Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
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TASTEMAKER Wes-Ward Leaning FRESH FROM HIS DEBUT RUNWAY SHOW AND ON THE VERGE OF LAUNCHING A NEW HANDBAG COLLABORATION, CHICAGO-BORN DESIGNER WES GORDON IS READY FOR HIS CLOSE-UP. W es Gordon exhibited a talent for fashion at an early age. "Until I was 4," the 27-year-old Park Ridge native recalls, "my mother worked for J. Walter Thompson in the Hancock building. I would spend my mornings in her closet, telling her what she had to wear that day." Since then, Gordon has built up quite a résumé, graduating from London's Central Saint Martins school, interning with Oscar de la Renta, designing eight ready-to-wear collections, and gaining celebrity devotees like January Jones and Kerry Washington for his clean, contemporary apparel. Speaking about his first resort collection, which hits stores this month, the soft-spoken but articulate Gordon says, "Our brand identity has really started to solidify. We started the collection right out of school, and it took me a few seasons to find my voice, but starting with resort specifically, it's been quite focused." 92 PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAMERON KRONE BY LAUREN FINNEY MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 092-093_MA_SS_TasteMaker_Winter2014.indd 92 11/19/13 6:45 PM