Written By Stephanie Turcios

Chicago is proud to host the only Latino Fashion Week in the country this week, November 8^th-15^th.  Celebrating their 4^th year with the theme of “Impacto” (Spanish for “Impact”), Latino Fashion Week is sure to boast some of the top Latin designers in the industry.  Not only will this event showcase designers from all over the USA but international designers from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico will also be presenting their collections.  Celebrity guests include: Patricia De Leon (actress), Colby O’Donis (singer), Pablo Quevedo (actor), Leo Passage (Pivot Point Founder), Carlos Anaya (Award-Winning Journalist and Multimedia Producer), Brian Michael (singer), Jaslene Gonzalez (model) and Cesar Corales (actor).

The week long event kicks off today with an invite-only media red carpet event-“Moda In The City” at the Hotel SAX-Crimson Lounge.  A Celebrity Walk will take place displaying some of the top designers clothing.

Tuesday will be the Chicago Premiere of “Celia the Queen”, a documentary on the Latina icon, Celia Cruz, deemed as THE Queen of Salsa.  This event will take place at the AMC Pipers Alley with the post movie reception at Suite Lounge.

Wednesday is dedicated to the future of the fashion industry.  Taking place at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, students will be given the opportunity to present their ideas on the runway and compete with other students.  This year’s theme? Fashion Forward to 2060!  This will give the audience a glimpse of what fashion will be like 50 years from now.

Thursday is an opportunity to engage the young ones into the fashion world.  Latino’s Teen Day will showcase fashion for teenagers and will also have a self-esteem and motivational workshop along with motivational speakers.  Grammy award winner-Colby O’Donis and Cesar Corales from “Billy Elliot” will be performing.  Also, don’t miss a special appearance of Chicago-native and America’s Next Top Model winner, Jaslene Gonzalez during the runway portion.  The event is free and will take place at Ford City Mall in Burbank.

Friday night a fashion show revolving around the theme of “Structure” will take place in Boystown’s resident nightclub, Circuit.  Catch a glimpse of designer’s Spring collections going along with the theme of “Structure”.

Saturday and Sunday do a little shopping at Trattoria Roma as local fashion boutiques will have booths set up for the “Fashion Sense, Pop-Up Store and Fashion Crawl” event.  Demonstrations, make-overs, treats and discounts are just some of the many perks of this free event.

Saturday will also be the night of the Fashion Ball, A Passport to Design, at the Mercedes Benz-North Ave.  This event includes the whole package-chef stations, performance by Salsa artist Brian Michaels, runway show displaying international designer’s collections (including a collection made from construction textures), and items from the estate of Celia Cruz.

The week ends on Monday with a Boutique Trade Show at Trattoria Roma Restaurant.  Local boutique owners and designers will get to meet each other in a “speed-dating” type of environment.  They will get a chance to converse for a few minutes before they move on to the next person.

Project Captured will be covering the events so stay tuned for our reviews!

For tickets and event information, visit: http://www.latinofashionwk.com/events.html

Check out this video for a preview of some of the designs that will be featured this week:

LFW Preview

Photographs by Carlo Serran

Written by Amy Nguyen

Photos by Christopher Free

Each year, as the autumn leaves transform into a palette of brown, green and orange, we know that the Halloween season is fast upon us. Just as in previous years, that means the costume planning had already been in full effect, waiting for that weekend before to bring out the whole nine yards, or for those who have not decided on a costume last minute, the mad dash to the costume store to pick up whatever is left over from the masses.

Accompanying the spirit of Halloween, are the Halloween parties. What distinguishes a Halloween party from a regular party? Not only is it the one night that everyone goes to extravagant lengths to wrap their bodies in either absolutely hilarious (which is my personal favorite) or extremely nightmarish outfits, but also the themed treats and festive decorations as well.

So, take your average Halloween party in all its splendor and multiply that by, oh, let’s say, 25.

The end result?

Galaween.

The event was held in none other than the absolutely charming Chicago Cultural Center, fully decked out in Halloween’s finest, with scattered skeletons, pumpkins galore, a haunted forest, and its very own fortune tellers.

