CHICAGO FASHION DESIGNERS

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by Cory N.

Chicago, IL.- Fashionistas attend fashion shows to view the designer's latest seasonal collections they have been slaving over for months. They study, in detail, the fabrics, the stitching, and the contour of each piece.

They critique, contrast, and criticize each piece, as if it were their own, and make the decision of whether to add it to their personal collection.

Fashion is a form of art and anyone who can appreciate it knows that.

As a par-taker in the fashion industry, I am often invited to attend various fashion events in the trade. However, the ones I refuse to attend are those that involve a catwalk in a night club. Fashion shows should not held in nightclubs for the following reasons.

1) The crowd. People go to clubs to socialize, drink, and dance. They spend a significant amount of time dolling themselves up so that people will notice them- not the beautiful 5"11" 110 lb. models. They are not there to analyze and appreciate design.

2) The venue. Clubs are smoky, loud, and hot-not a place for high design. People are dancing, spilling drinks, and sweating. Enough said.

3) The layout. Just because a runway is plopped on a dance floor doesn't mean people will stop grinding and look up.

4) The "additional" lighting i.e. cell phones and cameras. Creepy club goers will indeed whip out their cell phones and tape the "hot" girls. "Dude, you can totally see her <*blank*>. Sweet!"

5) The audience. The intended audience is not there. Designers will not be able to reach out to people if no one is paying attention to the clothes.

Drawing upon my fashion experience in New York and L.A., I have never seen a fashion show in a nightclub. Fashion forward cities do not accept it. Fashion and clubbing are two very separate categories and are not meant to be mixed for entertainment purposes. Leave that to the after parties, which is why they exist.

After a recent fashion show in a well-known nightclub in Chicago, the staff of Chicago Fashion Designers asked 70 attendants of the show the following questions:

1- Who was the designer of the show they just saw?

2- What season was the designer showcasing?

3- Would you buy anything you saw?

Care to see the outcome of our survey? We thought so…

Question # 1

90% answered: "I don't care, I came here to drink and dance. Who gives a ------!"

10% answered: "I didn't pay $20 to see a fashion show, who is going to reimburse me for that?"

Question # 2

93% responded: "I have no idea"

Question #3… Well you get the point, right?

Fashion shows in nightclubs can only damage the reputation of the fashion industry in Chicago. If Chicago wants to be taken seriously as a fashion forward city, it needs to be presented that way.

We can begin by insisting that fashion designers stop treating their designs as cigarette smoke collections by showcasing them on a long row of decayed boxes ("runway" in club terms) rather than taking care of them as precious pieces of art that deserve a stage that dignifies their creation.

"... fashion designers insist in treating their collections as a cigarette smoke collector showcasing them on a long row of decayed boxes ("runway" in club terms - lol) rather than taking care of them as precious pieces of art that deserve a stage that dignifies their creation"

Hey...just wanted to give my two cents. Ask me for my credentials later, if you care.......but you are 100%, no 100,000%...RIGHT! Every aspiring fashion designer should have to, Bart-Simpson-like, write "I will never participate in a fashion show in a nightclub" on a blackboard until it's burned into their brain....I could go on, but I won't...just wanted to give my congratulations on bringing this marketing failure to people's attention. Great article! - M. Harris

Refreshing . . . . refreshing, that not only I, but the fashion media world is taking a stand and expressing how this insults the fashion industry. BRAVO!!!!!!!! - MER

Thank you guys! Presley I don't know you man but great article. I felt as if I was the only one living in a Zoolander's world. "I felt like if I was taking crazy pills" lol and thought no body else realizes that fashion shows in clubs are a terrible mistake. I will post this at - - - - - - .com to let evryone know about this. GREAT GREAT article! Jason

I think that there are 2 sides to this story. Take it from someone who has been doing night club shows for about 8 years!

I strongly agree with the article fashion shows and night clubs don't really mix but I do believe there are some advantages to doing a show in a night club.

1. You and your friends get in for free, especially if you haven't been to that club before so this a good way to check out the club.

2. Yes the crowd may not care about the you or the clothes but you get to meet great models, photographers, makeup artists and Hair stylists that you can later work with on other projects.

3. It motivates you to design, since I was doing club shows every three months I kept making new designs so I wouldn't get bored showing the same stuff.

4. You don't have to pay to promote the show as in my case all I did was show up with the garments and the promoters took care of the rest.

I eventually got burned out and stopped doing these shows, but I will admit I had some great times with my friends and meeting new people but these shows are never to sell or promote your line.

Recently I was asked to do a show in night club and I accepted but after that show I realized why I stopped doing them. Your Article nails it!! Our garments are pieces of art and should be treated that way.

Fashion / Costume Designer

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There is no payment but it is GREAT EXPOSURE! Oh really?

Another controversial article by Cory N. 12.06

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