Chicago and Macy's take six local designers under their wings
Could the next Michael Kors or Carolina Herrera be among us?
Macy's and city of Chicago officials believe it's possible, and to help give local designers a leg up in the fashion business, they've created a new "Project Runway"-like program called the Chicago Fashion Incubator.
Six Chicago-area designers -- including a few from the suburbs -- were selected for the yearlong program which began in mid-March.
The six are essentially taken under the city's wing and, with the help of top industry experts, taught how to make it in the fashion world.
They were given an office with a lake view in Macy's State Street store, plus use of the store's sewing machines and work space. While they are not paid, they are given help with everything from e-commerce to public relations to enhance their existing businesses.
Fashion Incubator designers Glenn Mallory, Agga Raya and Lidia Wachowska all hail from Chicago. The other three, featured below, have suburban ties.
Expect to see their names on your clothing labels soon.
Kate Coxworth
Age: 26
Grew up in/now lives in: St. Charles/Chicago
Name of clothing line: Kate Boggiano. It's a combination of her first name and her Italian grandmother's maiden name, because Coxworth believes it best represents her work. "It's very American, but it's made with the highest quality, like it's Italian," she said.
Specialty: Custom-made shirts for women. "We try not to be trendy, just classic," she said.
Web site: www.kateboggiano.com
Original career goal: To be a doctor.
Plans now: To expand the Kate Boggiano line so it includes more types of clothing.
More interesting details: Coxworth wore a school uniform every day at Rosary High School in Aurora. She always loved fashion, though, and while studying pre-med biology at Indiana University, she had an epiphany.
"You think, fashion is just a hobby. Then, my junior year, I thought, forget it. (Fashion) is what I love. This is what I'm doing," she said.
With help from a family friend, she landed a job at Ralph Lauren in New York, where she worked with the man himself and acquired valuable experience. She moved home 16 months ago and launched her own clothing line.
"My strategy is to become an expert on women's shirts," she said.
Daily Herald readers can get a 10 percent discount on her shirts by entering the promotional code HERALD1.
Yana German
Age: 30
Grew up in/now lives in: Russia/Wheeling
Name of clothing line: Yana Collection
Specialty: Clothes for working women ages 25 and up. "These clothes are for real women who are real sizes. We don't do size zero and size 2," she said.
Web site: www.yanacollection.com
Original career goal: To be a professional ballroom dancer.
Plans now: To help women look and feel their best.
More interesting details: German is the mother of two girls, ages 4 and 18 months, and is active in several charities. For many years, she was an internationally acclaimed ballroom dancer. When it became too hard on her physically, she started designing the dancers' costumes, which led her to a career in fashion.
Being a busy suburban mom, who still dances from time to time, German says she appreciates the importance of comfortable, functional yet stylish clothes.
"I'm a pants woman. I love pants," she said. "I want to be able to roll around in my pants without them losing their style."
She loves to design power jackets and shirts with attention to detail and sleeves that can be pushed up.
"They are stylish clothes for real women," she said.
Kristin Rosynek Hassan
Age: 22
Grew up in/now lives in: Midlothian/Orland Park
Name of clothing line: organiK Revolution
Specialty: Eco-conscious yet stylish, multipurpose clothes made with hemp silk, bamboo or soybean. "The biggest challenge is to get consumers psyched about it," Hassan said. "It's not hippie clothes. It's for the modern working girl."
Web site: www.organikrevolution.com
Original career goal: To be a fashion designer
Plans now: To release her first-ever collection for fall 2008, and to convince big chain stores how stylish and affordable eco-friendly clothing can be.
More interesting details:
While not an extreme environmentalist, Hassan finds eco-friendly fabrics just as beautiful, soft, stylish and affordable as any. As a child, Hassan made outfits by cutting and stitching up her dad's shirts and wearing them over jeans. "A couple of years later, lo and behold, the models are doing it on the runways," she said. The youngest of the incubator designers, Hassan says she's already learned so much about the business.
"It's a little intimidating sometimes," she said. "Here, I'm this suburban girl trying to do this thing in the city, but it's addicting. I want to do more. I want to learn more."