Inside, you could find plenty of dancing done by the score of young professionals who donned costumes as bananas, martini glasses, rubix cubes, as well as a kissing booth (I can’t imagine how uncomfortable that was!). Some other memorable costumes included those of the Chilean Miners, a few flappers, and I may have witnessed a Snooki or two. All of these elaborately planned costumes had a far greater purpose though: a $1000 prize at the end of the rainbow for the best costume of the evening.

An open bar, a plethora of genres in music selection, and the never-ending hors d’oeuvres made it easy to want to stay until that last minute! With the success of this year, you’ll definitely want to make sure you get the early bird tickets next year.

Now in its second year, Galaween far exceeded expectations with over 1000 attendees at this completely sold out event, doubling the attendance from their first year. Tickets for this event were in such high demand that they were reportedly being requested and sold at more than double their face value!

The good news is that, while this was single-handedly the hottest party (co-chaired by Lally Daley, Sean Cannon, & Dan Gibbons) in the city on Halloween Eve, the proceeds went to a very worthwhile cause, the Chicago Cultural Center Foundation. The foundation is responsible for providing the City of Chicago with all of the wonderful festivals and free music, dance, theater events, films, lectures, art exhibitions, and family events. Few Halloween parties are both as much fun and support such a great cause as this one.

Galaween promised to be one of the hottest parties in town and they most definitely stuck to their word.

**Update**

Following that great event, Project Captured had the pleasure of sitting down with co chair, Dan Gibbons, to discuss the success of the event and the outlook for the future.

So Dan, can you please tell me and our readers, what was your goal in putting together an event of this size and how does it contribute to our city?

The purpose of the event was to get people together and involved in the cause (funding the Chicago Cultural Center Foundation) and highlighting the next generation. Creating an event that brings together young professionals and allowing them the forum to network, meet each other and have a great time- all while supporting a great cause.

The proceeds of an event like this go towards the free programming that the Chicago Cultural Center Foundation is able to provide.

And as far as future goals for next year?

Get more people involved, raise more funds and continue to get them enjoying the event. We’ve managed to raise awareness for the events, and now the aim is to raise even more money.

Next year, we’d love to have more sponsorships, and corporations participate. The focus this year was getting people in the door, making the aware of the event, and now our focus will be to raise more money so that the Chicago Cultural Center Foundation can continue to put on such great free programming and more in the future.

What are some things most people don’t know about planning an event of this magnitude?

Having a great team of people made all the difference. Along with Lally, Sean and myself, we had a great team working with us. They were so well composed, making this event run so smoothly. Laura helped put together a wonderful event and is a great event planner. The team knew precisely what the goal was and executed it to a T.

Last year, Galaween sold over 500 tickets. This year, it was sold out at 1000! Do you have any plans to make next year’s event even bigger?

We’re pretty happy with how things turned out. It’s important for an event. Get the name of the event and the cultural center out there. Showcasing the beauty of the Cultural Center that many people are not aware of.

What are your thoughts on the tickets being sold on Craigslist?

While it is nice to know that the event was in such high demand, we hope to sell even more tickets next year so that more people are able to attend and that the proceeds go towards the Foundation. That way, the Foundation can bring even more free programming to the city of Chicago.

What would you like to share with our readers regarding the programming at the Cultural Center?

There are all types of events going at all sorts of locations. These events are neat opportunities to showcase Chicago history and provide a way to give back to the community. Eleanor “Sis” Daley, Former mayor Richard J. Daley’s wife, had saved the Cultural Center from demolition, and allowing us to continue to use this beautiful facility.

Any favorite costumes from the evening?

Bed Bugs. All of the costumes were great, especially the creative ones.

Winners of the costume contest include:

To see more photos from Galween click the “See more” link below

Written By Stephanie Turcios

Photo credits: Caitlin Saville

Cece and Melinda with Raymi Productions kicked off this year’s Halloween weekend celebrations with the ever so sophisticated Masquerade Extravaganza.  A portion of the proceeds went toward Today’s Chicago Women Foundation, which benefits organizations that work directly with women and children in need.

