Industry
Designers In Residence
The Designers in Residence
The Designers in Residence (DIR) have been provided office space, a workshop room with sample production space and a resource section; as well as a showroom. DIR are required to complete a core curriculum of workshops and seminars conducted at the Incubator location at Macy’s on State Street for the duration of a one year period starting in March 2009.
Cynthia Ryba
Cynthia Ryba crafts her clothes with purpose and passion. Her expertise lies with using conventional materials in an unconventional way. Molding and shaping fabric in an organic fashion, her silhouettes are fluid and imaginative. Never one to create a dated look, Ryba creates pieces that transcend fleeting, temporal trends of the day offering beautifully designed garments. Ryba is currently working on a line of day to evening professional womenswear dresses and will be available in stores in the Spring of 2010.
Image from Designer's Collection
Jess Audey
Audey by Jess Audey focuses on fit and timeless silhouettes, she launched AUDEY, her own design studio that is committed to the classic tradition of cocktail dresses with an innovative touch. Heavily influenced by her experience with tactile upholstery fabrics and custom orders, Jess strives to combine the perfect fabric and design for each of her garments. The result is AUDEY; dresses that are at once whimsical and romantic while maintaining the highest level of quality.
Image from Designer's Collection
Ashley Zygmunt
ZAMRIE Having just graduated from Purdue University, having worked two NY Mercedes Benz Fashion Weeks, interned with high fashion designers: Zac Posen and Peter Som, and to already have experience with Li and Fung USA, Ashley is ready to create a closet full of confidence for the women of Chicago. Her line, Zamrie will provide women with high style and inherently allured garments that will grace women’s bodies with structure and confidence while simultaneously making them feel straight off the runway.
Image from Designer's Collection
Catherine Furio
Furio Over the past several years, Catherine’s philosophy of fashion has been molded by professors, mentors and inspiration from God. She believes her role in the fashion industry is to be one of the designers who redefines and redeems apparel design. Catherine is passionate about never stripping fashion from the world of the arts. It is for this reason that she believes fashion can climb to an even higher level of fine art, encompassing beauty and function in our modern lives.
Image from Designer's Collection
Anna Hovet
Anna Hovet With a passion to add beautiful and interesting things to the world, Anna Hovet moved from North Dakota to Chicago in 2003. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she earned her BFA with a focus in design. Anna’s determination to be a well-rounded designer led her to Chicago’s well-known store Akira, where she worked as a stylist and fashion show coordinator while in college. After graduating, she was hired by Kids Headquarters where she designed layette for Ecko, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, and Target. Anna is currently launching her first full collection – Anna Hovet Fall 2009 for women, and developing her newest concept – Hovet for men. She is also selling custom-made pieces to individual clients and at a local boutique. Beyond designing, she freelances as a stylist and frequents art, music, fashion, and social events to evaluate developing trends and anticipate their usability.
Image from Designer's Collection
Nora del Busto
Nora del Busto loves to design structured garments with precise detail and also enjoys manipulating plain fabrics into extraordinary one-of-a-kind pieces. Nora recently graduated from IADT and is currently working at Cintas as an apparel design assistant.
Image from Designer's Collection