Today is the day. Fashion Food Feminism is producing a fashion show in Chicago and it’s happening tonight. In January Maria and I brainstormed up the idea to put on a fashion show with vintage clothes and have it be a fundraiser for a new local theatre company, Sankofa, that we are both involved in. The show evolved and now the runway will feature not only vintage, but also clothing from local designers.
It has been a fun, but sometimes stressful production. There is so much work that goes into a fashion show, but at least I was aware going in. I’ve volunteered at many fashion shows, but this is my first time putting one together myself. The hardest task was finding a venue on a very limited budget of zero dollars. However, by reaching out to a few friends I was able to secure an awesome location in downtown Chicago on the roof of the building courtesy of friend and designer Gabrielle Zwick. The location is perfect for enjoying a Chicago summer night and looking out at the lake or the sparkling city.
Being a feminist produced fashion show we want to do things differently. We will be debuting our new vintage collection- Outside the Box Vintage. It is a reminder to ourselves and to others to remember to think outside the box, to challenge traditional thought, and to be free to express yourself. All the designers and vendors are women. The theme for the night is playful and not sexy. I kept hearing the word sexy so many times during the planning of this event and I constantly had to say no we are not selling sex, I want it to be fun and playful. It is important to us to use fashion as a tool to empower women and not cater to the idea of what is sexy.
Another challenge I encountered was finding a local plus size designer. There was only one in the area I was able to find and she was unavailable for the event. It just made it blatantly obvious to me the lack of options available to women who are plus size and want to dress their best.
There is going to be desserts and sangria. I’m excited to try the desserts and the sangria is delicious. It is not going to be the typical runway experience and there isn’t going to be your typical runway. I’m not going to reveal all the details, you’ll have to come and find out!
So I’m inviting you to come join us for a playful summer’s night mingling amongst Chicago’s skyline. Your exclusive view will include a fashion show with the best vintage and local designs Chicago has! Celebrate supporting local Chicago culture and promote diversity. In addition, since it’s Chicago’s Pride Weekend we will be celebrating supporting equality and gay rights. You know you wanna come. You can purchase tickets here.
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