It was a night full of surprises at this year’s Fresh Faces fashion show presented by Gen Art. The event, which showcases Up-and-coming Chicago designers, served as the grand finale for the city’s Fashion Week. There were glorious highs and a few lows that made for an interesting affair. Read more »

Friday night got a little warmer as Horacio Nieto debuted his spring 2010 collection of men’s and womenswear at EnVent. The runway layout placed a linear rectangle in the middle of the room for the models to navigate through and a massive dynamic screen projection turned the cozy wooden palace into a fierce theatrical event. With the right combination of music, atmosphere, and positive energy, Nieto successfully executed a charming experience that left the public wanting more. Read more »

Spring is a pretty rainy season, so I guess it kind of worked that it was pouring down rain as spring looks were shown at the Macy’s Presents the Designers of Chicago runway show, the first big show in the Millennium Park tent this weekend. In fact, as the city’s fashion czar Melissa Gamble and Andrea Schwartz from Macy’s introduced the show, they warned that the backstage area was majorly flooded and the models, shoes and some clothes might look a little wet. I was prepared for the worse. I remember attending a Columbia College fashion show in a tent a few years and a couple of the models totally bit it due to water on the runway. Luckily, that wasn’t the case here. No one slipped and everything looked dry.

The show was broken up into two parts: Designers that are actually carried at Macy’s on State Street and the designers-in-residence at the store’s Chicago Fashion Incubator.

Because a majority of the clothes will be sold at Macy’s this spring, many of the looks were on the safe side. Lara Miller opened the show with her signature eco-friendly materials (including hand-loomed bamboo, organic cotton and raw silk organza). A standout was the Stacia ruffle dress in pool color—a cool color that made up a majority of the collection.

Miller’s color choice was a nice touch, because many of the designers (such as Jermikko) featured a lot of boring old beige. Pierre Colorado of Blake Standard had nice splashes of color (reds, purples) in his casual, knit clothes; and designer Tennille White also focused on interesting shades (seafoam green, peach) but the most interesting thing about her presentation wasn’t the clothes, it was the plus-size models strutting down the runway.

White’s models got the biggest applause of the night—until it was time for Lee Allison and Sugar Chicago to present ties. Yes, boring, old ties. But the male models wore them with only boxers, dress socks and dress shirts, which they unbuttoned down the catwalk. One of the most popular moments from Macy’s Glamorama is always when the male models show off the latest underwear, so I think the department store remembered this and brought it back.

While nothing on the runway was avant-garde, the Incubator designers took a few more risks. Anna Hovet’s color-block knitwear kind of reminded me of Rainbow Brite going “street;” and the designs of Furio were nice (blouses and skirts) but every piece included the same fabric accents. It wasn’t really enough to make much of a statement, which made me think she really liked the fabric, but couldn’t afford enough of it.

I’ll be honest. It’s rare I leave a fashion show in Chicago feeling wholeheartedly optimistic, let alone exhilarated, about design coming out of the city. Last night at Abigail Glaum-Lathbury’s show was a refreshing change. There wasn’t an appletini in sight. Read more »