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Gen Art’s Fresh Faces in Fashion ( Photos / Show Video )
Gen Art's Fresh Faces in Fashion
Chicago’s most promising emerging fashion designers showcased their 2008 collections at the Gen Art’s 5th annual Fresh Faces in Fashion runway show on Tuesday, October 9, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm at the Tents at Chase Promenade in Millennium Park, 55 N. Michigan Ave. The event kicked off Fashion Focus Chicago, the six-day fashion extravaganza celebrating style in the city. A cocktail reception preceded the runway show and an after party will occur at The James located at 55 E. Ontario.
This year’s featured designers include Abigail Glaum-Lathbury; Apparatchik by Tram Nguyen; Biasline by Soo Choi; Dieter Bennet; Moire Conroy; Nora Marcella and menswear from Wrath Arcane. There will also be installations from three of Chicago’s top accessory designers. The show was sponsored by Blackberry and T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Gen Art is one of the leading arts and entertainment organizations that promotes and supports emerging talent from fashion, film, music and the visual arts. They have served as a launch pad for designers like Zac Posen, Rebecca Taylor and Philip Lim.
Here are two designers from Gen Art's Fresh Faces that we just featured in our Fall 2007 print issue - Abigail Glaum-Lathbury and Wrath Arcane!
Abigail Glaum-Lathbury
Most fashion designers look to the past for inspiration, Chicago designer Abigail Glaum-Lathbury, a graduate of the Art Institute, finds beauty in the unlikely. Her ethereal pieces are organic, encapsulating those little moments of life that is both uncomfortable and breathtaking. Her groundbreaking work redefines the relationship between the garment and wearer. Her pieces are aesthetically pleasing, yet they challenge people to redefine traditional conceptions about beauty. For her final school project, she created a collection modeled after spoiled slices of meat. She emulated their organic forms by creating latex castings from a plaster “meat” mold and then sewed the slices together and onto pieces of fabric. The final gown had an ephemeral quality, yet structurally was reminiscent of a
high-necked Victorian dress.
Buy: Exclusively at Habit
-Tara Dubbs
Wrath Arcane
“Domestically produced activism,” are three words given by designer Sean Bilovecky that encompasses the message of Wrath Arcane. Bilovecky and Cleveland boutique owner Brian O’neill began their line in January of 2006, and formed a set of new deals for the fashion world. With environmentally conscious manufacturers and each piece cut and sewn in either Pennsylvania or New York, they keep the men’s contemporary sportswear label homegrown. Wrath Arcane translates as “secret anger” or “forgotten rage,” however, the collections do not embody the literal meaning of the brand. Their objective is to increase consumer awareness of a garment from the inside out. Instead of a model influencing the consumer to buy the product, their models wear masks to reinforce the design and the brand’s mission.
Buy: Active Endeavors and Untitled
in Chicago
www.wratharcane.com
-Hilary Shaffer
The Show Information
Tuesday, October 9; Pre-Show Reception 6:30 p.m., Runway Show 8:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Chase Promenade North
Randolph Street , Between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive 312.229.1701,
GenArt.org (reservations required, limited space)
Admission: $75-$125 per person per VIP ticket includes great seating, gift bag, after party VIP lounge access; $50-$60 per person per General ticket. Attend one of the city’s hottest runway shows, now in its fifth year, showcasing the brightest emerging stars in the fashion industry.
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