Photo courtesy of Now You Know Events

By Lauren Pinkston

October 30, 2013

Chicago’s Fashion Week finished its 9th annual series of fashion events from Oct.15-20. Dominican apparel design and merchandising students undoubtedly aspire to one day, be a part of these festivities, including runway shows, shopping events and shows featuring the most prestigious and emerging fashion professionals in the region.

Erin Von Kannon, Dominican alumna of the class of 2013, received her first opportunity to showcase her designs during Chicago’s fashion week at the NEXT Fashion Chicago runway show.

The NEXT Fashion Chicago runway show featured established and emerging designers and boutiques in the city. 

Daniella Guzman, morning news anchor for NBC 5 Chicago and Alicia Roman, meteorologist for NBC 5 Chicago, hosted the show, while designers such as Mira Couture, Contessa Bottega and St. Frimpong debuted their newest designs. Von Kannon was chosen to participate in the show as a finalist of the NEXT GENERATION Fashion Design Challenge.

The competition featured the most promising, developing women’s apparel designers in Chicago.

Von Kannon describes the process of entering the NEXT GENERATION Fashion Design Challenge, “We started by entering a sketch and swatches. From there we were narrowed down, then we created our garments,” she said. “From there, we were narrowed down to 10 and the top 10 got to be in the show.”

Von Kannon gravitates towards designing avante garde gowns that display the woman’s figure. The garment Von Kannon designed for the show was an extension of her senior collection from her time at Dominican. The gown was charcoal in color with a high neckline and trumpet-style cut.

Von Kannon said that the garment “was inspired by historical shapes and the galaxy Andromeda. The unique thing about this dress was that it had LED lights in the skirt.”

Connecting with other emerging and established designers was Von Kannon’s favorite part of the NEXT Fashion Chicago runway show. She credits her success in the competition to her time at Dominican.

“Dominican prepared me in the obvious way, teaching me to pattern and sew. But it also taught me to think outside the box and use materials differently,” Von Kannon said.

Von Kannon hopes to put together a collection of garments in the near future. As for current apparel design and merchandising students, Von Kannon stresses the importance of connecting with industry professionals.

“Be willing to work for free and always have business cards with you because you never know who you’ll meet. Networking is super important, I’ve made my best connections going to or working events and shows,” Von Kannon advised.