NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Co-Founders B Michael, Designer, and Mark-Anthony Edwards, CEO and Chairman of b michael AMERICA, announced today that their American fashion house has secured growth capital from Brett Howroyd. b michael AMERICA said the investment would aid in executing its strategic plans for global expansion.
Brett Howroyd invested personally into b michael AMERICA, based on his belief in the integrity and growth of the entrepreneurial brand. Recent success included the brand’s feature in The New York City Economic Development Corporation’s (NYCEDC) half-million dollar ‘Made in NY: Fashion’ campaign, which recently launched during New York Fall Fashion Week. The campaign highlighted a handful of NYC-based designers, including B Michael, as part of NYCEDC’s suite of initiatives to fortify fashion’s design, manufacturing and educational sectors.
Coming from an entrepreneurial background himself, Brett Howroyd’s staffing and human resource firm, Act-1 Group, has topped $3 Billion, solidifying its position as one of the largest privately held female minority-owned businesses in America. The firm has 17,000 clients and 2,600 employees in 19 countries. Act-1 Group was founded in 1978 by Janice Bryant Howroyd with $1,500, including a $900 loan from her mother.
b michael AMERICA has also engaged Marvin Traub Associates to accelerate and optimize the brand’s multi-channel and international growth.
About B Michael:
Considered New York’s best kept secret and a member of the prestigious CFDA since 1998, B Michael started out in the industry designing hats for Oscar de la Renta and Louis Feraud before launching his own namesake collection. In 1999, B Michael developed and launched his first couture collection with the help of CFDA Founder and PR Guru Eleanor Lambert. B Michael’s collections have garnered appreciative fans including Cicely Tyson, Valerie Simpson, Tamara Tunie, Beyonce, Patti LaBelle, Brandy Norwood, Jean Shafiroff, Phylicia Rashad, Ashley Bouder, Nancy Wilson, President Barack Obama’s poet laureate Elizabeth Alexander, and Lena Horne to name a few. B Michael also designed Whitney Houston’s costumes for the motion picture Sparkle. In 2012 B Michael launched his ready to wear fashion line b michael AMERICA Red at MACY’S. B Michael serves on the boards of the Dream Yard Project and YAGP (Youth America Grand Prix).
About Marvin Traub Associates:
Marvin Traub Associates is a global business development and strategy consulting firm, focused on working with brands, retailers, developers and related businesses that operate in the retail and consumer goods sector.
