“Streetwear in Chicago” evokes such names as Leaders 1354, Jugrnaut, Joe Freshgoods of Fat Tiger Workshop, and Virgil Abloh. These brands and individuals carry the torch internationally for Chicago streetwear, but while the titans are making their waves, there is a bubbling undercurrent of designers whose creative work brings definition to the city’s fashion scene. It is in that undercurrent that Amanda Harth, founder of the online fashion resource Runwayaddicts, stumbled upon the inspiration for the Museum of Streetwear.
Realizing she was sitting on a mountain of untapped knowledge about the fashion industry, Harth started Runwayaddicts in 2012. “First it was a platform for independent and emerging designers to promote their work,” she says. “Then we were very events focused for about a year. Now we’re a fashion media company created for designers to use as a resource to get connected with the resources that they need to thrive. [It’s] pretty much something that I felt like would’ve helped me when I tried to start my own brand.”
With ComplexCon in Chicago this year, hometown designers have been invited to collaborate with nationally recognized brands and create capsules for the occasion—like Joe Freshgoods teaming up with west-coast streetwear brand the Hundreds. Acoff and Harth both expressed major concern for what will happen to this sudden creative boom in the wake of ComplexCon. “I call it the ‘Wakanda Effect,’” Harth says. “When people first saw Black Panther, everyone wanted to go out and do amazing things for their community, then two weeks after they were just back to their same old ways. All of these people are coming from around the world to see [ComplexCon], but what happens when they leave?”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Brittney Perry as part of Her Notoriety. She is the founder of PerryCo Shoes.
Sat 7/27-Sun 7/28, 11 AM-6 PM, Lab on Lake, 3450 W. Lake, runwayaddicts.co, $20-$25 day pass, $65-$110 VIP weekend all-access pass.
