Future Leaders at Dress Code, Band Together With Tribal Vibes

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Fashion Focus Chicago opened with a myriad of events that left us reeling from the frenzy of running from one to the next. It had us yelling: "TAXI! Off duty? My booty!" The big event of the night was Dress Code the official opening headliner for the week of shows to be held at Millennium Park. This show held at the Chicago Cultural Center featured the top student designs from The School of the Art Institute, Columbia College, The International Academy of Art, and The Illinois Institute of Art.

Although we weren't able to attend Mayor Rahm's fancy smancy reception before the show we did get a sneak peek at the frenzy going on backstage of this cray production. 4 schools + 20 designer + 60 looks + 30 models + an array of hair stylists and makeup artists = a surprisingly un-frenzied group of fashionites. It seems that Chicago's fashion institutes have prepared their students well for the chaos of the fashion world.

With no major meltdowns and all the designers and models playing nice together we were very impressed. The work which ranged from S&M type menswear to dramatic ball gowns was also very impressive. An overarching tribal vibe pervaded many of the looks in the show whether it was more literally represented in patches of ethnic textiles or in the raw primitiveness of other works. This was an appropriate metaphor for proclaiming that these young designers are to be the future leaders of the fash-pack. It seems as if the tribe has spoken. -Samm Mackin
· All Fashion Focus Coverage [Racked]
· Fashion Focus, Dress Code, 2012 [City of Chicago]