Herbert Ritts Jr. was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black and white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical Greek sculpture, which emphasized the human shape.
Polaroid is an American company best known for its instant film and cameras. The company was founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land, to exploit the use of its Polaroid polarizing polymer. Land ran the company until 1981. Its peak employment was 21,000 in 1978, and its peak revenue was $3 billion in 1991.
Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothers Charles and Joseph Revson, and chemist Charles Lachman. Revlon products are sold in 150 countries and the company has many global locations including Mexico City, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Sydney, Singapore, and Tokyo.
Freedom Communications, Inc., was an American media conglomerate that operated daily and weekly newspapers, websites and mobile applications, as well as Coast Magazine and other specialty publications. Headquartered at 625 N. Grand Avenue in Santa Ana, California, it was owned by a private equity firm, 2100 Trust, established in 2010 by investor Aaron Kushner Freedom's flagship newspaper was the Orange County Register, based in Santa Ana.
J.Crew Group, Inc., is an American multi-brand, multi-channel, specialty retailer. The company offers an assortment of women's, men's, and children's apparel and accessories, including swimwear, outerwear, lounge-wear, bags, sweaters, denim, dresses, suiting, jewelry, and shoes.
Bennigan's is an Irish pub-themed American casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1976 in Atlanta by restaurateur Norman E. Brinker as one of America's original casual dining concepts. The chain operated under the restaurant division of Pillsbury for most of its history, until Pillsbury was bought out by the British liquor conglomerate Grand Metropolitan. Due to laws preventing liquor manufacturers from also operating liquor sellers, the chain was sold to Texas-based Metromedia restaurants, until the company filed for bankruptcy in 2008. The chain then went through a series of restructuring and ownership changes until it was purchased by Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC in 2015. The company is now operating out of Dallas, Texas.
Clear Channel Outdoor Americas (CCOA) is an out-of-home (OOH) advertising company based in New York City with operations throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean. CCOA is one of two separate business units operating as part of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (CCOH). The other business unit, Clear Channel International (CCI), includes, Europe, Singapore and Latin America. Globally, both CCOA and CCI employ 5,800 people.
Brookstone is a chain of retail stores in the United States and China. It was founded as a mail-order business in 1965, when it started selling items, such as dental clamps and other specialty tools. Its first physical location opened in 1973 in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The company's headquarters are currently located in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
William Rondina is an American designer as well as the Founder, CEO and Chairman of The Connaught Group, Ltd and William Rondina, Inc. in New York City. The Connaught Group is Rondina's New York City-based fashion and design parent company to women's fashion lines including Carlisle Collection, Per Se and the affiliated brand, Etcetera.
Nine West Holdings is an American designer, marketer and wholesaler of branded clothing, shoes and accessories. In 2019, the company restructured under the new name Premier Brands Group Holdings Llc.
Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual clothing, footwear and accessories. By mid-2008, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states. The company was headquartered in Port Washington, New York. The company liquidated all of its stores throughout 2008 and 2009.
GateHouse Media Inc. was an American publisher of locally based print and digital media. It published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local-market websites in 38 states. Its parent company, New Media Investment Group, merged with Gannett in 2019.
Amy Wesson is an American fashion model from Tupelo, Mississippi.
New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general public. It is one of four major fashion weeks in the world, collectively known as the "Big 4", along with those in Paris, London, and Milan. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) created the modern notion of a centralized "New York Fashion Week" in 1993, although cities like London were already using their city's name in conjunction with the words fashion week in the 1980s. NYFW is based on a much older series of events called "Press Week", founded in 1943. On a global scale, most business and sales-oriented shows and some couture shows take place in New York City.
Avenue Stores LLC is a specialty retailer in the United States offering plus-size clothing to women who wear larger-size clothing. The company serves a target audience of women aged between 25 and 55 years of age, wearing apparel of size 14 or larger, and also sells shoes and accessories. The group operated 222 stores in 33 states in 2019, all under the name The Avenue.
Pierre Balmain S.A. trading as Balmain, is a French luxury fashion house that was founded by Pierre Balmain in 1945. It operates 16 monobrand stores, including locations in New York City, London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, and in Milan's Via Montenapoleone.
The J.G. Wentworth Company is an American financial services company that purchases structured settlements, annuities, and lottery payments in exchange for a lump-sum cash settlement. They also offer debt counseling and negotiation services.
Stephen Burrows is an American fashion designer based in New York City. Burrows studied at Fashion Institute of Technology, then began work in the New York City's Garment Center, alternately managing his own businesses and working closely with luxury department store Henri Bendel. He is known for being one of the first African-American fashion designers to sell internationally and develop a mainstream, high-fashion clientele. His garments, known for their bright colors and "lettuce hem" curly-edges, became an integral part of the "Fun City" New York City disco-dancing scene of the 1970s.
Hamza Perez is a Puerto Rican former American rap artist who converted to Islam. He has been ranked as one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the royal strategic Islamic center. Hamza spends his time on the streets and jail cells spreading the message of Islam to at-risk youth and communities. He was also a member of the hip-hop group M-Team, a music group that consisted of Hamza and his brother Suliman Perez. They used hip-hop to spread their faith and religious message to other young people. Hamza is the founder of the S.H.E.H.U. Program and one of the co-founders of the Light of the Age Mosque in Pittsburgh, PA. He has also worked with the interfaith poetry project Crossing Limits. In 2009, PBS released a movie entitled "New Muslim Cool" about his life, music, and community.
Elena Velez is an American fashion designer and artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, based in New York City. Her work is known for its non traditional synthesis of metalsmith and high fashion. Dressing celebrities including Solange Knowles, Grimes, Julia Fox, Charli XCX, Arca, Kim Petras, Tinashe, Rico Nasty and Caroline Polachek, her recent collaborations include custom looks for music artists such as Kali Uchis, Rosalia, and Ariana Grande. Velez was named by I-D Magazine in 2018 as one of five under the radar designers to discover at New York Fashion Week after first gaining viral success on VFILES Season 10 Runway. The brand is represented by Loft Creative Group and made its first official New York Fashion Week debut in September 2021. Velez is a winner of the 2022 CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund, and the winner of American Emerging Designer 2022 at the CFDA Fashion Awards.
