An international spotlight will focus on Chicago’s fashion scene this month as the inaugural Chicago Fashion Week (CFW) kicks off a nearly two-week-long schedule of events throughout the city.

CFW celebrates Chicago’s contributions to the global fashion community and the city’s growth as a hub of internationally recognized designers and premiere fashion schools. The series of events showcases runway shows, gallery exhibitions, presentations, vintage shopping markets, award shows, galas, and more, in partnership with local and national fashion organizations, retailers, and neighborhood business associations.

The series of events and exhibitions is the first City of Chicago–endorsed, multiday, fashion-focused series with the name “Chicago Fashion Week,” though there have been similar Chicago-focused fashion public projects in the past. The most frequently cited predecessor is Fashion Focus Chicago, a series created in 2005 by former mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration to support the city’s local fashion industry through runway shows and other presentations. Decreased funding at the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) for the production of Fashion Focus Chicago resulted in its final showing in 2015. 

Many involved in CFW believe it to be a return by the city to the honoring of Chicago’s historic roots in fashion and related industries. 

“The difference with Chicago Fashion Week, and I can really say this because I know it hasn’t happened before, is we are much expanded from that footprint. So [Fashion Focus Chicago] laid a fantastic foundation for us to build upon,” said Carrie Lannon, a communications consultant and CFW’s event producer.

CFW was first announced in May at a press event by Mayor Brandon Johnson and event organizers. “Chicago is, and has been, a cultural hub when it comes to arts, entertainment, and fashion,” Johnson remarked at the event. “We have a vast collection of world-class fashion designers, but unfortunately they have not gotten the attention that they deserve. That is about to change.”

CFW’s leadership team includes Lannon along with CFW founder John Leydon, and Chicago Fashion Coalition president Marquan Jones. The team joined forces with a steering committee featuring several fashion industry professionals to program daily events throughout the city and in suburbs like Evanston and Highland Park.

The Chicago Fashion Coalition, the Curio, the Costume Council of the Chicago History Museum, and other fashion organizations also collaborated with the team to fill the schedule, which began A Celebration of Chicago Style, an opening show at the Chicago Cultural Center on Wednesday, October 9. 

Hosted by the Curio, a local fashion organization aimed at highlighting Chicago designers and fashion throughout the entire year with initiatives like the Chicago Fashion Calendar, the opening event promised a runway show featuring a diverse range of eight local designers—Barbara Bates, Chelsea B., Christina Karin, Gente Fina, I Am Studios, Justin LeBlanc, Maria Pinto, and Sheila Rashid—whose work includes streetwear, evening wear, and other styles. 

“All the designers that we’re showcasing, the eight of them, are Chicago-based. They range in age and how long they’ve been on the fashion scene,” said Ian Gerard, a cofounder and principal of the Curio. 

“We’re trying to showcase the best of Chicago fashion because, obviously, this is Chicago Fashion Week,” Gerard continued. “I think a lot of the other events are going to focus on Chicago fashion, but many of them also mix in designers from other places, but just to kick it off . . . it’s all about Chicago.”

CFW organizers are also committed to making sure the events are not just accessible to designers and those already embedded within the fashion community, but the city’s residents as well. Nearly 95 percent of the events happening through October 20 are open to the public, and several are free to attend.

Lannon says while many other regional fashion week events tend to be more industry-focused, showcasing much of what industry veterans and established brands can expect to be bought and sold during the next season, CFW was intentionally designed to be more consumer-friendly. Several events place guests in the same room with actual designers and provide the public with opportunities for personal styling or shopping.

“Chicago Fashion Week in Chicago is for consumers, and . . .  we decided early on that everything should be available to the public to attend,” Lannon said. 

The Curio principal Maggie Gillette also believes that CFW is a good opportunity to showcase what sets Chicago apart from other major fashion hubs around the globe. The city was home to world-renowned street style icons like the late Virgil Abloh, for example, and has a unique focus on sustainability and small-batch manufacturing in the wake of the dissolution of the city’s once-thriving garment industry.

“I think being in Chicago allows designers to have a more unique perspective because they’re not working in a major fashion capital where there sort of feels like there’s an overarching theme, or everyone is expected to produce something similar to be here,” said Gillette. “Actually, it’s very unique.”

CFW is a prime opportunity for consumers to discover smaller brands based in Chicago, who can use the multiday event to increase brand awareness, Gillette said.