about joyce michel®
fashion designer, inventor, businesswoman
our team
Originally from Texas, Joyce Michel grew up as part of a large, enterprising family who are entrepreneurs and patent holders themselves.
Joyce is the inventor and creator of the go be® brand, the first brand that prevents chafing (skin irritation) for consumers. go be® combines her knowledge of medicine and fashion.
Joyce’s godmother taught her to sew when she was 13 years old. Three years later she began designing all of the cheerleaders’ uniforms at her High School.
Joyce obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, as one of the nation’s first Physician Assistants.
Although intrigued with medicine, Joyce was not passionate about practicing it.
Joyce was passionate about Fashion Design and resumed studies at the Chamber Syndicate de la Haute Couture in Paris. At Parsons School of Design in New York City, Joyce obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree.
This educational journey would come full circle for Joyce with the creation of go be® connecting the dots between the aesthetic and the functional; allowing her to go from a concept to great products.
skills
a multi-hyphenate
physician assistant
one of the nation’s first physician assistants
Joyce’s degree as a Physician Assistant helped her create go be®. A friend’s skin irritation problem was made worse when she wore the Joyce Michel® brand of pantyhose. Intrigued, Joyce borrowed a Dermatology textbook to determine causes of “skin irritation” or “chafing”.
fashion designer
parsons school of design alumna
Donna Karan asked, “What can you bring me that’s new and different?” This changed Joyce’s design career. “New and different” became Joyce’s design point of view. Moving from category to category during her design career allowed her to break the rules and innovate for major apparel firms including DuPont, Home Shopping Network and Kate Spade. View Select Design Work.
inventor
polymath
Consumer’s problems were the basis for becoming an inventor and Joyce Michel now has 5 patents. Combining her knowledge of ”fashion” and “medicine” to create go be®, the first of its kind, “chafing” prevention category of apparel, was Joyce’s first patent. Joyce is passionate about helping people, especially children, live healthier lives via go be® and will continue to innovate.
businesswoman
a revenue generator
NPD Group numbers confirm over $500 million in annual revenues generated industry wide by Joyce Michel’s innovative product ideas/designs for corporations including Donna Karan, Kate Spade, DuPont, Home Shopping Network and Timberland. Visualizing a product, building a team and working with them to create “revenue producing products” are Joyce’s strengths.
go be® team members
these extraordinary individuals worked with Joyce to make her dream for go be® come true
frank oswald
mentor, consultant
(1930-2011) Frank Oswald, known as “Mr. Legwear”, was North American Lycra Brand Manager at DuPont during his 40-year career. Frank knew Joyce’s idea for Donna Karan (Body Toners®) revolutionized the pantyhose industry and created $350 million in annual sales industry wide. Believing in Joyce and her ideas, Frank initiated DuPont’s financial backing and “partnering” with Joyce to create the first designer line of products for Home Shopping Network utilizing DuPont’s fibers and technology. Frank encouraged Joyce to build the go be® brand as a Fortune 500 company would. This included major input from top industry professionals: Pinnacle Marketing Management for the Harris Poll, and Betsy Guerro (former VP of the Arnold Group) for the branding and positioning. Frank’s astute questions led to many valuable contributions during the brands’ initial development and are greatly missed.
pinnacle marketing management
harris poll study
PMM is a self-described “world-class consulting company with extensive experience in women’s apparel, with an emphasis on intimates. PMM customers include VF, DuPont, Chico’s, Kaiser-Roth, Burlington Industries, and the GAP as well as American Express, Liz Claiborne and other Fortune 500 corporations.
betsy guerro
creative director, writer
Betsy Guerro is an award winning Creative Director / Writer and was VP, Creative Director of the Arnold Group before starting her own company and has a wicked sense of humor. Her close friend Alicia asked her to help Joyce with the branding and positioning. Betsy poured her heart and soul into the project and developed the brilliant brand name, go be®, and tag line for it, life without friction®. Her prestigious clients include Del Monte, Aetna, Hershey’s, Hasbro, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Procter & Gamble, The History Channel, Citibank, Philips Lightbulbs, USTA, Perrier Jouet—just to name a few.
gina napolitano mulroy
fashion designer
Gina graduated from Parsons School of Design’s Fashion Department and earned its most prestigious “Designer of the Year” award. Working with Joyce since 1995, Gina is prolific and provides the go be® team with 25-50 versions of an idea to choose from to put into production. The go be® team and consumers benefit from her prolific and beautiful designs.
aisha williams
web designer, digital marketer
Aisha is a Web Designer & Digital Marketer based in Trinidad & Tobago. Aisha holds a MFA from Parsons School of Design in New York. The “best and brightest” student was requested for the go be® project. Aisha has lived up to the title when it comes to anything Internet or social media related and helps the team help others via the latest technology.
richard delgado
graphic designer, illustrator
Richard is a Graphic Designer and Illustrator enthusiast who hails from the Dominican Republic. Richard was named valedictorian of his class at the Altos de Chavón School of Design. Richard designed the animated “how they work” video that was positioned to appeal to the “child in all of us” and to convey the happiness we all seek.
julia llenas
fashion designer
Aspiring Fashion Designer, Julia graduated first in her class from the Fashion Design program at Altos de Chavón School of Design, Dominican Republic. Julia spent days creating the go be® logo utilizing circles which became one of the dominant design details of the brand. She made valuable contributions to the packaging as well. Julia is passionate about fashion design and go be® because she knows it will help so many people live healthier lives through motion.