Posts Tagged ‘Koros’

Shop the West Loop

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

 
The West Loop is a shopping jewel in the rough. The industrial district is home to a quality selection of designer boutiques with their own individual aesthetic and selection. Fix, Koros, Tribecca, Two Sisters, and Heidi Hess are a few of the stores with the power to induce a credit card charge or two. This week, you’ll have the opportunity to visit all these stores and reap some discounts at two shopping events: Walk the West Look and Explore Fulton Market.

Walk the West Loop is Thursday night from 5-9pm and participating boutiques include Fix, Koros, Spex, The Oprah Store, Tribecca, Solo Salon, Two Sisters, The Fig Tree, Taköhl, Smitten, and Lumiere. Spend your evening getting up to 20% off select merchandise and sipping complimentary cocktails.

Saturday from 12-5pm is Explore Fulton Market. The West Loop’s Fulton Market District invites shoppers to see what the area has to offer at its annual Spring Afternoon Open House. Shops and galleries—including Fix, Koros, Mars Gallery, Jan’s Antiques, Heidi Hess Designs, and more—will offer up to 20% off select merchandise.

Not a bad way to make your rounds through the West Loop, huh?

By Meghan Turner

Tags: Chicago Fashion Events, Chicago Shopping, Fix, Heidi Hess, Jan’s Antiques, Koros, Lumiere, Mars Gallery, Smitten, Solo Salon, Taköhl, The Fig Tree, The Oprah Store, Tribecca, Two Sisters
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Slam Dunk

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Layup? Point guard? Bank shot? I don’t speak basketball, so March Madness is one of the last things on my radar. This month, though, March Madness is taking on a new meaning. The very posh Tocco (1266 N Milwaukee Avenue) is hosting March Madness for the Fashionista, a month-long series that features four Chicago boutiques: Koros, Sarca, Veruca Salt, and Havilah. Tocco emptied its in-house window display so each boutique can present a weeklong fashion installation of their favorite spring items. Presented in the aforementioned order, each boutique’s designated week will feature a special event in its honor. In addition, when shopping at these stores this month, you will receive a 10% discount to Tocco. If you’ve never been to the chic Italian eatery, you’ll immediately see why the venue is a complementary setting for such an event, and these boutiques—some of my favorite in Chicago—are sure to present some impressive garments. Eating while you window shop. That’s a winning concept in my book.

Here’s a look at each boutique’s event being held at Tocco this month:

KOROS

Koros (1039 W Lake Street) is currently on display at Tocco and features its sensational spring collection (shown above). The reception will be on Thursday, March 11 from 7 to 9:30 pm. Koros radiates the joy of style and offers must-have basics and to-die-for collections, all hand picked by owner Kristen Skordilis. With an innate sense of style, Kristen’s selection includes designers from across the world and close to home.

SARCA

Sarca (710 N Wabash Avenue) will make its Tocco debut the week of March 15, 2010. The reception will be on Thursday, March 18 from 7 to 9:30 pm and will feature internationally acclaimed fashion label Sass and Bide. This new Gold Coast boutique founded by Alexis Cozzini is packed with exclusive lines from all over the world,  catering to women who appreciate exquisite and unrivaled clothing and accessories.

VERUCA SALT

Veruca Salt (1921 N Damen Avenue, 520 N Kingsbury Street) will show off its latest fashions at Tocco the week of March 22, 2010. The reception will be on Thursday, March 25 from 6 to 9 pm, with a trunk show featuring owner Amber Warren’s signature English Muffin line that combines high fashion and everyday wear. Veruca Salt thrives on carrying items customers truly love to wear, including emerging and established designers.

HAVILAH

Havilah (869 N Larrabee Streeet) will be showcasing its finest spring fashions at Tocco the week of March 29, 2010. The reception will be on Thursday, April 1 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. Havilah’s selection is as unique and fresh as the boutique’s name, which is a biblical reference meaning abundance of blessings and precious jewels. Shoppers find comfort in Havilah’s selection and welcoming atmosphere.

By Meghan Turner

Tags: Alexis Cozzini, Amber Warren, Chicago Boutiques, Chicago Fashion, Chicago Fashion Events, Havilah, Koros, Kristen Skordilis, March Madness for the Fashionista, Sarca, Sass and Bide, Veruca Salt
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Chicago Fashion: Serpico Collection

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Fashion often draws inspiration from architecture’s clean lines and structured silhouettes. Given Chicago’s architectural significance, it seems natural that local designers would be influenced by such construction when creating their own designs. For designer Melissa Serpico Kamhout, 33, architectural elements are a design constant that gives her clothing a serious aesthetic balanced with ladylike sophistication.

Melissa’s label, SERPICO, has garnered a reputation for its quality, tailoring and detail, which has helped it grow in Chicago and abroad. Earlier this year, she expanded from an industrial studio to a lovely studio-boutique space (shown above) in Wicker Park. Other retailers also carry her designs, such as Chicagoland boutiques Koros and Totem, a couple New York boutiques, and DNA, a boutique owned by Saudi Arabian princess Deena Abdulaziz. In addition, this month she traveled to Washington DC for a fitting with Amy Rule, Rahm Emanuel’s wife, who ordered a custom SERPICO gown for last week’s White House State Dinner. Melissa also designed Amy’s couture gown for the inauguration.

Clockwise from upper left: “Sargon” skirt, $360; “Ju” jacket, $725; Melissa in her boutique; “Dama” dress,
$1015; “Borgia” top, $345

The designer’s 14-item Fall/Winter ’09 collection—her 5^th collection so far—is no less impressive. Inspired by the romance and sensuality of baroque gardens in France and Italy, this season features a limited palette, including red, blush and black, on lux fabrics, like silk organza, stretch silk charmeuse, and Italian wool. The complete collection includes four dresses, five tops, a skirt, a blazer, a jacket, a pair of leggings, and a cropped trouser, all with a surprising complexity despite their simplicity. The lines are clean and the shapes organic, but nearly everything in her F/W collection has an unexpected, dynamic element. From a cut-out shoulder to an ornate neckline to all-over layered organza, each garment should be examined with 360-degree views.

Left: “Durieu” dress, $1100. Right: Fall ’08′s gray satin dress with ruffle detail, $650 (re-made for Fall ’09
due to its popularity)

A born-and-raised Chicagoan, Melissa received her Bachelor of Art Concentration in Visual Communication from Loyola University and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Upon receiving her degrees, she built her fashion house here, rather than in a more fashion-oriented city. “There really were not any fashion jobs in Chicago that were a good fit for me, and I really wanted to keep working and creating as much I could. The fashion industry in Chicago was just starting to take shape. I wanted to help build it.”

As we continue to watch Chicago’s fashion industry grow, we look forward to SERPICO’s growth as well. Melissa’s immaculate craftsmanship, eye for design, and attention to detail has made her a designer to watch season after season, and we don’t see that changing any time soon.

1514 N Ashland Avenue; serpico-collection.com

By Meghan Turner

Photography by Chelcie S. Porter

Tags: Amy Rule, Chicago Boutiques, Chicago Designers, Chicago Fashion, Chicago Shopping, Deen Abdulaziz, DNA, Koros, Melissa Serpico Kamhout, Serpico Collection, Totem
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