Feb 09
Model: Erin Gipson/Ford
Heidi Hess never planned on being a designer. “I was a radio personality for ten years,” she says. “I just didn’t love it anymore… it was time for me to do something else.” Revamping her entire professional m.o., the Chicago native turned to a career she admittedly didn’t know much about. “I have a broadcast degree,” she says. “I openly admit that I wasn’t schooled in fashion.” Turns out she didn’t need to be.
Drawing on her love of knitwear, she began selling her own designs to other boutiques in 2004. “It just grew,” she says. “I [just] figured it out each year.” Hess says she’s “always looking for new ways to make knits.”
Designing custom pieces for women, Hess says she can outfit just about anyone, from super-petite to plus-size ladies in just about anything and everything knit. And beyond—2010 will see Hess venturing into “more of different textiles… I’m always looking for new fibers to blend.” Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 19
Laura Kofoid has spent a lot of time searching for two of life’s smallest essentials. A Harvard business-school grad, onetime brand manager and a retail specialist, Kofoid’s always had a pretty good handle on her life. Not, neccessarily, her personal belongings. “I spent half my life rooting around for my keys and my pen!” she says.
Cut to 2009, when the launch of her and partner Grace Tsao-Wu’s fledgling company, Laudi Vidni, got off the ground. Buying a business idea from a Chicago entrepreneur who sold his brainchild for just one single dollar, the two women launched a premium leather-bag manufacturing company. “We set out to really transform that idea into a business,” she says.
Allowing patrons to either create their own or choose from one of forty different options, Kofoid and company made one element standard—the label’s signature key leash and pen pocket. “It came about because we were thinking about how do you really create a brand for women and not just a brand itself?” she says. Never a huge sucker for logos, Kofoid embraced a different approach. “The idea of the key clasp is something that is so valuable and functional,” she says. It also lends an element of authenticity. “Every day the woman who owns the bag sees ‘Laudi Vidni,’ but nobody else really does,” she says. Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 31
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Set amidst a French-inspired garden of perfectly trimmed hedges, sculpted foliage and bunches of soft, white blossoms, Borris Powell’s thirty-three-piece womenswear collection, inspired by the excitement of new love and the advent of spring, is both elegant and youthful in its Fashion Focus debut (October 24). Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 30
[Gallery not found]
Horacio Nieto’s Spring 2010 collections of menswear and womenswear draws inspiration from the past and future, creating two distinct lines that are cohesive on their own, and interestingly complementary together. An infrequent user of pattern, Nieto prefers to communicate his vision through silhouette and broad strokes of color, as exhibited during his fashion show on October 23. Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 21
Photo by Antone of antonephotography.com
Designer: Agga Raya
Background: Agga Raya never even considered going to school for fashion; she was born into it, with her parents working as designers and manufacturers in Poland. At age 16, she created her first fashion show and, now, ten years later, she’s running her own line, the AGGA B. Collection.
Design Aesthetic: Modern, elegant and sophisticated, with a definite European flavor. “It’s directed to a woman who pays attention to fashion and beauty,” says Raya.
Designer Inspirations: Old-school classics like Valentino and Armani because of their silhouettes, tailoring and attention to detail.
Chicago Inspirations: The Chicago Fashion Incubator at Macy’s on State. Last year, Raya was selected as one of the Designers in Residence, something she says has been a tremendous help. Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 21
Photo by Antone of Antonephotography.com
Designer: Pierre Colorado
Background: New York native Pierre Colorado attended the Fashion Institute of Technology. During his sixteen-year career, he worked for Abercrombie, Levis, Nautica and more before launching his own collection.
Design Aesthetic: Blake Standard is all about simple lines, balanced color and comfort. “I hate overdesigned objects,” says Colorado.
Designer Inspirations: The customer’s lifestyles are the number-one source of inspiration for Blake Standard. “I design into her daily wardrobe needs,” says Colorado.
Chicago Inspirations: “We have a terrific urban landscape, yet I can bike to the park and the lake in eight minutes from my house,” says Colorado. “We have the latest stores and art exhibits, but also have a great deal of independent artists and one-off shops.” Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 28
What do you do when you’ve designed for some of the biggest labels in the world before your fortieth birthday? Brands like Perry Ellis, Levi’s and Abercrombie & Fitch? If you’re Pierre Colorado, you take matters—and fabric—into your own hands and launch your very own clothing line.
“When I was ready to leave Abercrombie, it was kind of a life-changing decision,” he says. “I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. I had opportunities in both New York and Los Angeles, [but] I just wasn’t ready to go to another corporate community.”
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Colorado took the plunge. “Having my own label is something that I’ve always aspired to,” he says. “I was always interested in it. I was always drawing, sketching—I was always drawn to fashion.” Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 31
By Ilana Kowarski
Formé Millinery owner Jenny Gerst sometimes feels as if she is lost in time. “I definitely believe that I’m reincarnated from a different generation,” explains Gerst, who has been obsessed with the twenties and forties from the time she was a child in Kokomo, Indiana, collecting vintage clothing and films. A small-town girl with a love for high fashion, Gerst decided she wanted to be a designer from an early age, convinced that clothes from earlier eras captured the feeling she thought was missing in modern clothing. And now her vintage hat designs are getting noticed. Even local bakery La Petite Sweet made a cake in the shape of one of her millinery creations.
Growing up, Gerst’s mother used to make clothes for her and Gerst was impressed with her mother’s style and attention to detail. “Who would have known that those moments with my mom were shaping my mind to do what I do today as a milliner,” she marvels. Read the rest of this entry »
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