The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is pleased to announce the premier events for Fashion Focus: Chicago’s Fashion Week, October 14-19, a citywide celebration of Chicago’s fashion industry. Highlights during the week include a Fashion Industry Town Hall meeting and networking event, a variety of runway shows at the Chicago Cultural Center and in Millennium Park showcasing the latest trends, emerging and established designers, shopping events and much more.
Fashion Week Kick-Off Celebration (Fashion Industry Town Hall) at the Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater, G.A.R. Hall and G.A.R. Rotunda, Tuesday, October 14, 5:30 – 9: 30 p.m. Celebrate the art + industry of fashion in Chicago! Join the fashion industry-gathering kick-off event hosted by DCASE and the Mayor’s Fashion Council to showcase the fashion industry and its supporting agencies with presentations from Fashion Focus Chicago, the Chicago Fashion Incubator, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Sanford-Brown College, and Columbia College Chicago; with special keynote speaker Nena Ivon, professor at Columbia College Chicago and former long-time marketing director at Saks; and a panel discussion, nurturing talent to build successful fashion brands in Chicago, with Nena Ivon, designers J.Toor and Lagi Nadeau, and Marie P. Anderson of Agency Galatea. Emcee is Ryan Beshel of Purely Fashion. Free admission. Registration is requested here. Claudia Cassidy Theater, G.A.R. Hall and Rotunda, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington Street. Seating is on first come, first served basis. Official Fashion Focus: Chicago’s Fashion Week event! Kick-off celebration immediately follows.
Premiere events include:
Wednesday, October 15: REVOLUTION runway and selling event presented by Sanford-Brown College, 7-9 p.m., free admission. REVOLUTION runway and selling event presented by Sanford-Brown College (formerly the International Academy of Design and Technology,) Sanford-Brown College will present REVOLUTION, a runway show featuring innovative creations from the schools junior, senior and graduate fashion designers.
Thursday, October 16: STEAM STUDIO ReImagine Jazz Collection Student Runway and Selling Event, 6-8 p.m., free admission. STEAM STUDIO ReImagine Jazz Collection Student Runway and Selling Event is a pop-up design studio and maker space will showcase the output of efforts youth apply to media production skills, creative techniques, and design thinking to solve real-world challenges. STEAM STUDIO is inspired by design, innovation, and pop culture with a focus influenced by Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math in Chicago’s Public Schools. STEAM STUDIO participants earn fashion focused digital badges in design, photography, collaboration, completing projects through the Chicago City of Learning Program.
Friday, October 17: StyleChicago.com presents The Art of Fashion (Runway Show), cocktail reception from 6-7:30 p.m.; runway show begins at 7:30 .p.m. Tickets are $55-$115 and available through StyleChicago.com, FashionChicago.com or by calling Brown Paper Tickets at 1.800.838.3006. StyleChicago.com hosts its 8th season of The Art of Fashion runway show in Millennium Park featuring the Spring ’15 collections of 12 top Chicago designers, including Alyce Paris, Annie A. Clothing, Calvin Tran, Christina Karin, Eva Pazola, Hector Javier-Monarrez, Heidi Hess, J. Toor, Mark Roscoe, Shernett Swaby, Squasht and Voyeur by Vex.
Saturday, October 18, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Sunday, October 19, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.: FashionChicago Designer Shopping Event, Millennium Park (Chase Promenade North and South tents), 201 E. Randolph St., free admission. FashionChicago, the StyleChicago.com designer shopping event in Millennium Park in the Chase Promenade North tent. The 10th season of this shopping extravaganza will feature more than 35 of Chicago’s best apparel, jewelry and accessory designers.
Click here for more information about how you can join in the celebration of the art and industry of fashion in Chicago!