The event was held on Thursday, October 28^th at the ultra-chic lounge in Chicago’s Boystown-Minibar.  Sponsors included M.GO Fashion Salon, Ultimat Vodka and Today’s Women Foundation.  Guests disguised in elaborate masks sipped on Ultimat Vodka cocktails and enjoyed appetizers such as bruschetta and different selections of brick oven pizza.  Live entertainment was provided by The Chicago Cabaret Project as they sang and danced to Broadway tunes as well as popular songs from the 80’s.  For those who forgot their masquerade masks, M.GO Fashion Salon had fashion forward masks on sale at the door to solve that issue.  Guests included Jaslene Gonzalez (previous winner of America’s Next Top Model), Michelle and Melissa Gomez of M.GO Fashion Salon, Arabel Rosales of Chicago Latino Fashion Week and many more!

Check out the video to get a feel of the mysterious and alluring ambiance of the party:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tTTDB4LXkY[/youtube]

Written By Ingrid Feder

Kicking-off Chicago’s 6th annual Fashion Focus Week was Macy’s Chicago Fashion Incubator Designers Past & Present with CS Magazine, on Tuesday, October 19th. The free event took place at Millennium Park’s Chase Promenade, featuring a preview of Spring 2011 collections on the runway by 14 up-and-coming designers from the Chicago Fashion Incubator, a resource for emerging local designers to launch their fashion careers.

This year’s CFI designers-in-residence, joined by 2008 and 2009′s alumni, were introduced by designer and Executive Director of CFI Lara Miller and Macy’s Andrea Schwartz. The talented lineup consisted of: Kristin Hassan, Kate Boggiano, Evil Kitty, Agga B, Anna Hovet, Nora del Busto, Audey, C/Fan, Killian Gui, Alidade, Dottie’s Delights, Nonnie Threads, Miriam Cecilia.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chicago’s Fashion Focus Week, it is our very own week-long celebration of fashion and emerging talent in Chicago, showcasing some of our top designers, along with runway shows in Millennium Park and around the city, exclusive shopping events, and industry seminars. The event was made possible this year through a collaboration between Macy’s and CFI, Mario Tracoci, StyleChicago.com, and Chicago’s four schools of fashion design. Fashion Focus Week this year will run through Sunday, October 24th, so be sure to check out the complete schedule of events and shows at www.chicagofashionresource.com.

To see more photos taken from this event by Christopher Free click the “see more” link below

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Last night, October 20th, local designer Borris Powell, (who recently showed at New York’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week), revealed his Spring 2011 “Life of Two Fairies” collection as part of Fashion Focus Week. The show took place inside the beautiful Palmer Room of the Drake Hotel and featured Borris’s playful and romantic spring collection.

Borris Powell

As the name implies, the collection was inspired by the tale of two fairies–one good, the other bad–who fall in love despite their differences. Models brought the tale to life on the runway, sporting ruffled and ruched cocktail dresses and gowns, complete with elven ears.

To see more photos from the show taken by Christopher Free click the “see more”  link below

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Cheeky Chicago celebrated its 2nd anniversary last night, October 20th, in style at Rockit Bar & Grill. Of course, the lovely Cheeky founders, Erica Bethe Levin and Jessica Zweig, both wearing beautiful dresses from River North boutique Sarca, were the perfect hostesses for the evening’s soiree.

Cheeky Chicago Founders, Erica Bethe Levin (left) & Jessica Zweig (right)

Guests enjoyed complimentary Seven Daughter’s wines, EFFEN cocktails, champagne, and Starfruit frozen smoothies, along with savory appetizers like turkey meatballs, mini burgers and truffle fries courtesy of Rockit Bar & Grill and custom “Cheeky Cake” cupcakes from More Cupcakes. DJ Neina Drake spinned tunes all night as the crowd mingled and danced. Guests also had the opportunity to get a little pampered by specialists from the Spa at the Dana Hotel or have their photos taken at the Shutterbooth photobooth. And what would a great party be without a great swag bag? This one included tons of discounts and gift certificates to some of the ladies’ favorite local boutiques and restaurants.

Here’s to many more years of Cheekiness in Chicago…cheers!

Enjoy more photos from the event by Christopher Free below.

Grammy U held its annual kick-off party last night, October 7th, at Spy Bar. The college based organization offers students pursuing a career in the recording industry real-world experience and the opportunity to network through exclusive events featuring artists and industry executives throughout the year. The party included Chipotle burritos along with beverages courtesy of Vitamin Water. The evening was capped off by a performance by songwriter, record producer, and rapper Sean Garrett.

