By Brian Hieggelke

Fashion Focus Chicago is not broken, but everyone involved agrees, from designers to retailers to the woman in charge of it all, Chicago’s director of fashion arts and events, Melissa Gamble, that much can be done to take it to the next level. Here’s our list, based on interviews with all of the above, along with our own observations.

Make it spring
Fashion weeks held in the fall traditionally show spring designs; spring fashion weeks show fall. Fashion Focus Chicago mixes it up, to the confusion of the viewer and, likely, reducing its value for the buyers who are so vital to the development of the week into an essential force in the fashion world.

Make the shows thematically cohesive
Great fashion is always as much art as it is function, but sometimes the scales tip definitively in the direction of art projects. This is especially true in Chicago, where the School of the Art Institute wields considerable influence. By having art fashion mixed in with spring lines mixed in with fall lines mixed in with evening wear/bridal, some of the shows, while visually stimulating, left little practical for the viewer trying to evaluate trends or designers.

Double the number of shows, at least
The city constructs a fabulous tent in Millennium Park, complete with runway, seating, lights and sound, but it gets used for a mere five shows over seven days, each at 7:30pm. And some of those shows, like the Sister Cities show and the student show, while certainly entertaining, have little practical value for the working professional, whether the buyer or the press. Additional shows should be scheduled at 5pm or so, targeted at industry professionals, then let the “fun” shows that appeal to the general public take place at 7:30pm.

Don’t conflict with one of the “big four” fashion weeks
As Robin Richman, who owns one of the city’s most prominent boutiques, points out, “I did not attend because for some DUMB reason they always have it during Paris fashion week. That means: not just buyers from Chicago/ New York but mostly I feel for those designers who work so hard and even Barneys, Macys/department stores are all in Paris.” We can’t compete, and if our city’s top fashion emissaries, like Richman or Ikram, are not in town, then we can’t even begin to establish the “must-attend” character of our week. Timing is a challenge, of course, because the reigning NY-London-Milan-Paris run not only devours all of September and the beginning of October, but fatigue inevitably sets in for the professionals we want to reach. The end of August would beat the fatigue, but a later date would also likely work, especially if the show definitively shifts its focus to spring.

Improve the publicity machine
Several retailers cited the need for more marketing for the week, on all fronts, from engaging the general fashion-buying public, whether it be through a “huge screen on Michigan Avenue so people could watch the shows,” as Yoko Uozumi from Gamma Player suggests, or simply posters in store windows up and down Oak Street, as Barbara Nell from The Daisy Shop suggests. Although the city’s Brooke Vane did an outstanding job of harnessing the resources available to her, press efforts could also be improved in several ways. What constitutes a press corps in Chicago is made up of far too many “advertorial” publications who print on pretty paper but have little editorial credibility. While it may be a while before Vogue’s Anna Wintour takes a seat in the front row, the proliferation of daily news cycles driving many influential fashion blogs—some attached to the major print publications, like style.com, means a large appetite for fashion news. That appetite could be sated by posting press photos each night, organized by designer, along with a daily news bulletin. The Maria Pinto fashion show that was included in this year’s Allure of Couture was a potentially major media press hook that went wasted, given the level of interest in Michelle Obama’s style.

Put designers first
Right now, producers drive the shows: Gen Art, which uses the event as a fund-raiser; World Fashion Chicago, which promotes the city’s Sister Cities program; Dress Code, produced by the city’s four college-level fashion programs; Macy’s, which pushes designers it’s willing to sell or incubate; and, with the Allure of Couture, two very established players on the city’s fashion scene, Barbara Samuels and Nick Cave. But to make the shows newsworthy as more than a search for new talent, we need to see designers returning to the runway year after year, so that the buyers, press and public can begin to develop real relationships with the designers. The big impediment to this is cost. According to Gamble, the producer’s cost of a runway show at Millennium Park right now runs to $70-100,000 per show. (The common elements are pro rated between each show, and each picks up its own cost for event producers, models, music, etc.) While that’s cheap compared to what New York designers are paying in Bryant Park, which Gamble estimates as at least $250,000, and sometimes as high as a million dollars, the eyes of the fashion world are on those shows, which perhaps justifies their costs. Chicago ain’t there yet. Thanks to in-kind sponsorships from Lancome and Mario Tricocci this year, the shows didn’t have to bear the cost of hair and makeup, but even a bare-bones show, with lots of donated products and services, would cost a designer between $20,000 and $40,000 to execute, Gamble estimates. Of course, many New York fashion shows take place outside of Bryant Park and that’s certainly an option in Chicago, but it seems like a shame for the tent at Millennium Park to go so under-used. If “bureaucratic” expenses can’t be avoided, the city should seek out nearby alternative venues, like the Cultural Center, and actively schedule and promote designer-specific shows. Gamble agrees with this imperative and is seeking proposals from designers to do just that. She points out that, this year, designer Alice Berry presented Fashion Focus Chicago’s first solo designer show (pictured), albeit not on the runway but in a performance-oriented forum at the Cultural Center.

