Designer Spotlight on Chicago Designer Nelissa Carrillo

The Chicago Fashion Market hosted Fashion Forward Runway Event on Saturday, October 19th and Red Carpet Concierge was honored to witness one of the young designers Nelissa Carrillo and her amazing gowns.  The humorous story of how we met was not even about her gowns but the mishap of having broken the zipper on the back of my black cocktail dress.  I had two options, wear a jean jacket all night to cover the broken zipper or have someone try to fix it.  I had serious doubts about the latter option.  I literally ran into the area where I assumed was the vendors' area and asked a young girl to help me with my dress by using safety pins....this young girl whom I thought was a teenager immediately smiled and graciously started fussing with the zipper.  She called her mom over and between the two of them undid the clasp on my bra, kept the top part of the dress hooked and it simply looked like an open back dress.  That simple.  Problem solved. 

To my surprise, she was one of the designers of the evening!  I not only admired her youth and creativity, but unconditional kindness to a complete stranger on a big night for her.  So, long story short, I really liked her and could not wait to see what a mere 22 year old could show us what her fashion vision was.  She had three gowns for the show which were so beyond what I expected.  I asked her afterwards why she did not have more gowns to present and her answer simply was she had spent so much time on the details of each dress.  This took her quite a bit of time and she wanted them to be perfect.  And perfect they were.  I can't wait to see more of what this beautifully creative young designer has to offer!


Quick Biography on Nelissa:

At the age of 21, and after fashion studies at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Nelissa Carrillo returned to the Midwest to pursue he dream of building a fashion luxury and couture brand.  In July 2012, Nelissa Carrillo presented her first capsule collection in Chicago, IL.  Nelissa Carrillo Designs continues to evolve every day in hopes of putting Chicago on the map as a fashion capital.

Nelissa Carillo Design is based out of Chicago, IL.  A luxury pret-a-porter & couture brand, specializing in gowns and custom apparel.

NCD follows the passions of music and modern tastes of today with a reminiscent idea of history.  It is an interpretation of consciousness and how the world is viewed through a magical lens.  We believe fashion is the ultimate form of art.  "Redefining beauty as wearable art; letting the materials guide the vision."  Inside every NCD garment there is hand-painted leather label.

Within the first year we have participated in RAW, Latino Fashion Week, The Look, The Launch and many other shows in the states.  WE have been printed in VS Chicago, Hoy, Extra, Daily Herald, just to name a few.  Charities we work with:  Make-A-Wish and Fearfully Fierce.

 

Latino Fashion Week Opening Night: Part 2

Next up was the ultra chic but feminine counterpart to Robdechi.   YouMi is  Chicago based and boasts Merino wool and Australian sheepskin.  The collection radiated  high quality warmth, style and ultra comfort. 

The next collection was from 23 year old Maria E. Cruz.  Her line Miss One of a Kind is a very tailored collection that accentuated the shape of a woman's body with figure flattering sheaths, vests and jackets.  It had a very New York working woman feel that was very sensible but still so stylish and trendy. 

Finally, what is an opening night without a gown or two?  The finale was Ronald Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican designer whose influences include Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera.  It was a beautiful display of floral print dresses and gowns that had that "wow" factor of the evening.  This was so stunningly feminine and a wonderful to close of the opening night.  It was the Cinderella moment at the end of a beautiful ball.  Big thanks to all the designers for such a creative array of designs.

Photos courtesy of Marlon Cordero Photography (e-mail: tryka24@yahoo.com)





Latino Fashion Week Opening Night: Part 1

I had the honor of being at the opening night of Latino Fashion Week 2013 and I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with the designers chosen to display their masterpieces. 

This was a night of pure individual style ranging from casually chic, classically tailored to lavishly stunning.  It was a beautiful night indeed filled with fabulous designs that initially kicked off with celebrity models including America's Next Top Model Kanani, ABC's Stacey Baca, Azteca America's Ruth Diaz, NBC's Daniela Guzman just to name a few...

The first designer of the night was Karol Berrero, a native of Bogota, Columbia.  The first thought that came to mind when I saw her collection was "Old Hollywood." This was a sort of Audrey Hepburn style meets 21st century.  It had a sexiness but still maintained the classy theme of that classic Hollywood look. 

The next collection was Women and Men's western wear by Rangers.  It  instantly took me to a ranch and made me want to grab a lasso el toro pronto!   It was very fun and and a great change in the mix  from feminine classic to Mexican masculine.  

Next up was LB Glam, the brainchild of Luis Hernandez and Brayan Aguirre.  This was some serious bling bling.  Fashion isn't fashion without the ultimate accessory and these pieces could definitely stand by themselves and take centerstage to what you are wearing.  I think we all wish we had those kinds of pieces.

Okay, so the next designer was my personal favorite of the evening simply because I am a Midwest native and anyone who has experienced the winters here should be loving the designs of Robdechi also known as Robert Alvarez.  Mr. Alvarez was born and raised in Chicago and gave new meaning to the word "scarf."  It is multi-functional, extremely stylish and simply exudes luxury. 

Photography courtesy of Marlon Cordero Photography (e-mail: tryka24@yahoo.com)