while chronicling the beginning of the company on film.

In 1994 Kenneth Cole went public, and has been included on Forbes annual list of 200 Best Small Companies approximately four times.

Currently, Kenneth Cole designs men's and women's footwear, men's and women's clothing, and also accessories under the Kenneth Cole Reaction Line.Overall, Kenneth Cole Productions sells clothing and accessories under the following lines: Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Unlisted, Tribeca, and the licensed name Bongo. The company now operates over 90 retail and outlet stores worldwide, and sells in catalogs and websites. Kenneth Cole controls almost all of the voting rights and 45% of the company.

Personal Life

In 1986, Cole met Maria Cuomo, and they married a year later. Maria Cuomo Cole is the daughter of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and sister of current New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and ABC News journalist Chris Cuomo. Kenneth and Maria Cole have three daughters. One of their daughters, Amanda, hosted the Mets Kids Clubhouse for Sportsnet New York.

Kenneth Cole and wife Maria Cuomo Cole purchased a $14.5 million co-op in 2008 on Sutton Place in New York City. At one time fashion designer Bill Blass lived in this same building.

Amir Slama is a Brazilian-born fashion designer of Iraqi Jewish heritage.He is the designer, stylist and owner of the Brazilian beach fashion brand Rosa cha.

Amir's father came to Brazil when he was a little over 20 years old to work in the textile business as a trade representative on the 25 de Marco street (in the Bom Retiro neighborhood); he later set up his own factory. Before coming to Brazil, his father lived for a few years in Israel, where he met his wife. Amir recalls that his parents spoke in Hebrew between themselves, but that his paternal family spoke Arabic.

Amir was a history professor before establishing his career in the fashion industry; with the help of his wife, he started Rosa Cha. His talent has become known throughout the fashion community with Rosa Cha constantly being editorialized by Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, W Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Cosmopolitan, and many more.

He became friends with supermodel Naomi Campbell after she visited his shop in Sao Paulo; Campbell has modeled his collections on the runway ever since.

Fashion designers help create the billions of dresses, suits, shoes, and other clothing and accessories purchased every year by consumers. Designers study fashion trends, sketch designs of clothing and accessories, select colors and fabrics, and oversee the final production of their designs. Clothing designers create and help produce men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel, including casual wear, suits, sportswear, formalwear, outerwear, maternity, and intimate apparel. Footwear designers help create and produce different styles of shoes and boots. Accessory designers help create and produce items such as handbags, belts, scarves, hats, hosiery, and eyewear, which add the finishing touches to an outfit. Some fashion designers specialize in clothing, footwear, or accessory design, but others create designs in all three fashion categories.

The design process from initial design concept to final production takes between 18 and 24 months. The first step in creating a design is researching current fashion and making predictions of future trends. Some fashion designers conduct their own research, while others rely on trend reports published by fashion industry trade groups. Trend reports indicate what styles, colors, and fabrics will be popular for a particular season in the future. Textile manufacturers use these trend reports to begin designing fabrics and patterns while fashion designers begin to sketch preliminary designs. Designers then visit manufacturers or trade shows to procure samples of fabrics and decide which fabrics to use with which designs.

Once designs and fabrics are chosen, a prototype of the article using cheaper materials is created and then tried on a model to see what adjustments to the design need to be made. This also helps designers to narrow their choices of designs to offer for sale. After the final adjustments and selections have been made, samples of the article using the actual materials are sewn and then marketed to clothing retailers. Many designs are shown at fashion and trade shows a few times a year. Retailers at the shows place orders for certain items, which are then manufactured and distributed to stores.

Computer-aided design (CAD) is increasingly being used in the fashion design industry. Although most designers initially sketch designs by hand, a growing number also translate these hand sketches to the computer. CAD allows designers to view designs of clothing on virtual models and in various colors and shapes, thus saving time by requiring fewer adjustments of prototypes and samples later.

Depending on the size of their design firm and their experience, fashion designers may have varying levels of involvement in different aspects of design and production. In large design firms, fashion designers often are the lead designers who are responsible for creating the designs, choosing the colors and fabrics, and overseeing technical designers who turn the designs into a final product. They are responsible for creating the prototypes and patterns and work with the manufacturers and suppliers during the production stages. Large design houses also employ their own patternmakers, tailors, and sewers who create the master patterns for the design and sew the prototypes and samples. Designers working in small firms, or those new to the job, usually perform most of the technical, patternmaking, and sewing tasks, in addition to designing the clothing.

Fashion designers working for apparel wholesalers or manufacturers create designs for the mass market. These designs are manufactured in various sizes and colors. A small number of high-fashion designers are self-employed and create custom designs for individual clients, usually at very high prices. Other high-fashion designers sell their designs in their own retail stores or cater to specialty stores or high-fashion department stores. These designers create a mixture of original garments and those that follow established fashion trends.

Some fashion designers specialize in costume design for performing arts, motion picture, and television productions. The work of costume designers is similar to other fashion designers. Costume designers, however, perform extensive research on the styles worn during the period in which the performance takes place, or they work with directors to select and create appropriate attire. They make sketches of designs, select fabric and other materials, and oversee the production of the costumes. They also must stay within the costume budget for the particular production item.

Michael Kors (born August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer.Kors was born Karl Anderson, Jr. in Long Island, New York, the son of Joan Krystosek Kors, a former model. Kors's mother is Jewish and he was Bar Mitzvah'd.Kors is openly gay. Kors has been a judge on the Emmy-nominated reality television program Project Runway, which currently airs on Bravo. He is also a contributor to Harpers Bazaar, most recently interviewing Elizabeth Taylor and Jessica Simpson for the magazine.

Kors began designing clothes at the age of 19 and studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. In 1981, Kors launched the Michael Kors womenswear line at Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Building on his success, Kors was named the first ever women's ready-to-wear designer and creative director for the French fashion house Celine in 1997. In his tenure at Celine, Kors turned the fashion house around with blockbuster accessories and a critically acclaimed ready-to-wear line. Kors left Celine in October 2003 to concentrate on his own brand. Kors launched his menswear line in 2002.

In addition to the Michael Kors runway collection, the MICHAEL Michael Kors and KORS Michael Kors lines were launched in 2004. KORS is considered the mid-tier line, between the runway and MICHAEL collections. The MICHAEL line includes women's handbags and shoes as well as women's ready-to-wear apparel. The KORS line contains footwear. Currently, Kors has collection boutiques in New York, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Natick, MA, Americana Manhasset, and South Coast Plaza.

Among the celebrities who have worn Michael Kors' designs are Jennifer Lopez, Heidi Klum, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Joan Allen wore his gown when she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the The Contender. In addition, Jennifer Garner wore a custom creation as an Academy Award presenter in 2006. As Creative Director of Celine, Michael Kors designed many outfits for actresses to wear on screen. Gwyneth Paltrow wore Kors' designs in the movie "Possession." Cate Blanchett also wore his clothes in the movie Bandits. In addition, he outfitted Rene Russo's character in the 1999 hit remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. The ad campaigns for Michael Kors often reflects the jet-set sportswear that Kors fans are fond of. Previous campaigns include the model Carmen Kass on the tarmac of an airport, on a safari in Africa, and relaxing on a yacht.

Kors currently is a judge on the Bravo TV show Project Runway. Kors is still in talks for the 5th season of Project Runway, which airs on Bravo.