Run a small trade show during Fashion Focus
Most boutique owners we know travel to trade shows like Magic and Pool in Las Vegas to do their buying, but why not create an easy buying forum for them during Fashion Focus, but offering only Chicago designers? It might be a considerable challenge to get the major New York buyers to add Chicago’s show to their fall routine, but boutique owners from all over the Midwest might find a fall trip to Chicago, combining the fashion shows and a buying opportunity for some terrific, underexposed fashion lines irresistible. And it would provide a way to add continuity between the shows at night and activity by day, since many emerging Chicago designers do not have proper ateliers yet to receive buyers and the press.

Start a spring show
Even if it means scaling fall back a bit, we need a spring Fashion Focus to highlight fall lines.

Get the rights to the name Chicago Fashion Week
Although an independent promoter owns the rights to the chicagofashionweek.com domain and claims a trademark, that group has been a blight on the city’s efforts. This year, they gained a sponsorship from Master Card, then canceled most of their events at the last minute, leaving participating designers in a bad spot. But everyone calls Fashion Focus fashion week, and it’s time to clear up the confusion. And we have every confidence that the mayor with all his power can make it happen. After all, his father once famously told the Chicago Bears they’d have to stop using the city’s name if they moved to the suburbs and they stayed put.

This week, millions of Americans will watch the season finale of Bravo’s “Project Runway” as three designers show collections at New York Fashion Week and vie for the top prize. Chicago native Terri Stevens will not be among the three, though she came close, getting “auf’d” in the ninth episode. But she will be back in her hometown this week (she lives and works in Columbus, Ohio as a visual merchandiser for Victoria’s Secret) when she presents her fall collection at The Silver Room, which is owned by her lifelong friend Eric Williams. “We grew up together,” Stevens says. Our families go way back.”

After growing up in south suburban Robbins, Stevens spent her adult years in Chicago, most recently the West Loop, prior to her move to Columbus just over a year ago. She learned the fashion business while working for designer Barbara Bates (”my mentor”), who also sells Stevens’ line at her South Wabash studio. Stevens now produces both her original Michael Joseph line and her more casual line, Funkinbeautiful.

She’s launching her fall collection on Saturday with the theme, “A Journey to See the Wiz.” I love ‘The Wiz,’” Stevens says. “I was watching the movie a while back and got inspired.” She promises “no scarecrows” but that fans of “The Wiz” will see “scarecrow-inspired designs with bits and pieces of lion and tin man” and recognizable “textures, fabrications and silhouettes.”

It’s not the first time Stevens has tackled lions, so to speak, since the king of the jungle led to her demise on “Project Runway,” in an episode where she was portrayed virtually devouring her assistant, ousted designer Keith Bryce. On the show, Stevens came off as a badass with the stuff to back it up and was a fan favorite to make it all the way to the finale. She was a strong designer, a very fast sewer and had a thing for pants. Even though she was portrayed with an occasional mean streak on the show, she couldn’t be friendlier on the phone. So how did “Project Runway” change her life? “I am so recognized everywhere,” she says. “People freak out and cry. It’s just reality TV, not like I put out a record or something. I’m like, really.” She adds that the show brings great opportunities, but they need to be taken with a grain of salt. So what did she think of the way she was seen on television? “I was portrayed the way I am. And I am a big personality.” (Brian Hieggelke)

Terri Stevens presents her fall collection in a fashion and trunk show, “A Journey to See The Wiz,” on October 18, 7pm-midnight, at The Silver Room, 1442 North Milwaukee. RSVP to susan@thesilverroom.com.

TimeOut reports that the West Loop’s Koros and Ouest are moving around a bit. Also, Gold Coast shop ps: accessories has left the city altogether, but not the region, setting up shop in suburban Park Ridge at 7 S. Prospect, (847)685-2771.

Lenny and Me has been saved. Owner Ana Camino reports that the popular Wicker Park shop took over the old Brown Elephant space on Milwaukee Avenue:

“Lenny and Me did not close after all.  We were able to relocate right next door to our old location to a larger space.  We still carry our great vintage and contemporary clothing and accessories and now with our larger space have expanded into home furnishings with lots of vintage and mid century modern pics.”

New deets: 1459 N. Milwaukee,  (773)489-5576.     Open seven days a week, 11am-7pm.

Every sport has its own fashion culture. Some such cultures are especially indecipherable to non-participants—what’s up with those tight spandex shirts with the Nascar-style designs that bicyclists wear, for example?—while some work their way into the more general fashion realm, fully detached from the athletic pursuit originally intended (think Air Jordans). This week, with the Chicago Marathon bringing 40,000 or so 26.2 milers along with their supporters to the frontline of the city’s consciousness, running gear will have its annual fifteen minutes of fashion focus. For its first-ever sponsorship of the Chicago Marathon, Nike has responded with seventy-five products designed for, or to commemorate, the big day. Some, like finisher t-shirts, will be available only to the select few and will be unveiled at the race, but most can be bought right now at Niketown or Nike.com. A few notable favorites include the twenty-fifth anniversary-edition Pegasus running shoes, which pay homage to the city with “CHI” on the tongue and the city flag on the heel, and the men’s short-sleeve Dri-Fit shirt with a neighborhood map. Dri-Fit, in fact, is one of those “insider” sacred cows to runners, who subscribe to the adage “cotton kills.” Nike’s shirts provide the most variety of marathon memorabilia, including a couple of shirts designed to recognize specific neighborhoods on the route, including Chinatown, mile twenty-one, and Wrigleyville, mile seven. Perhaps the most iconic, though, is the pizza-slice shirt, “Run it Chicago Style,” which perhaps appropriately, is not Dri-Fit. (Brian Hieggelke)

