Rifat Ozbek Rifat Ozbek Rıfat Özbek (, ; born in 1953 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish-born fashion designer, known for his exotic, ethnically-inspired outfits. He was named British Designer of the Year in 1988 and 1992. Özbek was born in Istanbul, Turkey and grew up in a yali on the Bosphorus. He moved to London in the 1970s and lived in his parents flat in Belgravia whilst he was studying architecture and then fashion at Saint Martin's School of Art. After graduating in 1977 (or 1978), Özbek went to Italy where he designed clothes for Monsoon. In 1984 he established his
Maria Pinto (fashion designer) Maria Pinto (fashion designer) Maria V. Pinto (born 1957) is a fashion designer from Chicago, Illinois. She has designed clothing for Oprah Winfrey, the Joffrey Ballet, Marcia Gay Harden, and Michelle Obama. Maria Pinto was born in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, near Chinatown. She and her twin brother are the youngest of seven children. Her parents, Constantino and Virginia Pinto, are a sanitation worker and a caterer, respectively. When she was still young, her family moved to the suburbs of Chicago. When Pinto was 10, she started reading a neighbor's copies of "Women's Wear Daily". In eighth grade,