CFI Meet & Greet Recap
macys.com
Last Wednesday I attended the Chicago Fashion Incubator (CFI) Meet & Greet at Macy’s on State street. This event was an opportunity to meet the six resident designers Jonnie Rettele, Leah Fagan, Stephanie Kuhr, Miriam Cecilia Carlson, Donaldo Smith, and Christina Fan.
CFI was started in March 2008 and every year provides six emerging Chicago-based designers with the resources to launch their careers in fashion. The year long program provides resources, workspace, showroom, curriculum, and mentoring for the lucky chosen six. As a designer in residence you have the opportunity to network in the community and show your line at local events and fashion shows. One of the goals of the program is to provide the designers with business acumen to successfully launch their companies.
This year’s designers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and bring unique style to the table.
Christina Fan’s brand C/FAN is full of luxurious fabrics including silk, suede, and fur. Her color pallet is dark with pops of color. Her designs are easy to wear and fit into your existing wardrobe.
Christina Fan
Miriam Cecilia Carlson’s brand m.c.c. includes both ready to wear and couture collections. Her designs include mostly structured dresses. Some are quite simple while others are avant garde. One thing is for sure, you are going to get notices in one of her designs.
Miriam Cecilia Carlson
Stephanie Kuhr’s brand Dottie’s Delights is self proclaimed vintage. She designs exquisitely detailed burlesque style lingerie. While her unique variety of garters and bustiers aren’t meant for everyday wear, they are quite beautiful.
Stephanie Kuhr
Leah Fagan’s brand Peloton includes lots of versatile and wearable separates. Her designs have great lines, structure, and cuts. Leah wants her designs to be comfortable and easy. All of her pieces are washable and made of comfy fabrics. You could easily wear one of her designs to work and still feel comfortable lounging around in the same outfit at home.
Leah Fagan
Jonnie Rettele’s brand Nonnie Threads is one of two men’s wear lines in the CFI this year. Her designs include great shirts, pants, vests, and jackets. They have a certain structural appeal that makes them unique, while simple enough for everyday wear. Her inspiration for her collection was her husband.
Jonnie Retlle
Last but not least is Donaldo Smith with his brand Killian Gui. Donaldo is the only male of the six designers and is the second men’s wear line in this year’s CFI. His designs consist mostly of ready to wear tailored shirts.
I cannot wait to see what else is to come from these six fabulous designers. To find out more about the CFI follow this link.
Leah & Stephanie
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Studio-808, Inc. is the brainchild of Erin Creaney, a PR executive with a near-athletic enthusiasm for emerging designers. Finding herself searching the city for great designers with new and different looks, she knew a larger operation was in order. What's more, she felt the world needed to know about the fashion percolating in the Windy City. Thus was born Studio-808.com.