The Betsey Johnson store has decided that Lincoln Park’s Halsted strip is not the thing and has relocated to Water Tower Place. We’ve been hearing that the once-fashion-forward but lately touristy and mall-ratty vertical shopping center is undergoing a transformation designed to bring back some of that old magic; if anyone can help with that, Betsey can. Or maybe she’s just changing customers; after all, she’s got a store in Northbrook now, too. Here’s the addie and hours according to betseyjohnson.com.

CHICAGO	NORTHBROOK
Water Tower Place	2171 Northbrook Court # 2092
835 North Michigan Ave #3030	Northbrook, IL 60062
Chicago, IL 60611	T: 847.205.9025
T: 312.280.6964 Hours: mon-sat 10:00am - 9:00pm sun 11:00am - 6:00pm	Hours: mon-sat 10:00am - 9:00pm sun 11:00am - 6:00pm

The Sun-Times today carries a report that, not only was Michelle Obama wearing a Maria Pinto dress during her electrifying speech at the Democratic Convention Monday night, but that Barack Obama will make his speech tonight in a custom-made suit by Chicago’s own Hart Schaffner Marx. Noteworthy fact: Barack’s a 40-long with a 33 waist.

It’s the summer story that shook the street-art community. On the morning of June 14, 23-year-old Brendan Scanlan, a street artist who went by the name Solve, was stabbed to death in Logan Square in a late-night altercation.

“If you’re a street artist, you’ve met Solve,” says  Saro, a fellow street artist and good friend. “Solve was original, free-spirited, inventive, smart and taken well before his time. None of us will ever be the same.”

The street-art community quickly channeled their grief into preserving the memory of their friend and colleague. Within a few days of the incident, you could find “Solve RIP” painted all across Chicago sidewalks, and at the memorial service, a fellow street artist brought a handful of tees depicting Solve’s signature name design. The demand far outweighed the supply, and gave Saro the idea that a t-shirt devoted to Solve would be a fitting way to preserve his memory, as there has long been a connection between street artists and t-shirts. “T-shirts are a great way to express your character. In this case, tees are a great way to show that we’ve loved and lost a great friend,” Saro says. He contacted Ryan Waxenberg from Formula Werks and the two, with help from Solve’s family, began creating an image worthy of their friend.

Though the idea of using one of Solve’s best pieces, “A Soldier’s Memorial,” came to mind first, Saro says it defeated the purpose of the shirt. “Even though that piece is a traditional way to honor a soldier [Solve being like a soldier of street art], [we] just weren’t feeling it. I was tired of violence. So I found a picture of Solve’s heart paste-up. It fit perfectly in the scheme of things. It’ll be like we all have Solve’s heart with us.”

Saro and Waxenberg first released the shirt as a limited-edition “secret stash,” wanting to ensure that the first buyers got exactly what size and color they desired. Though the secret stash dries up on August 10, buyers can turn to the Formula Werks site, where plenty of extras will be available for purchase. Proceeds will benefit Brendan Scanlan’s family, who hope to create a scholarship in their son’s name at his high school in Madison, Wisconsin. (Molly Each)

Pick up a Solve t-shirt at solvelives.com or at formulawerks.com. $25 gets you a t-shirt, a button and a sticker pack, plus includes shipping.

The South Loop shoe salon Heelz achieved some level of notoriety because its owner, James Newsome, had been jailed 15 years for a murder he did not commit. The city paid him millions when he was exonerated; he later opened up the store.

Now this chapter is ending, as salon manager LaRhonda Bennett confirms that “we moving on… to new endeavors.” Bittersweet news, as always. Bad for the boutique culture, good for bargain hunters ready to help them liquidate their inventory at 70 percent off.

You’re probably familiar with IGO, one of Chicago’s premier car sharing services. You’ve seen the “reserved for IGO cars” signs around town, heard about their awesome concerts, and have probably been behind an IGO vehicle at a stoplight. It’s the perfect solution for busy Chicagoans: you don’t have to worry about city stickers, parking permits, gas or insurance, yet you can still make quick and easy trips to the grocery store whenever you need. Plus, there’s that whole environment-saving thing.

But if you’re still not convinced, check this out: just by signing up for IGO, you’ll receive a little extra love (in the form of nice discounts) from some of Chicago’s best boutiques. Just a few of the participants: Bucktown’s G Boutique, Lakeview’s Skinstinct and M2, West Loop eco-boutique Pivot, and many, many more. Also score deals on some of Chicago’s best outings, including the Notebaert Museum and Comedy Sports.

View the complete list on the IGO website; then sign up, put your IGO car to use, and join in on one of the city’s hottest trends.