After working under icons such as Oscar de la Renta, Michael decided in 1989 to launch his namesake millinery line. A decade later, he debuted a couture collection. Michael’s collections have garnered high-profile fans, including Cicely Tyson, Valerie Simpson, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Nancy Wilson, Phylicia Rashad, Susan Fales-Hill, Brandy, among many others. Michael is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

In 2016, he was awarded the prestigious Design Visionary Award by the Lighthouse Guild.

In 2019, he became the first Black American luxury fashion designer to dress an Oscar recipient, when his longtime friend and muse, Cicely Tyson, made red-carpet history, becoming the first woman of color to receive the Honorary Academy Award.

In 2021, Michael was honored by the National Congress of Black Women (NCBW) at the group’s 37th annual awards ceremony, billed as “Through It All, Still Standing.” The NCBW is dedicated to the educational, political, economic, and cultural development of Black women and their families.Michael lives in New York City with his wife and business partner, Mark-Anthony Edwards, and has two daughters, Saferra and Mychal.