Celebrate Chicago Fashion Week with Qualia’s Runway Collection

Welcoming its second annual Fashion Week, Chicago invites various creatives and designers to showcase their work from October 9th through the 19th. All around the city, event showcases, runways, and shopping collectives pop up to take over the week in a fashionable blaze of clothing celebration and community. On the 11th, fashion brand Qualia led by designer Christopher Robles displayed their ‘Sitting Duck’ collection, inspired by ‘70s officewear re-invented for the modern working millennial. They set up the show in collaboration with A La Carte Studios, a curated furniture studio lending their unique pieces as the backdrop for the runway. Preparing a 10-piece collection with the help of seamstresses, models, and fellow collaborators was a big venture, but Robles walked me through the process of putting on a great Chicago Fashion Week show.

What has the experience of pulling together a Chicago Fashion Week show been like for you?

It’s been hectic, as a creative and also the person that runs the show. You have to wear multiple hats and that means [handling] the production side, getting the budget correct, talking to the seamstress, making sure they’re making things on a good timeline, reaching out to the models, and hopefully getting the right type of look.

What is the collection focused on?

It’s a collection for office work, new millennials that are stepping into the workforce. We wanted to create ten unique pieces that can easily be stylized, or possibly upcycled. My background was in upcycling, so if I create these classic pieces: skirt, top, aprons as well, it helps create a blueprint, an empty canvas for [the wearer]. It was a bit ‘70s inspired, I’m a big fan of the ‘70s, but we call this ‘new retro modern.’ Like the apron as part of the collection, it’s not new, there’s always a new interpretation of [for example] a stay at home mom. It’s an adaptable piece that we’re trying to see on the runway, all these things are going to be over-accessorized or stylized, over-dressed, but in a cool way.

Why is the collection called ‘The Swimming Duck’?

It’s called ‘The Swimming Duck’ because we [tend to] watch people online and it deals with the pressure of society that is brought by being looked at. We don’t know what this person is going through during the day, so we gotta be empathetic. The ‘Swimming Duck’ concept, it’s like a duck, floating easily as we see it, but underneath, it’s paddling for its life to stay afloat, and our environment is like a pond. We don’t let the pressure get to us, but it is always a balance at the end of the day.

What’s your creative process of making these clothes?

I usually look at all my patterns that I have, and I will see if there’s a theme. I’ll pick a seamstress and we start working together on a fine-detail piece. We’re starting at zero with these pieces. My last show was two years ago, and I was very hard on myself. I felt like I had to make a new show every year. But I told myself to take my time and I hopefully think I’ll be able to show that through this new collection. It ended up being very pastel, light colors. We wanted to get attention with the colors, because sometimes clothes in the office can be very dark, like, gray, brown, and herringbone. We chose light fabrics, sometimes I get inspired by Mad Men, and the secretaries there.

In terms of doing the show at A La Carte Studios, how do you think that the architecture of the furniture and space ties into the show?

The showroom is art pieces. The way the furniture seems, when you walk in, is very classy and timeless as well. And [that] goes back to the theme of consistency with those classic ten pieces, the skirt will never go away, an apron will never go away. We’re trying to recreate it in a modern, fashionable way. 

Where do you hope to see the future of Chicago Fashion Week and its designers go moving forward?

As a designer, I hope the Chicago Fashion Week board and us all can work under the same umbrella and understand that we have the same goal in mind. We have to be diverse and inclusive of all types of designers, all types of looks. Chicago’s having a fashion week, it is hard because we are in the middle [of the US]. I think as designers in Chicago, we have to build that community and bring the staple here of Chicago Fashion Week. Sometimes we try to be mysterious with our work, but it’s okay to over-explain if you have to. As an artist, your vulnerability is your power, and you have to expose yourself.