The four-city fashion show is ready to take over Chicago. Macy's Passport Presents the
2011 Glamorama: ARTrageous, at The Chicago Theatre on Friday, August 12 at 8 pm.
The ninth annual event is one of Chicago's most highly anticipated parties and for that
matter, one of the most electrifying after parties of the year.
Glamorama brings high fashion and stunning musical performances from artists like Cee
Lo Green and Far East Movement, together for one extravagant night.
Even though ARTrageous tours four cities (Minneapolis, Los Angeles and San Francisco,
in addition to Chicago) and the people responsible for putting the night together have
been working around the clock for a year, according to Mike Gansmoe, Macy's VP of
Special Productions. "Each show is unique, it's kindof like an abbreviated rock tour,"
said Gansmoe. "It's a great creative consortium that puts on the show."
Laura Schara, Glamorama's fashion director and stylist, who is in charge of all the
fashion, styling and models. Schara notes that she and her team started planning this
year's event one year ago. Schara attended New York City Fashion Week to scout this
year's newest fall trends. From there, she contacted designers who will feature their
collections in the show. "We brought in a variety of collections, classic designers, some
avant- grande and then what we like to call our "hot and sexy" segment," said Schara.
The show will present a premiere of the highly-anticipated Karl Lagerfeld capsule
collection for Macy's. This marks the collections fall 2011 Midwest debut. In addition,
for the first time from big names like Armani Jeans, Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs,
Sonia Rykiel and Tracy Reese will be showcased in the Midwest.
"Fashion of course is art. This fall pattern and texture are going to be popular. Plaids and
poke- a- dots especially, and color mustard, rust and teal are there are so many colors to
choose from this fall," said Schara.
Designer collaborations with retailers are becoming a popular way for collections to
reach the masses. Among the collaborations that have sparked public attention is the
Karl Lagerfed capsule collection, which is exclusively sold through Macy. However, the
collection still retains the timeless Lagerfeld "look."
"The collection is feminine but has an edge to it. He designs classic items that women
can have in their closet for years. It has every from leather to lace included," said Schara.
Lagerfeld's capsule collections combines classic femininity, sexy and simplistic pieces
that provide endless mixing and matching possibilities and demonstrates how a few well
chosen items can give a small wardrobe countless options.
"Whatever he [Karl Lagerfeld] puts on the runway is going to be beautiful. It's designed
beautifully and at a very affordable price. His collection uses a lot of color and texture. In
my opinion it's going to sell out very fast," said Schara.
In addition to the designer looks on the runway, the audience will enjoy a powerful visual
show inspired by the arts. "Fashion is truly a kinetic form of art. It's always moving,
always inspiring and ever-changing," said Gansmoe.
Every year a creative team brainstorms concepts for the show�incorporating new ideas,
things they've seen on TV and read about to create one spectacular party. "The show is
really down to a science. Every item is organized, documented and photographed. We
need to be organized to keep everything together. Everyone knows their role and gets it
done," said Schara.
The party is one of the largest events of the year, but in addition to a spectacular show
and an extravagant after- party, held in the newly transformed Macys on State Street�it
is also a great way to support local charities.
Once again, Macy's Glamorama will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities
throughout Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana (RMHC-CNI). Macy's 2010 showcase
helped provide over 4,000 nights of care and comfort for the families of children seeking
medical treatment.
Macy's partnership with RMHC-CNI continues to develop and with a portion of the 2011
ticket proceeds from Macy's Passport Presents Glamorama, will benefit the efforts to
build the world's largest Ronald McDonald House that will be located in Chicago.
"We are proud to partner once again with Ronald McDonald House Charities of
Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana as proceeds will directly fund the new Ronald
McDonald House near Lurie Children's which will be the world's largest Ronald
McDonald House," according to Martine Reardon, Executive Vice President of
Marketing and Advertising for Macy's.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting RonaldHouseChicago.org. Tickets range in price
from $50 to $1,000.