Self-taught fashion designer Barbara Bates was born on June 27, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. Her father, Elvin Hicks, was a teacher and her mother, Vera, was a housewife. Bates went through Chicago's public school system and graduated from Marshall High School in 1962.
Bates worked a variety of jobs after graduating from high school, where she frequently designed the clothes she wore. In 1984, while working as a secretary for the First National Bank of Chicago, Bates began selling her clothing out of the bathroom during lunchtime. This experience led Bates to design clothes full time and, two years later, she opened a 700-square foot showroom.
In 1999, Bates founded the Bates Foundation to provide custom prom dresses to underprivileged or hard-to-fit young women from inner-city schools in Chicago. Bates' desire to make dresses for these women comes primarily from her own trials as a teen mother. Bates remembers the alternative school she attended as a pregnant fifteen-year-old and promised to make prom dresses for the girls who returned to high school and graduated.
Bates Designs continues to be a leader in the world of fashion. Exotic fabrics and leather trim are among the hallmarks of her designs. Bates has outfitted numerous celebrities, including Michelle Obama, Mary J.Blige, Will Smith, Sinbad, Michael Jordan, Whitney Houston and Mike Tyson to name a few.
Barbara with her son Kris(KD)& nephew Gib.
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