Chicago’s Near South Side has long been home to Barbara Bates, a Black designer whose opulent garments have dressed local patrons and national celebrities alike for 40 years. On Friday, Bates honored that legacy with a sold‑out fashion show and retrospective at the newly opened Obama Presidential Center, 6001 S. Stony Island Ave.
Event highlights and community impact
The celebration featured a runway collaboration between Bates and design students from Columbia College, showcasing more than 40 archival pieces ranging from the 1980s to today. Proceeds from the evening will support the Barbara Bates Imaging Center at Mount Sinai Hospital, a facility named for her after she helped raise $690,000 for breast‑cancer care.
“I have definitely been authentic and true from ’86 until today,” Bates told attendees. “I’ve not followed trends. I’ve just followed what I thought worked best, and it’s always worked out for me.” Her commitment to authenticity resonates with a clientele of mature women seeking distinctive, luxury fabrics in sizes that many big‑box retailers overlook.
From corporate banking to fashion entrepreneurship
At age 31, Bates left a corporate bank job to launch Bates Designs, driven by a desire to create clothing that reflected her own vision rather than corporate dress codes. Early on she hired skilled seamstresses from Poland and offered internships to local Black youth interested in design and tailoring.
Financial setbacks tested her resolve. A prospective investor initially offered $27,000 for half the business but withdrew the offer two months later. Bates repaid the money “relatively easy” after a celebrity client, Michael Jordan, placed an order. Subsequent customers included Scottie Pippen, Whitney Houston, Mike Tyson and Deion Sanders.
Advocacy through fashion
A breast‑cancer diagnosis in 2009 sparked Bates’s lifelong advocacy for early detection and education. After two years of treatment, she used her platform to raise awareness, staging a fashion show at Northwestern Hospital featuring fellow survivors. The recent Obama Center event raised $50,000, which was donated to Mount Sinai Hospital. In 2022 the hospital named its imaging center after her in recognition of her continued fundraising efforts.
Through the Barbara Bates Foundation, she also provides prom attire for underprivileged high‑school seniors, reinforcing her belief that fashion can uplift the community.
Looking ahead
Following Friday’s celebration, Bates is preparing two additional shows this year, including a fundraiser for cancer research with the City of Hope treatment center. Her story exemplifies how a local entrepreneur can blend creativity, faith, and service to strengthen Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.