Written By Stephanie Turcios

On Thursday, October 14th, Bloomingdale’s-along with Chicago Social Brides Magazine and Entertaining Company hosted the “Pre-Wedding” Wedding party for all of those gearing up to plan their wedding.  The event was held in a very appropriate venue: the Medinah Temple, which houses the Bloomingdale’s Home and Furniture store.  Amy Allen, Editor-In-Chief of Chicago Social Brides, and Debi Lilly, event planner from A Perfect Event, shared tips on how to alleviate the gruesome stress that planning a wedding can cause.  Guests enjoyed champagne and hors d’oeuvres sponsored by Entertaining Company while browsing different wedding specialty vendors and creating their wedding gift registry at Bloomingdale’s.

The event was held throughout the first 3 floors of the store.  The decor was provided by A Perfect Event, an events planning company that provides the whole nine yards of planning–floral design, invitations, event library and party favors! Each floor contained several vendors, all aiming to satisfy different needs in the wedding planning process.  Guests were able to taste pastries from MORE Cupcake Boutique, Le Royale Icing Designs at The Baking Institute, and Bittersweet along with food from Julius Meinl.

Amanda Hein Photography was on site with a display of wedding photography albums.  DJ Erik with Fig Media, Inc. was pouring out the beats for the evening as a taste of one of the services he can supply for a wedding (the other two being film and photo).  On site was a party booth brought by Rick Aguilar Studios in which guests could jump in and take home evidence of their photobooth moment.  Make up artists from Bobbi Brown and Estee Lauder were present to give brides-to-be a mini makeover.  Beauty On Call had staff providing hairstyles, eyebrow waxing and manicures for those who wanted a taste of the services the company offers.  But what is a wedding party without the wedding dresses?!  Wedding Dress designer Michelle Rahn, from Michelle Rahn Bridal, was at the event with a model showcasing a couple of her designs.  Other boutiques present were Vera Wang Chicago and Belle Vie, each exhibiting a breathtaking dress as a representation of what their boutiques contain.

This event created a fun environment for brides-to-be (and even grooms-to-be) to learn about the different services that are available in order to make the wedding planning process as much of a breeze as possible!

For a mid October evening, the weather was still quite warm enough to have the rooftop section of Vertigo open. Not only was it open, but the crowd, an impeccably dressed crowd at that, definitely took advantage of the not yet chilly weather and chose mostly to mingle outside. This event, sponsored by Svedka Vodka, was their last official Bot B Que of the summer.

Wonderful cocktails by the names of Hot Bot and Flirty Bot were poured throughout the evening, with “Hot Bot” models walking about ready to party with the crowd.

Aside from meeting the absolutely charming Israel Idonije, my favorite part of the evening was the Svedka Bot Photo Booth. Fellow Project Captured writer, Stephanie, accompanied me on this journey to see if we were truly “Bot or Not.” The photo booth, equipped with numerous Bot accessories at our disposal, took photos in rapid succession for about 30 seconds. The end result is a motion video of our endeavors as a Bot. Much, much fun considering our unchoreographed routine left us bumping into each other numerous times, thereby, eliminating our Bot status.

Amy Bear-hugs the Chicago Bear!

There really couldn’t have been a lovelier host for the event. Israel Idonije, defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears, met with fans, kindly posed for a what felt like a billion pictures, each time with such grace, and discussed anything from the upcoming game to his foundation.

Matt Beard, Daveon Mason, Stephanie Farrar

Project Captured, had the opportunity to ask Mr. Idonije a couple of questions regarding his foundation. For those of you that have not heard about the Israel Idonije Foundation, it was created in 2007 to help the underprivileged youth in his home country of Nigeria, where he was raised in Manitoba.

Setting up the foundation and putting money into it isn’t the only thing that Idonije does for the cause. During the Bears’ off season, Idonije has managed to travel back to Nigeria for three consecutive years to directly help the efforts of his cause. His work has enabled a few towns in Nigeria to become self-sustainable, complete with water systems.

With the current success of the foundation, we asked what Mr. Idonije had in store for the foundation for the coming year:

I want to focus on what really matters. Make sure that what we’re doing now is done exactly right before starting to expand our reach. The size of the group that we bring with is perfect as it is.

