For Immediate Release
August 28, 2008
Media contact: Priscilla Hunter, 312.369.7805, 312.286.6624 (cell) or phunter@colum.edu
CHICAGO, IL--For the fourth year, Columbia College Chicago fashion design and fashion retail management students and faculty will participate in Fashion Focus Chicago, a weeklong celebration of Chicago’s fashion industry. From October 1 through October 8, some of the city’s most talented designers will showcase their skills in runway shows, fashion installations, shopping events, student designer events and industry seminars.
Chicago’s Chase Promenade North in Millennium Park will be home to five runway shows and Gen Art’s Shop CHICago:
• October 1 Gen Art’s Fresh Faces in Fashion featuring Pete Wentz’s Clandestine Industries
• October 2 Chicago Sister Cities International Program World Fashion Chicago
• October 3 Dress Code, a fashion show showcasing the work of top fashion design students from four Chicago-area design schools. Dress Code is produced by Nena Ivon, Manager of Special Events for Saks Fifth Avenue and Columbia College adjunct faculty in Arts Entertainment & Media Management.
• October 4 Gen Art’s Shop CHICago
• October 6 Allure of Couture, produced by Barbara Samuels, Columbia College adjunct faculty in Arts Entertainment & Media Management and Nick Cave, chair of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago fashion design department
• October 7 Macy’s presents Designers of Chicago Fashion Show
For further information and event details call 312.744.2400 or go to www.chicagofashionresource.com.
New to the runway shows this year is Dress Code, the first Fashion Focus runway show to feature student designers from Chicago’s four design schools: Columbia College Chicago; The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago; the International Academy of Design and Technology; and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Columbia fashion design students Jen Beeman, <Amy Fenderson, Liz Klimek, Yuka Takeda and Reginald Valdezco were the lucky five selected by fashion design faculty.
In addition, Columbia fashion design faculty will present a Fashion Illustration Demonstration on Thursday, October 2 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the college’s Hokin Annex, 623 S. Wabash Avenue, 1st floor. Guests can sketch a professional runway model wearing student designs while faculty members assist with the drawings and answer questions. Materials provided. This event is free and open to the public. Due to limited space, reservations are required. To RSVP call 312.369.7557.
From October 1 through October 8, check out these ongoing student events:
“Same Suit, Different Story” on exhibit at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Avenue, in the Michigan Avenue and Balbo Street windows and the South Lobby. This exhibit highlights the creativity of Columbia students’ coursework in Fashion Design: Concepts. Students deconstruct a man’s suit and shirt and recycle it into an original garment concept.
“Fashion Lab” daily at 72 E. Randolph Street from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. with a special Gallery Talk on Saturday, October 4 from Noon to 1 p.m. and shopping with student designers from 1-4 p.m. Admission is free. Fashion Lab is a showcase of one-of-a-kind student designs that are yours to own! Stop by this showcase of work by students from all four design schools. Students participating in the Fashion Lab will be on hand during Saturday’s Gallery Talk to discuss their work. Guests will be able to purchase pieces on Saturday or by contacting the student designers directly throughout the week.
Fashion Focus programming is presented by the City of Chicago in partnership with Macy’s; Gen Art Chicago; the Apparel Industry Board, Inc.; Chicago Fashion Foundation; Columbia College Chicago; The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago; the International Academy of Design and Technology; the School of the Art Institute; Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center; Sister Cities International Program; Chicago History Museum; Urban Shop Guide; and ShopWalk. For further information and event details, visit www.chicagofashionresource.com or call the Department of Cultural Affairs, 312.744.2400.
Columbia College Chicago, an urban institution committed to open access, opportunity and excellence in higher education, provides innovative degree programs in the visual, performing, media and communication arts to more than 12,500 students in over 120 undergraduate and graduate programs, including film & video, art & design, arts management, television, radio, music, interactive multimedia – all within a liberal arts context. Founded in 1890 as a communications school, Columbia College Chicago was revisioned in 1963 as a liberal arts college with a “hands-on minds-on” approach to arts and media education and a progressive social agenda. Under the current leadership of President Warrick L. Carter, Ph.D., Columbia is aggressively pursuing this mission. Columbia is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The college is accredited as a teacher training institution by the Illinois State Board of Education. For further information visit www.colum.edu.