Chicago always has been known more as a sports town than as a fashion capital.
But Fashion Focus 2007, the city’s six-day celebration of local designers, might finally have retired the baseball-cap-and-khakis cliche that has bedeviled the city like a fetid billy goat.
In a world-class series of Millennium Park events that wrapped up last week, regional designers and retailers fared better than our ballclubs, scoring national points via stellar runway shows viewed by correspondents for NBC’s “Today” show, Vogue, Lucky, The Wall Street Journal, Women’s Wear Daily and more.
And ironically — or fittingly — we saw and heard sports references throughout the festival.
Designer Kristina Sparks reconstructed baseball and boxing gloves into startlingly beautiful dresses and capelets at the Allure of Couture finale show. Tyrus Thomas of the Chicago Bulls modeled for designer Barbara Bates in the same show. And, as with a classic Chicago-style hot dog at a Cubs or Sox game, it was mustard, not the typical autumnal reds, that triumphed as color-trend-of-the-season among the stylish crowds.
When it was all over last Sunday, we could hear the thrill of victory in the voice of fashion czar Melissa Gamble, whose boss, Mayor Richard M. Daley, has championed the fashion scene as an asset in the city’s Olympics bid.
By Monday, Gamble was on her way to Mexico for some post-game R&R. And Q was reviewing the highlights reel … .
THE HITS, THE RUNS, THE SLAM-DUNKS
First, Fashion Focus 2007 mastered the fundamentals — style and substance — and then it threw in a whole lot of fun. Here, we feature some of our favorite plays. See chicagotribune.com/shopping for more.
NO-SWEAT SHOPPING
Its communal fitting room was about as much fun as Loehmann’s. But Gen Art’s Shop CHICago event more than made up for that discomfort with a bottomless supply of fresh guacamole and chips from Chipotle, bountiful beverages for which there never was a line, and a bevy of designers and retailers that was whittled down from past years, but worthwhile. Michelle Tan’s plaid short-sleeve coat looked fabulous on shopper Melody Swink, above. (Tan is one of Macy’s featured designers at the State Street store.) Erin Gallagher’s quartz necklaces shot through with titanium were getting plenty of looks (egjewelry.com). We also loved colorful men’s shirts from Milesh J (mileshj.com), feminine dresses from Elise Bergman (elisebergman.com), chunky sweaters from Marlena Maree ( marlena@marlena-maree.com) and sleek ones from Heidi Hess ( contact@heidihess.com), who also was part of the “Chicago Is … Red Hot” runway show. Booths set up by the Bucktown shop Akira and Lincoln Park’s She Boutique were teeming with crowds. We could (and did) go on all day.
BEST PREGAME INTERVIEW
“We aren’t your typical designers. We like to eat chicken wings and watch football,” said Sean Bilovecky as he clutched a beer backstage at the Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion Show. But he and Brian O’Neill, his partner in the Cleveland-based menswear line Wrath Arcane, do have a greater purpose in life. Raging against the decimation of the garment industry in America, they outfitted their male models with anti-“Big Label” bandannas worn over their faces. The masks weren’t just a rebel yell against the Wal-Mart effect. “We never want a model to sell our line,” Bilovecky said. “Too many brands are 90 percent model, 10 percent clothing and 0 percent about making the industry better.” All of Wrath’s menswear is made in the USA, in places like Potter, Pa. The clothing itself is not small town. Understated but edgy, some shirts bear a harness effect on the back yoke of shirts, included on their best seller for spring: a button-off-collar shirt, $135, in lilac. The line is carried at Untitled and Active Endeavors in Chicago. See wratharcane.com.
THEY’VE GOT SPIRIT!
Tribune photo by Stacey Wescott
The whoops and hollers of approval at the Allure of Couture finale show proved that fashion can be high art and unabashed fun. Designer Kristina Sparks wowed the crowd with boundary-busting creativity: athletic shoes refashioned into a men’s jacket (above), boxing gloves as shoulder pads for a women’s shrug, and shoelaces spooled into a gown. Formerly a ballroom dancer, Sparks used sports references and materials not just to draw attention to this collection but also to make a broader statement. “I feel like the arts don’t get as much attention as sports.” We doubt there would be any shortage of attention on someone wearing the sneaker suit (especially through airport security).
The whoops and hollers of approval at the Allure of Couture finale show proved that fashion can be high art and unabashed fun. Designer Kristina Sparks wowed the crowd with boundary-busting creativity: athletic shoes refashioned into a men’s jacket (above), boxing gloves as shoulder pads for a women’s shrug, and shoelaces spooled into a gown. Formerly a ballroom dancer, Sparks used sports references and materials not just to draw attention to this collection but also to make a broader statement. “I feel like the arts don’t get as much attention as sports.” We doubt there would be any shortage of attention on someone wearing the sneaker suit (especially through airport security).
WORLD CHAMPS
It quickly became clear why World Fashion Chicago is the favorite Fashion Focus show for many of the city’s fashion insiders. Small-scale and Neiman Marcus-level designers representing all 27 of Chicago’s Sister Cities stripped viewers of some of their stereotypes about what African or Muslim or Far Eastern dress is. They wove the best of their countries’ dressmaking traditions into sophisticated, modern ensembles that would dazzle anywhere. We almost hate that one of our favorites came from plain-old Paris. Designer Jasmine Di Milo, the 25-year-old sister of Dodi Fayed and daughter of Mohamed Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods, showed impeccably fitted dresses such as this chic gold one — or is that mustard? — ($990), carried by Contessa Bottega, 1 E. Delaware St. (312-944-0981)
ATHLETIC SUPPORTER
Undie details came out of the corduroy in Nick and Jack Cave’s brilliantly original collection at the Allure of Couture show.
HELMET HEAD
Those of us who are children of the ’80s loved the bright lips/big hair look, accompanied by Corey Hart’s “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night,” at the Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion show.
FOR YOUR BEST GEAR
Designer Lisa Kingsley hand-sews handbags from ostrich, python, cobra, tumbled calf or lizard, naming each for a Chicago street. Claim to fame: Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan. This “Schiller” satchel in chalk/charcoal cobra, shown at the Gen Art Fresh Faces show, retails for $2,650. Prices start at $165 for a cobra wallet. E-mail info@kingsleyhandbags.com.
ABOUT THAT BELLY
Abigail Glaum-Lathbury unearthed her childhood collection of beetle, moth and bee specimens for her impeccably tailored entomology-inspired spring/summer collection. Thus the exaggerated abdomen in this finale look (below) at Fresh Faces in Fashion. Intricate insect appliques began with her own drawings, and the metamorphosis was complete with glass and silver beads. “Looking past hard and imposing exoskeletons, there is an oft-missed elegance in the unique shapes and patterns nature creates,” she said. Prices range from $150-$450 at Habit, 1951 W. Division St., AbigailGlaumLathbury.com.
