Columbia Reviews: Charles James Fashion Contest

The 618 building of Columbia College Chicago houses fashion pieces year round in the East facing windows. Currently a show inspired by designer Charles James resides in the space. James was a designer who hailed from Chicago originally and was known for his very structural style of hat making. He then moved to New York City and started making evening dresses and ball gowns, still holding true to his very original style. His pieces were often referred to as being like fine sculpture, as opposed to wearable garments. Although he created beautiful gowns, he never really could break into the larger consumer market. These were dresses you’d see on the runway, but were not translatable to something bought at Macy’s. There are not only decals that say the name of the show “INSPIRED by Charles James”, but also an informational panel facing South Michigan directly on, so passerby can know the show/designer by name and also understand what the show is all about. All students’ names are printed clearly on a sign next to each dress.

The eleven pieces in the windows are those of the semifinalists in this competition. All pieces are very representative of Charles James’s signature style in actually sculpting the fabric to create three dimensional space coming off of the body. There are hard elements posed up next to soft flowing sections. The first thing I noticed off the bat and appreciated was that not all pieces were the same. The chosen dresses were not just elegant evening gowns; there were party dresses (assumed due to their length), coats, evening dresses and hybrids. I wonder if this was a conscious decision of the judges or if there really was a diverse group of submissions.

All went with the same sort of chic color palette, expressed in blacks, creams, whites, and light pinks. It was apparent how James was referenced in the pieces. Some of which appeared more wearable than others, but all held a very structural backbone. Dana Dupree had flowing hard black lines that hung off the body and up into a zipper. Trianna Majalca's dress had tiers that instead of flowing down, cut upwards to make rectangular waves popping up to the hip. Stephanie Gabrys's evening gown was reminiscent of this as well, with boxy tiers going all the way from under the bust to the floor. Even Margaret Bolan's jacket with structured back was beautiful.

I really appreciate that fact that Columbia, although growing these artists into free thinking individuals, can also always tie what we learn back to something bigger. We as students learn that there is no future without a past and this is why “inspired by” collections are so important. We're admitting that we don't know everything, but at least we can continue the conversation.