What We Wore: Gold Coast Fashion Award Show

My new niece, Sabrina Berry, is a considerate infant. She made her debut in a Chicago suburb when I was already on my way to the Windy City for the Gold Coast Fashion Award Show, held September 28 as a fundraiser for Lurie Children’s Hospital.

The Gold Coast organizers invite “the hottest new design talent” (to quote the show’s website) to participate in a mega-runway show at the Hilton Chicago and Towers. Naturally, my gorgeous friend Stacy Lomman was one of the eight presenting womenswear designers, showing her Fall 2012 Modern World collection. As you may recall, Stacy was a finalist in the women’s ready-to-wear category for Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Award in January. There was a tie for that award between designers Wes Gordon and Misha Nonoo. Gordon and Nonoo were two of the other participants in the Gold Coast show (Gordon won by himself this time), so you can see Stacy is keeping prestigious company.

I’m glad I went because I was wowed by the 1,400-person crowd …

The pre-show cocktails.

… and the giant elevated runway.

Two of Stacy’s looks on the runway.

Stacy wore an ensemble from her Modern World collection.

The jacket, top and skirt are all Stacy Lomman designs.

Second City Style called Stacy’s collection “clean and sexy.” Sounds good to me!

I wore a dress from Stacy’s first collection, Fall 2011’s Precious Metals.

Click to see my previous outing in this dress.

I like the way Stacy made the hot pink lining peek out of the open back.

I wore Funny Face lipstick by Nars to match the lining of the dress.

If you’ve always dreamed of doing SOMETHING in the fashion industry, now is your chance to become an active participant by contributing to Stacy’s Kickstarter campaign to raise money for her Spring 2013 lookbook. As I — and many other designers know — fame doesn’t equal fortune. Cash can be tight even when your designs are winning awards, featured in magazines, and spotted on celebrities. This season, Stacy saved money by skipping a New York Fashion Week show, but that means shooting a lookbook is even more essential. Without photos of her new rockabilly-themed collection, there’s nothing to send to store buyers and fashion writers. Trust me, it ain’t easy to get personal meetings with those people, so you’ve got to have something to mail and/or email. Find out more about Stacy’s new collection and learn what goes on behind the scenes at a shoot by reading her blog post. (Did you know the designer is responsible for buying lunch for everyone on the shoot? There are all kinds of strange little costs in addition to the photography itself.) I’ve been trying on the new designs as Stacy works on them. The colors and tailoring are beautiful — I already know I’m getting the Thunderbird-blue corset-like jacket — and the line deserves a great photoshoot. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

CLICK HERE TO HELP FUND STACY’S KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN.