Photos courtesy of Black Fashion Week
photography by Darel Photography
On October 3, 2026, Chicago gathered at the Obama Presidential Center to celebrate 40 years of Barbara Bates Designs. The anniversary exhibition and fashion show brought together generations of clients, designers, media professionals, and longtime supporters for an evening filled with fashion, philanthropy, and memories.
Black Fashion Week USA was honored to attend with our archival media crew, documenting a milestone for one of Chicago’s most recognizable Black fashion designers. For those of us who have followed Ms. Bates’ work over the years, the celebration felt personal. Her history was on the runway, in the exhibition, and throughout the audience.
A Chicago Fashion Reunion
The evening opened with a VIP reception that felt like a reunion of Chicago’s fashion and media communities. Among the familiar faces were Cheryl Burton, the show host Robin Robinson, and Sonya Blakey. Reconnecting with designers and colleagues we had not seen in years added another layer of warmth to the celebration.
Everyone had gathered to honor a woman whose creativity has helped shape Chicago fashion for four decades.
A striking photo collage arranged in the shape of the number “40” captured Barbara throughout the years. The display invited guests to pause, reflect, and appreciate the journey behind the evening’s celebration.
Photos courtesy of Black Fashion Week
photography by Darel Photography
Then came the runway.
From our vantage point, more than 60 models presented an eclectic range of looks. One of our favorites was a beautiful white statement coat featuring geometric circular designs—a memorable piece that held the audience attention as it moved down the runway.
Photos courtesy of Black Fashion Week
photography by Darel Photography
The audience offered its own retrospective. Several women arrived wearing Barbara Bates designs from previous collections, showing how her work continues to live beyond its original runway moment.
Guest wearing Barbara Bates
Photos courtesy of Black Fashion Week
photography by Darel Photography
Living Archives: Vintage Barbara Bates Designs
A designer’s history does not end when a collection leaves the runway. It continues in the closets of customers who treasure those garments and choose to wear them again.
That history was visible throughout the room.
Former Fox 32 Anchor Robin Robinson and contemporary designer Jen of ReStyle arrived wearing vintage Barbara Bates pieces. Jen took the connection a step further, upcycling a Barbara Bates leather bottom into a new design of her own. It was a beautiful example of how a garment can carry its original designer’s history while beginning another creative chapter.
Jen of ReStyle and Robin Robinson celebrate Barbara Bates in pieces from her design history. Jen’s look incorporates an upcycled Barbara Bates leather garment.
Photos courtesy of Black Fashion Week
photography by Darel Photography
These women were living, walking archives of Barbara’s work.
Explore more of Barbara’s earlier work through the BFW archive:
Photos courtesy of Black Fashion Week
photography by Darel Photography
Photos courtesy of Dewwond Mapp of
http://kentylaartsdesigns.com/
FB@Kentylartdesigns
From Lunch-Break Sales to Barbara Bates Designs
Barbara Bates’ fashion career began with initiative, personal style, and an audience close to home.
In 1984, while working as a secretary, she began selling clothing during her lunch breaks. A client’s $5,000 investment helped her enter the fashion business full time in 1986. She started with a small sewing team and opened a 700-square-foot showroom in 1988.
The self-taught designer, raised on Chicago’s West Side, built her business through relationships and an understanding of the people wearing her clothes.
In a 2026 interview with Austin Weekly News, Bates recalled approaching basketball player Sam Perkins at a leather store. After she created leather pants for him, Perkins introduced her to Michael Jordan.
One connection opened another door. Forty years later, those early steps are part of a Chicago fashion story still unfolding.
Dressing Celebrities—and the Women Who Define Her Legacy
Barbara Bates has dressed Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Harvey, and the late Whitney Houston, among other notable clients. Her supporters have connected the worlds of sports, entertainment, and public life for decades.
Early in my own career, I had the pleasure of meeting Sinbad at one of her shows. I was grateful to take a photograph and connect with him—a memory that remains part of my personal journey through Chicago fashion.
Yet the significance of Barbara Bates Designs reaches beyond celebrity clientele.
Leather, distinctive fabrics, tailored suits, and unexpected details have helped define her work. Her attention to fit has also made room for customers of different ages and body types.
The anniversary audience reflected that beautifully. Women wore her designs with confidence, bringing their own personalities and memories to each look. Their presence showed why preserving Black fashion history means documenting the people who wear the garments, alongside the garments themselves.
Fashion, Philanthropy, and Breast Cancer Awareness
Barbara’s commitment to community has been a defining part of her legacy.
In 1999, she established the Barbara Bates Foundation, providing custom prom attire to young people facing financial barriers, including students at alternative schools and teenage mothers. Her own experience as a teen mother helped shape her desire to encourage young people and celebrate their achievements.
Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2009, she expanded that work to include awareness, education, and fundraising.
The Barbara Bates Imaging Center at Mount Sinai Hospital bears her name in recognition of her support. The center provides screening and diagnostic mammograms and other breast imaging services. Sinai Chicago credits donations from her foundation, together with other supporters, with helping add 3D imaging capacity.
The anniversary celebration continued that commitment through the “40 for 40” initiative supporting early detection and mammograms.
Her runway has become a place where creativity and community care meet.
Preserving Barbara Bates’ Fashion History
BFW was honored to document this celebration through photography, runway footage, and interviews.
BFW was honored to document this celebration through photography, runway footage, and interviews.
Photographs preserve the details of a garment. Runway footage records its movement. Interviews preserve the voices and relationships that give the occasion meaning.
Together, these materials help future audiences understand the designer, her community, and the history surrounding her work.
Over the years, we have had the pleasure of capturing moments from Ms. Bates’ fashion shows. In 2017, our founder, Melody Boykin, was also honored to receive a Women in Fashion Award alongside her—a memory that made this anniversary especially meaningful to Melody Boykin.
Barbara Bates, Melody Boykin, and Fashion Designer Suzette Opara
2017 Women in Fashion Award Recipient
Barbara Bates & Melody Boykin at Barbaras’ Knocking Out Breast Cancer Charity Show in 2019
Melody Boykin interviewing Barbara Bates at her studio in 2015 for the Little Black Boutique Guide book publication
Melody Boykin & Barbara Bates at 40th anniversary fashion show
Watching the models come down the runway in celebration of her legacy was one of the most nostalgic fashion moments I have experienced. It reminded me why BFW continues this work: to preserve the contributions of Black designers so the next generation can see, study, and appreciate them.
Congratulations, Ms. Bates, on 40 years of creativity, perseverance, and community impact.
Explore Barbara Bates Designs
Discover current pieces at Shop Bates Designs.
Studio: 2031 S. Indiana Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616
Hours: Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Office: 312-808-8091
Email: info@barbarabatesdesigns.com
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Help us keep these stories visible—and preserve the history behind the runway.
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