Fashioning an industry

On a Wednesday morning at Julius Meinl coffeehouse, Allie Adams discusses her plans for the next few days. It's a period of transition for the 27-year-old, who only three weeks previous quit her job as copywriter at a brokerage firm to devote herself full time to Doris Ruth, the fashion label she launched in May 2003 with her husband, Michael. She's two weeks away from unveiling part of her spring 2006 collection at Fresh Faces, an annual runway show organized by arts promoting organization Gen Art that features the collective work of Chicago designers.

"When I got the phone call that said I was going to be involved, I was very, very excited," Adams says, beaming.

It's not the first time Adams's girlishly capricious pieces ("[They're] like doll clothes for adult women," she quips) have been showcased at Fresh Faces, but this year, the show will serve as grand finale to the first Fashion Focus Chicago, a ten-day program of fashion-related activities exhibiting and exploring the state of local fashion. For Adams and other Chicago-based designers, the stakes are higher this year. With the large audiences Fashion Focus is expected to draw, the event is an opportunity to attract the attention of private consumers and buyers scouting out fresh designs. A collaboration among Gen Art, the Chicago Loop Alliance, the Apparel Industry Board, Inc., and other organizations that helped develop the programming, Fashion Focus is also the first event of its kind involving the city of Chicago.

Unlike Fashion Week in New York or Los Angeles, Fashion Focus is not a scheduled blitz of individual runway shows. Instead, the majority of slated activities are concentrated on showcasing Chicago fashion talent. In between publicity extravaganzas—such as Jennifer Lopez appearing at the opening of her boutique in Marshall Field's and Sarah Jessica Parker's signing of her fragrance, Lovely—there are panel discussions with industry insiders and local designers, sartorial exhibitions by fashion students and venues selling locally created pieces.

An objective of the program is to "educate people on Chicago designers and encourage them to purchase the work of Chicago designers," explains Cheryl Hughes, director of program development in the mayoral special events office "[To keep] the industry of Chicago vibrant...you have to purchase the designers' work, and to let people know that there is an industry here." If Fashion Focus is an exposition of Chicago designers, it's also concerned with fostering a supportive community that will keep Chicago designers in the city. Addressing the tendency of local creative talent to migrate toward East or West Coast cities, Gen Art regional director Kelly O' Brien says, "Our goal is to help designers who are successful stay in Chicago—and not leave and go to New York or L.A.—so we can create an industry here."

To that end, much of the programming is devoted to the business and entrepreneurial aspect of starting out in the fashion industry, with such panel discussions as "Insider Tips for Running a Creative Fashion Business" and "Financing a Fashion Business." "The entrepreneurial and business sides are developed by programming partners, gearing toward fashion students and young fashion designers," Hughes says. "But I think that there are probably elements of it that will be interesting to the public."

Adams, who will share her experiences starting up her label as part of the panel "Meet Chicago's Red Hot Designers," wants to convey the indispensability of business savvy. "I design, sadly, 15 to 20 percent of the time," she says. "The rest is grunt work. It's making sure all of your ducks are in a row and you have all your paperwork filed and ordering materials and being sure you have things in stock, managing your purchase orders."

Even though Doris Ruth has been featured in national magazines, Adams is not yet at a point where she can fully upgrade the makeshift trappings of her office. Doris Ruth is headquartered in the basement of Adams's Roscoe Village condo. Designer Kent Nielsen, a 27-year-old lifelong Chicago resident whose work will also be featured at Fresh Faces, says that he administers nearly every facet of his eponymous line of classically tailored menswear. The range of his responsibilities, Nielsen says,includes,"Everything from the personality behind the brand up to the person who makes sure we have enough staples."

Though Doris Ruth and Kent Nielsen are relatively new labels, both designers have noticed that the challenges of the business have eased over recent months. One example is the availability of quality manufacturers. "The manufacturing has been centered typically in Canada and the East Coast," Nielsen says, but now manufacturing is becoming less centered on those key areas. Another challenge has been access to resources. "The resources are definitely not available the way they are in New York or California, as far as the suppliers, fabrics, trims, buttons—anything,"Adams says.

It's local fashion-industry issues like these that event coordinators hope Fashion Focus will raise. "We're looking to begin a dialogue about what the fashion community needs," Hughes says. "There are many designers who stay here and conduct their businesses from Chicago. What do we need to have in Chicago to keep that happening?" Sounds like a lot for one program to figure out. But, she clarifies: "Fashion Focus is not the answer. This is just the beginning step."

It's also just the beginning step for Adams and Nielsen, despite what others may think. Adams says outsiders have a common reaction: "They're like, 'Oh my god, you're in In Style— you're in ELLE. You've got to be so on top of the world.' And it's like, yeah, you are, but there's still work to be done. You can't just be like, 'I've arrived.' I don't feel at all that we have arrived." After her Wednesday-morning coffee break, Adams will visit her manufacturers in Glenview. Then there are the ten looks she has to decide on for the Fresh Faces show. "I've got a lot to do before we have arrived," she says.Fashion Focus Chicago runs Monday 19 to September 29. For details, visit www.fashionfocuschicago.com.

Fashion week

Don't know where to start your Fashion Focus festivities? Try these standout events.

Meet Chicago's Red Hot Designers
An all-star lineup of Chicago designers shares insight on local fashion and the ups and downs of the business. Panelists include Monika and Erika Simmons of Double Stitch, and Roger Price and Tommy Walton of Price Walton. Fun fact: Walton was a contestant in Tommy Hilfiger's CBS reality competition The Cut, as well as a guest in an infamous episode of Check, Please!
W Chicago City Center, 172 W Adams St (for info, call 312-836-1041). Wed 21, 6–8pm. Free.

World of JLO shop
Ogle fashion fabulousity firsthand when Jennifer Lopez opens the first JLO boutique in America (the only other shop is in a mall in Moscow). Lopez previews her JLO and Sweetface collections during a charity fashion show and reception. With the press attention, there's always the off-chance you'll make a cameo inUs Weekly—if you can shell out the $100 first.
Marshall Field's, 111 N State St (R.S.V.P. at www.fields.com). Sept 22, 5–8pm. $100.

ShopCHICago
Thirty hot designers and boutiques bring their best bets for autumn to this shopping extravaganza. When you're not whipping out your AmEx, enjoy luxurious pampering treatments such as paraffin waxes and skin-care consultations.
W Chicago City Center (R.S.V.P. at www.genart.org). Sept 23, 5–10pm. Free.

Apparel Industry Board, Inc., Fabric Sale
Get your inner craftster on at this two-day fabric and trim sale, where you can expect to find all facets of fancy-schmancy resources, such as buttons or purse handles, for your next DIY designer ensemble.
Chicago Apparel Center, 350 W Center Mart Dr (312-836-1041). Sept 22, 9am–8pm; Sept 23, 9am–5pm. $5, cash only.

Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion 2005
The final spectacle of Fashion Focus highlights some of the most promising Chicago designers in a runway show on Millennium Park's Rooftop Garden. Designers represented include Michelle Tan, Orlando Espinoza and Tom Bynum. Then pussyfoot it to the after-party for some bubbly-sipping and shoulder-rubbing.
Millennium Park Rooftop Garden and Promenade (for tickets, call 312-229-1701 or visit www.genart.org). Sept 29, 7pm. $40–$75.