by After more than ten years, Chicago Fashion Week is running again with the endorsement of the city.
To kick off the event, The Curio will be hosting a group runway show titled “A Celebration of Chicago Style” on Wednesday night at the Chicago Cultural Center. Eight designers will participate including better known ones such as Maria Pinto, who first wore Michelle Obama 20 years ago, and Barbara Bates. Before the models hit the runway, the first annual Ceta Walters Emerging Fashion Content Creator Award will be presented. The annual $10,000 honor is established in memory of fashion and travel blogger Ceta Walters, who died last year.
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Almost 50 events will take place across the city in different neighborhoods between Wednesday and October. . Exhibitions, clothing swaps, styling sessions and fashion shows will be part of CFW. “One of the things that sets Chicago apart from other fashion weeks is that almost all of the events are open to the public via tickets or RSVPs,” Gerard said. “This gives Chicagoans who have a curiosity or interest in fashion an opportunity to get involved. If you go to the Chicago Fashion Week site, it lists every day what’s happening and where. It also links back to the organization running the event so you can find out how to buy tickets or RSVP.”
During CFW, Fashion Group International will be bringing back its Rising Star Awards to Chicago on October 15 at the Palmer House. There will also be a panel discussion on October 17 about “Tech Couture: The Future of Fashion and Technology.”
“Clothing Council’s Golden Jubilee: Celebrating 50 Years of Chicago Fashion” will be held on October 18 at the Chicago History Museum. The Chicago Asian Fashion Show is scheduled for Wilson Abbey on October 12, and Runway Latinx will hold a show at Cinecity Studios on October 19. alumni fashion show on October 18.
Attendees at Wednesday’s opening night show, presented by Abercrombie & Kent, will also see rising stars like Sheila Rashid and Gente Fina, who walked New York Fashion Week in February, and Chelsea B., specialist in unique knitwear. The youngest person in the field is Alex McDermott, a 2022 graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, who runs I Am Studios.
Another designer on the roster is Christina Karin, whose sector is more of the luxury casual wear type.
Justin Dougan-LeBlanc, the interdisciplinary talent whose work includes 3-D Print Designs installations will be showing looks from his Justin Leblanc Design line.
Each of the designers in “A Celebration of Chicago Style” will send 10 looks down the runway to give guests a good idea of the creative range and diversity of fashion that the city has to offer.
Launched by Maggie Gillette in April of 2022, The Curio is an organization that is all about Chicago fashion, according to Gerard. From the beginning, the Curio set out to “unite the city’s fashion community, which was in a very bad place, not only because of the pandemic, but also because the city stopped funding CFW in 2014,” Gerard said.
After moving to Chicago from Manhattan with his wife in 2020, he recognized that his fashion scene was “really going downhill,” based on previous visits to the city in his lead role at Gen Art. From 1994 to March 2012, Gerard served as chief executive officer of Gen Art, which informed emerging creatives and activated brands through consumer interest in arts and culture, as well as lifestyle.
With the Curio, the initial goal was to bring together the streetwear community and members of the Gold Coast charity gala fashion circuit. Two other goals were to showcase the best of Chicago-based talent and raise awareness of Chicago’s fashion resources. Making Chicagoans aware was key, as they can support local talent, according to Gerard, who also spoke about the need to raise Chicago’s fashion profile regionally and nationally.
There are “hundreds” of designers working in Chicago, including those who work in small quantities or have their own shops, Gerard said. For consumers, that could mean buying something that’s only 10 units per 10,000, he said.
“Chicago fashion is an example of the trend happening around the world away from fast fashion. It’s always been a lot more custom and small batch,” Gerard said, adding that manufacturing is limited. “It’s more of an entrepreneurial thing. There are no big fashion brands [based here.] People are kind of learning about fashion on their own because they’re not coming up through a big fashion house.”
Earlier this week, celebrity stylist Law Roach discussed the influence of his hometown, Chicago, on his career, during a conversation with Fern Mallis at the 92Y. Virgil Abloh also established himself in Chicago in the early years of his career. Although many locals move on to other cities, they bring their Chicago roots with them, according to Gerard. “Chicago is definitely a different environment. There isn’t that fashion machine where you can get in, work for someone for five years and launch your own line,” he said.
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