PARTY: The White Dress Project
VENUE: United Colors of Benetton, 520 N. Michigan Ave, Shops at Northbridge
DATE: Thursday, October 4
THE LURE: When Nick Cave, the chair of The School of the Art Institute’s fashion design department, speaks, we listen. Meet The White Dress Project, his design initiative which challenges SAIC students to create pieces all in, you guessed it, white. Mannequins and models in the student’s creations dotted the colorful Benetton store, where the Italian brand teamed up with Marie Claire magazine to celebrate all things creative. Notable guests? You better believe it: CEO of Benetton USA Ari Hoffman, International Fashion Director of Marie Claire, Coco Atalia, and Chicago’s own (and former SAIC student-turned-faculty-member-and-talented-designer-behind-label-Creatures-of-the-Wind) Shane Gabier. We were left with one final though: White after Labor Day? Bring it on. >>

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT >> Models and mannequins display the student’s work // Laura McCall and Rosa Halpern // Morgan Childers, Michael Walls and Annie Novotny // Mike Ghazarian and Kris Bunch // Shane Gabier of Creatures of the Wind