Hello hello! Welcome to my site! I thought I’d kick it off with a commentary on Chicago Fashion Week, which I just attended this past week for the first time. I will be posting some videos to my Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube over the next week, as well as what I wore so check that out as well!
This was my first time attending a fashion week at all. I heard about it a few years ago, when Texas Fashion Week came to San Antonio, but I wasn’t able to attend because I found out too late. After this last move, I was looking for events in the industry to expand and build on the classes I have been taking. After some google searching, I found Chicago Fashion Week powered by Fashion Bar. Located right downtown in the Water Tower Place Mall, it is a small but mighty event with shows taking place all week. I missed two, but went to the rest, and here are my notes!
Each show brings a slightly different crowd. Some of the shows were very small, with not a lot of people turning out to watch, while others drew a large crowd from the community. The Trans Media show on Thursday brought a huge crowd from the local LGBTQ+ community. The closing show also brought lots of people in support of the Mary E Smith Foundation, a partner that gave awards to a few students at the start of the evening. Some of the shows had a more casual turnout than others- like the Designer Reveal the week before- while others were filled with people in dazzling designer outfits and shoes to match. I spotted Dolce & Gabbana boots, Chanel bags, and a Burberry dress 👀
The designers were all very impressive. Each show had about three designers showcasing between 10-20 looks. The space is small, so no matter where you sit you are close to the models as they walk by. My favorite collections from the week were probably those from Sahil and ADEM. Sahil showed during the South Asian show, and had a full collection of day looks, evening wear, and bridal. All of the pieces were intricately decorated with embroidery, beads, and sequins. One of my favorites was a white men’s jacket that was adorned with just a few strands of white beads, which sparkled and made it appear as though it was embellished with crystals of ice.
ADEM was in the Next Generation show on Saturday, and had a collection of beautiful pieces representing the designer’s culture in Kazakhstan. The pieces were intricate and detailed, with geometric patterns and techniques that gave a quilted look. I absolutely loved all of them.
The entire experience was very interesting to me, and also made me more curious about what it’s like to go to fashion week in a more established fashion scene, like New York. Because for as big as Chicago is, I was surprised by how small the show really was. I didn’t notice other repeat attendees from show to show, and like I said, the turnout depended on the day. Some were really small, and even the bigger days were probably less than 200 people in attendance. Though don’t quote me, I’m terrible at estimating quantities like that 😅
Have you been to a fashion week? What city were you in? What did you think of it?
TTYL 😘
-Ashley