Henri Bendel is an American upscale women's specialty store based in New York City that sells fashion accessories, cosmetics and fragrances, gifts and gourmet foods. The company currently operates thirteen stores: its flagship New York store, established in 1895 and currently located at 712 Fifth Avenue, and stores in Columbus; Boca Raton, Florida; San Diego; Aventura, Florida (Miami); Dadeland, Florida (Miami), Orlando, Troy, Michigan (Detroit); Dallas; Short Hills, New Jersey; King of Prussia, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia); Orange County; Washington D.C.,Atlanta, Santa Clara (California) and Los Angeles. In the Fall of 2011, Bendel's will open three more stores in the following cities: Tampa, Palm Beach and Chicago.

Henri Willis Bendel, a milliner by trade, was the first retailer to bring the designs of Coco Chanel over to the United States from Paris. The company he founded maintained this tradition of introducing influential socialites to what's new and next in fashion by launching designers including Anna Sui, Stephen Burrows, Rick Owens and Diane von Furstenberg. Bendel's also fosters the work of upcoming designers through its semi-annual "Open-See" events, at which vendors can present merchandise to corporate buyers on a "first come, first seen" basis, with the chance that their pieces will be selected for a trunk show or even for sale in the Fifth Avenue store.

David Yurman Inc. is a privately held high-end American designer jewelry company founded by David Yurman (born October 12, 1942). It is headquartered in New York City.

There are 18 David Yurman boutiques across 10 states and four boutiques across three international cities as of mid-2009. Their first international store was opened in Hong Kong's International Finance Center, with the brand's Asia headquarters nearby.

David Yurman grew up on Long Island, NY and first stepped out as a designer and businessman selling little sculptures in his high school cafeteria. Later, at age 16, he was introduced to Cuban welder and sculptor Ernesto Gonzales while visiting his sister in Provincetown, MA. In sculpting, David found an outlet and focus for his creativity, which he would develop over the next two decades as an apprentice under the tutelage of renowned sculptors Jacques Lipshitz and Theodore Rozack (he collaborated with Picasso and Modigliani). Following a year at NYU, David left college and hitchhiked across the country to California where he found refuge in the beatnik artist colony of Big-Sur.

Lillian Pulitzer Rousseau (born Lillian Lee McKim on November 10, 1931), better known as Lilly Pulitzer, is a socialite and prominent fashion designer. She is known for founding Lilly Pulitzer, Inc., which produces clothing and other wares featuring bright, colorful, floral prints. Because the brand has been very popular with high society, Lilly has been called the "Queen of Prep".

Lillian Lee McKim, nicknamed Lilly, was born to socialites Robert V. McKim and Lillian McKim (née Bostwick) in Roslyn, New York on November 10, 1931. She was the middle child, with older sister Mary Maude (called Memsey) and younger sister Florence Fitch (Flossie). Her mother, Lillian, was an heir to the Standard Oil fortune. Lillian divorced Robert and re-married Ogden Phipps in 1937.

Lilly attended the Chapin School in New York City, along with Bouvier sister Jacqueline Lee. In 1949, she graduated from Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut. She attended the college-finishing school Finch College in New York City, but left after one semester to work as a midwife's assistant in West Virginia and as a volunteer at the Veterans Hospital in The Bronx.

Kate Brosnahan Spade (born Katherine Noel Brosnahan; December 24, 1962) is the co-founder and namesake of the designer brand, kate spade New York.

Spade was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated from St. Teresa's Academy, an all-girl Catholic high school after spending some time at Notre Dame de Sion all -girl Catholic prep school with her sister Rhetta. She attended the University of Kansas and then transferred to and graduated from Arizona State University, where she majored in journalism, worked in a motorcycle bar, and is a member of the Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

In 1986, Spade worked in the accessories department of Mademoiselle in Manhattan, where she was credited in the magazine's masthead with her maiden name as Katy Brosnahan. While at Mademoiselle, she met and moved in with Andy Spade (brother of actor and comic David Spade), a native of Scottsdale, Arizona; the two were working side-by-side as salespersons in a men's clothing store, Carter's Men Shop in Phoenix, Arizona. Together, they were featured in the magazine as part of a photo story on couples and love.

Michael Kors (born Karl Anderson, Jr.; August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is best known for designing classic American sportswear for women.

Kors was born Karl Anderson, Jr. on Long Island, New York, the son of Joan Hamburger, a former model, and her first husband, Karl Anderson, a college student. When his mother remarried when he was five, he was told he could change his name, and he chose to become Michael David Kors. He grew up in Merrick, New York and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, New York. Kors' mother is Jewish and his father was of Swedish descent. Kors currently resides in New York City and married his longtime partner Lance LePere in Southampton, New York on August 16, 2011.

Michael Kors began designing clothes at the age of 19 and studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. In 1981, Kors launched the Michael Kors womenswear line at Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Building on his success, Kors was named the first ever women's ready-to-wear designer and creative director for the French fashion house Celine in 1997. In his tenure at Celine, Kors turned the fashion house around with blockbuster accessories and a critically acclaimed ready-to-wear line. Kors left Celine in October 2003 to concentrate on his own brand. Kors launched his menswear line in 2002.