Coachella Trends

Calling All Hipsters! Report to Coachella!

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an annual music and arts festival held in California located in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. This music festival lasted from April 10th to the 12th this year. Coachella brings in some of the biggest celebrities in music, film and fashion. Coachella is known for its talented line up of musicians but has recently evolved into the latest fashion catwalk.

Walking into Forever 21 and other retail stores it is clear to see that the latest fashion tends are Hippie and Bohemian. From flower headbands to Indie patterned pants, all ages want to get their hands on floppy hats and fringe vests. Coachella encompassed all of these 2015 looks. I loved all of these girls' looks in the top picture. One thing that I noticed from analyzing street style at this event was that the girls are not afraid to step outside fashion boundaries. These girls are willing to pair different patters and colors together to create a statement. 

One of the most frequent styles that I saw while admiring photos from the festival was floral patterns and paring matching crop top and skirts together. The photo above is one of my most favorite looks that I have found from street stalking. I love how this outfit is sophisticated but has simplicity at the same time. I love how the black was pulled out of the dress and matches the black sunglasses, heels and purse. This look has a wonderful flow to the eye. I also love the cuts and lines in this top and skirt. The top has loose flowing shoulders and the skirt has sharp square cuts. The combination works perfectly. The crop top and matching skirt is one of the latest fashion trends and this outfit proves that this combination should stay around. 

Another trend that I found to be popular with the Coachella attendees was unique sunglasses. Floral prints, heart shaped, oval, the list goes on and on because there were all kinds of looks to fit any type of style. Sunglasses have become a huge accessory in recent years and retail companies are getting creative with their designs. In sunny California, Coachella was the perfect place for concert-goers to show off their latest pair. In the picture above, I love how this attendee was fearless in her choice of accessory. Her sunglasses brought her look together and turned her simple see-through dress into a fashion statement.  

- Lindsey

Chicago Fashion Foundation

A City Within A City

On Thursday April 2nd, Isabelle and I attended the 8th Annual Chicago Fashion Foundation Fashion Show at the Chicago Cultural Center. The non-profit organization raises scholarship money for fashion design students in the Chicago area, and top designers compete for the scholarships by showcasing their designs at the annual show. The winner of the 2015  design competition and a $5,000 scholarship was Stephany Muoz, and the business scholarship went to Tessa Bullen. All the designs presented by the students were amazing and the wins were well-deserved. Here are each of our looks for the show:

We both chose classic little black dresses and heels, but styled and accessorized our looks to fit our own styles. Isabelle wore a light tan trenchcoat over her backless black dress from American Apparel and added simple gold accessories like her earrings and chain bracelet. Her open-toed shoes tie the touches of tan and beige together to complete the look.

I chose a simple black dress and focused the attention on my elaborate bohemian statement necklace from Belmont Army. I added a stark white blazer for contrast and structure against the flowy cut of the dress. My outfit was completed with black strappy heels and a small vintage Kate Spade purse.

The event also had collections from top Chicago designers Mark Roscoe, Daniel George, Gabrielle Zwick, and Gidi. All of the collections were beautiful, but Gidi had the best wearable looks and Mark Roscoe had the best elegant gowns in my opinion. I was jealous of the models who got the luxury of wearing such gorgeous creations. Gabrielle Zwick also had a swimsuit line of unique strappy one and two-piece suits. The collection was a perfect way to welcome the warm weather!

Gidi:

 Gabrielle Zwick:

Other collections that were showcased were from alumni designers including Elena Bobysheva (www.elenabobysheva.com), LaTonya Williams of Elizabeth Smith Fashions (www.esfashions.com), and Robert Noia of Columbia College. Below is a glimpse of Robert Noia’s collection.

The panel of celebrity judges included handbag designer Diego Rocha, TV personality Rachelle McCray, VP of media relations at Macy’s Andrea Schwartz, fashion blogger Diala Joseph, philanthropist and entrepreneur Frances Renk, and fashion stylist and blogger Souk Supantavong. There was also a special appearance from Alexander Knox, the winner of the CFF Design Competition in 2014, who was also a contestant on Season 13 of Project Runway. Overall, it was a fun girl’s night out downtown filled with fashion. Everyone should check it out for next year’s event! Now I can’t wait for my future PR life of “parties and running around in heels.” For more information on the organization go to www.chicagofashionfoundation.org

-Allison