Chicago’s very own fashion week, Fashion Focus Chicago took place a few weeks ago. Designers, retailers, and students from all across the city got together to put their best fashion foot forward.

The four days of all things fashion included runway shows, shopping events, and industry seminars. Most of the events took place in tents in Millennium Park while others were off site at the Cultural Center and other places throughout the city.

Because Chicago’s fashion scene is still in its infancy, the Mayor has made special efforts to develop Chicago into an international contender in the realm of fashion.



“Fashion Focus 2009 builds on the successes of the past five years and moves us closer to our goal of helping this industry reach its maximum potential in our city,” said Mayor Daley at press conference at Macy’s.

One of the shopping events, Style Shop, was at 72 E. Randolph. Chicago Designers took turns hosting trunk shows to display their collections.

Lesley Timpe was first up, owner and designer of Squasht, represented nation-wide in a variety of boutiques. The collection of clothing and accessories are made with vintage fabrics the designer sources and draws her inspiration from.



Squasht is handmade in the designer’s studio in Pilsen; the line boasts a variety of colors, fabrications, styles, and prints. The reversible hats are known for their chic colors and knits and weaves.



Timpe described how she started, “taking masculine details and putting them on womens’ wear… mixing textures and colors and putting colors together that normally wouldn’t go together like gray and black.”

“I’ve been doing a lot of the same, because its working, which is a real vintage inspiration, so just taking a lot of details from vintage items I like to wear and incorporating them into the clothes. Then making it comfortable..my inspiration always from the fabrics and vintage detailing,” says Timpe.



Dress code was the runway show that celebrated student’s abilities and creations. Students from Columbia College, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Art, and the International Academy of Design and Technology sent models down the cat walk for the event. Hosted in a huge white tent it really felt like a true fashion week.

With Mayor Daley in attendance, the show was under way and the four schools took time showing small collections of garments. Students became local celebrities for the duration of the show as their picture was shown on two big screens along with their name as models walked the runway. Their fellow students couldn’t hold their applause or shouting as they saw their friend’s garments.



The garments displayed a variety of styles and silhouettes, from cocktail dresses, to casual separates to plays of volume and patterns to oversized bodices and scarves to completely abstract possibly couture creations. Some designers created something that envisioned their own style and others took a different route and designed something for a different target market.

While everything deserved the applause it received one garment stood out the most, it was the finale gown by Fraley Le. A long ball gown made of sea green and a crisp yellow. The strapless dress had a fitted bodice, which increased in volume towards the bottom. The a-line dress moved delicately when the model walked and each piece of attached fabric moved almost independently of the other.

Vanessa Lambert student from IADT gives her favorite pick among the many, “The huge ball gown in green. It was beautiful and I think a lot of people liked that dress.”

Even though Fashion Focus Chicago was scaled down from last year it was a success in its own right. Each year Chicago moves into its’ rightful place as a stylish city, one stiletto at a time. - Patricia Johnson