Michael Batts, Israel Idonije

What he says is definitely a strong character trait, choosing focus over flair and honing in on the issues at hand while contributing both monetarily, emotionally, and physically to the cause. His aim is just simply making a difference in the Nigerian people’s lives.

To read and see more photos taken by Christopher Free from this event please click the link below that says “see more.”

MARSHALL PIERCE & COMPANY DEBUTS IVANKA TRUMP FINE JEWELRY

IN CHICAGO WITH PRIVATE VIP EVENT AT TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL AND TOWER ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 11

Chicago, IL (October 12, 2010) – Marshall Pierce and Company, premiere jewelers since 1928, hosted an intimate VIP cocktail reception to announce their exclusive retail partnership with Ivanka Trump and debut her fine jewelry collection in Chicago. Over 120 friends, family and bauble lovers alike arrived at Trump International Hotel and Tower last night to toast the jewelry collection. Ivanka Trump presented a collection of unique jewels that rock tradition with a modern twist on fine jewelry’s most desirable classics from the 20’s to the 60’s. Ivanka combines her innate understanding of modern luxury with a vision of heirloom–chic jewelry that fits perfectly into the lives of today’s intelligent, self-assured women and inspires elegance in a new generation.

It was a family affair on the 16th floor of Trump’s namesake Chicago property, as Marshall Pierce & Company President Jerry Bern, accompanied by his wife, Christine Bern, son Evan Bern, and daughter Celeste Bern welcomed Ivanka to Chicago and officially launched her jewelry line. The fine jewelry line is exclusively sold in Chicago at Marshall Pierce’s Michigan Avenue location, 335 North Michigan Avenue.

Michigan Avenue magazine was the presenting media sponsor for the event and Editor-In-Chief, Susanna Negovan, and Midwest President and Publisher, Dan Uslan, were also on board to celebrate.

VIPs, tastemakers and selected members of the press, comprising of mainly Marshall Pierce & Company customers, family and friends, sipped Stoli cocktails, wines and prosecco from Terlato Wines International. Delectable dishes and entertainment by three-piece band Music Masters Entertainment’s Memento Trio were also enjoyed. Jerry Bern welcomed guests and thanked them for the ongoing support of Marshall Pierce & Company over the last 20 years, proclaiming “this is a very special night for Marshall Pierce & Company.”

Before introducing Ivanka, Bern stated, “When I first saw Ivanka’s line, I was astounded. It was beautiful, the stones quality was off the chart, it was timeless and elegant – a perfect fit for Marshall Pierce & Company.”

Ivanka addressed the crowd, expressing her excitement to be back in Chicago and to have found a perfect retail partner in Marshall Pierce & Company. “We waited and were very disciplined for many many years to introduce the Trump brand to real estate in Chicago,” Ivanka said. “We took that same approach as we were looking for the right partner here in Chicago to launch my jewelry line and that is very obviously Marshall Pierce.”

Ivanka also shared her love for Chicago and her excitement at visiting the city more often, stating, “I’d also like to thank the Bern family for giving me the opportunity and reason to visit Chicago even more frequently than I do now.”

To read more and see more photos please click the link below that says “see more”

Michigan Avenue magazine celebrated their two-year anniversary at the House of Blues this past Tuesday, October 5th, with a special appearance and performance by September cover star and Grammy and Oscar-winning signer and actress, Jennifer Hudson.

Guests enjoyed specialty cocktails courtesy of Ciroc Ultra Premium Vodka, Don Julio, and Sapporo. Appetizers, such as mini shredded steak sandwiches, were passed around as well. On the second floor balcony, guests were also able to join in on gaming provided by Horseshoe Casino. Other sponsors included Motorola and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland.

Michigan Avenue magazine Editor-In-Chief Susanna Negovan, publisher Dan Uslan, and Niche Media CEO Jason Binn came together on stage to thank their supporters and to introduce the newly svelte Hudson–Negovan and Uslan’s dream cover girl from the very beginning. The Chicago-native, who was radiant and glad to be home, performed two songs, including a moving cover of Whitney Houston’s “And I Will Always Love You.”

John Hall and Friends

To cap off the evening’s festivities, Negovan, Uslan, and Binn presented Hudson with a celebratory cheesecake by Eli’s which was enjoyed by all.

To see more photos from the event taken by Christopher Free please click the ” see more” link below. Enjoy!

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