...The Founder & Director

Clarease Rankin Yates moved to Houston from Washington, D.C. fifteen years ago to assume the post of U.S. immigration judge. A woman of high energy and the first African-American woman to be appointed to that judicial post, she soon became active in the community, joining the board of the Sickle Cell Association of the Texas Gulf Coast, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the NAACP and the Houston Symphony board.

It was her interest in sickle cell anemia that launched her into the local fashion scene. The Gulf Coast office needed a serious financial boost and the board, which she chaired at one time, thought a new fund-raiser would be the ticket. She recommended a fashion extravaganza. The late Dr. Guy Robert Rankin was instrumental in the development of 'Let the Fashions Begin' and thus, the sickle cell board dedicated the first events in his honor. In November of 1998, Clarease married Cary P. Yates, Vice-President Business Banking at Wells Fargo.

During the first four years of the annual fund-raiser, "Let The Fashions Begin" featured the creations of local designers, modeled by professional and celebrity models.

In 2000 'Let the Fashions Begin' became a 501(c)(3) non- profit Corporation. It's mission is to eradicate this dreaded disease. In the year 2001 'Let the Fashions Begin' launched 'Men of Style' as a vehicle to showcase distinguished community leaders while raising funds for this worth while cause. The purpose was to draw a cross section of the community into the sickle cell arena and to broaden the awareness of the plight of sickle cell patients.