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!
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/665995
108 michiganavemag.com PhotograPhy by allen bourgeois "It needs to be a to-drop-dead-for, eye-catchIng, keep-you-on-the- edge-of-your-seat kInd of nIght." —tracey tarantino CO-ED CATWALK The Driehaus awarDs for fashion excellence puTs chicago's sTar fashion sTuDenTs in The spoTlighT. By AmAndA mcdonAld The fashion world has changed in epic ways in the 15 years since the Driehaus Awards for Fashion Excellence were first held, and event producer Tracey Tarantino has seen it all. "Bustles, bird feathers, and stilts have been replaced by leather vests with detailed hardware closures, coats, jackets, gowns, and daywear," she notes of the evolution in trends. Such of-the-moment styles will be on full display once again on April 29 at this year's event, which was established by Richard Driehaus and Skip Grisham in 2001 to supports the nonprofit Driehaus Design Initiative and grants top Chicago fashion students the opportunity to showcase their work in a competitive, Project Runway-esque format. Themed "Reflections," the 15th anniver- sary celebration offers a mix of generations, with the 25 student competitors as well as program alumni like Rhylea Mortensen and Kendel Kennedy, who will be on hand to offer insight into their careers. As for Tarantino, she views the participants' garments just days before the show, at which point she helps with everything from casting models and choosing music to staging walks, entrances, and exits, all with the aim of creating an evening of fashion like no other. Says Tarantino, "It needs to be a to-drop-dead-for, eye- catching, keep-you-on-the-edge- of-your-seat kind of night." 700 S. Des Plaines St., 312-932-8648; driehausdesign.org . Hands-on fashion: Featured looks from Amy Inman at last year's Driehaus Awards for Fashion Excellence. STYLE RUNWA Y