Latino Fashion Week Chicago. The Finale Fashion Show with Chicago Designers

Latino Fashion Week Chicago wrapped up with the last show "El Fin" yesterday at The Drake. The final show featured Chicago's local talent, Orlando Espinoza, Carol Piñeiro, Anna Fong, Horatio Nieto, James De Colon and Elda De La Rosa. Opening the show was the well-deserved winner of the Student Designer Competition, Nora Del Busto. The stand-outs of this show were Orlando Espinoza and Anna Fong, both showing their Spring '09 RTW lines.

Orlando Espinoza's expertly cut dresses and tops and skirts were so fresh and flattering in creams, black, navy and bright surprise flashes of trim in neon blue. All were easy and modern looks in matte jersey and satin.

Anna Fong showed two beautifully tailored pant looks, one high-waisted and wide-legged and one capri. Women know how hard it is to find fashionable pant designs that fit well and these were quite successful. Her collection of muted blue-gray florals worked surprisingly well with strong black accents.

Elda De la Rosa's gowns were gorgeous, a few perhaps a bit dated, but all were impeccably made. She got my vote in the "evening gown category." 

James de Colon excels in the evening category more than his ready-to-wear. Personally, I think he should stick to his forte - dresses. It was disappointing he only showed his fall line.

Horatio Nieto showed great diversity and talent with both men's and women's lines, but he also showed Fall. I was actually more impressed with his men's collection of contemporary cargo pants, jeans and constructed jackets. So often with men's collections I think, "Who would wear that?" I didn't with this collection.

Carol Piñeiro showed some fun Spring looks, but she needs to be more consistent. Some of the fabrics and fit need refinement.

This is only the second year for Latino Fashion Week Chicago and all-in-all it was quite impressive. The organizers are going in the right direction by bringing in international Latino talent for shows throughout the week, as well as showcasing Chicago Latino designers.

As expected, some kinks need to be worked out with the productions. For example the two shows I attended started unusually late. To make Latino Fashion Week successful and to be taken seriously all of the designers should have shown their Spring '09 collections (which is my main complaint). The forgiving eyes of a brand-new event will soon become the eyes of scrutiny. While it was evident there was a lot of heart and soul poured into this week, now comes the daunting task of working on next year's shows. I for one, am looking forward to them!

—Carol Calacci

Comments

[maricela]

This was such a inspiring event I'm really glad I attended. Each year it gets better and it's exciting to see such amazing artist rising from Chicago. I know all the hard work that was put into this thank you for the experience.