Dress Code - Fashion Focus Chicago - 2010

 Thursday, October 21, 2010:
Chicago's Fashion Focus events were in full swing by Thursday and I had the chance to join some of Chicago's finest at the Dress Code runway show in Millennium Park.  I arrived with Paige Ann Peterson and Kiran Advani showed us to our seats in the press section.  Dress Code is one of my favorite shows during Chicago's fashion week, as I get to have a look at the design work from the four top local art colleges to see who is up-and-coming on Chicago's fashion radar.  This year, the theme of Dress Code was "Off the Grid", and the students were to design "sustainable, repurposed clothing that blends fashion and the environment."  The four schools represented were The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago and The International Academy of Design and Technology.  The entire show was produced by none other than Chicago fashion icon (and my dear friend), Nena Ivon, and I was honored and excited to get a look at each collection.

The show began right on time and I put my camera to use almost immediately to catch some images of the designs for you.  I was able to capture most of the looks by each designer and was impressed with the creativity and talent seen on the runway.  Below is a look at the collections produced by each designer - but this time, I want to know what YOU think of the designs.  Comment below and tell me who is your favorite and what college deserves the top prize for overall fantasticness!

*click on the photos to enlarge*

SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO:

Katie King:

Seth Meyerink-Griffin:

Talia Elinoff:

Adrienne Guariglia:

Luis Rodriguez:

COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO:

Christina Yi:

Elizabeth Weidner:

Dana Farella:

Sara Perez:

Maureen Sullivan:

THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF ART - CHICAGO:

Claudia Macias:

Amanda-Michelle Olson:

Suzanne Anderson:

Audra E. Kaske:

 Michael Schellenbach:

THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY:

Toni Pescatore:

Van Dang:

Ashley Huston:

Hakeem Gayden:

 Alexandre Chandoa:

So - what do you think?!

Who deserves the top prize for the most impressive garments?

Congratulations to all of the designers who worked so hard to create a collection for the Dress Code show.  I hope to get to know each of you as pave your way in the Chicago fashion industry - and beyond.  Great work, Chicago!

Truly,

R.M.B.