Gen Art Shop Chicago

It was a shopping frenzy Saturday at Gen Art Shop Chicago hosted in the Great Hall at Union Station. Over 60 designers and clothing boutiques set up trunk shows with some merchandise up to 70 percent off.
With so many racks bursting with dresses, bags and jewelry it was hard to narrow down our favorites but here are some noteworthy designers and shops:
Anastasia Chatzka: This set up caught my eye the minute I entered the show. Neon colored dresses, girls dressed in bloomers and fanciful headbands with birds and patches caused a stir among shoppers.
Chicago based designer Chatzka, graduated from the International Academy of Design Chicago. Later she interned with Betsy Johnson and Anna Sui in New York. Now she focuses on her personal collection at her showroom on N. Milwaukee in Wicker Park.
liaMolly: Featured in the October/November issue of Lucky magazine as “The Best New Designers of 2008†and in Bust magazine, New Orleans based designer Seema Sudan featured racks of beautifully bright vintage inspired knitwear.
Knitting since she was nine, Sudan went on to graduate from Parsons School of Design where she said she always incorporated knitting into her work. “I like to start from the fiber, to start from nothing and create something,†Sudan said.
Later she went on to work at Calvin Klein, Anthropologie and even owned a boutique in Brooklyn. But, after Hurricane Katrina, Sudan wanted to move back to New Orleans to start her own collection. Now, hundreds of stores purchase her clothing, including Anthropologie and Eskell.
Vintage Adrienne: Owner Adrienne Baskin and daughter Tracey scour estate sales, thrift stores and the Chicago Antique Market for unique vintage finds. Originally A’s Tees selling vintage rock t-shirts, the store has now expanded into accessories and a wide range of clothing.
Currently Baskin does not have a storefront but operates out of her home in Highland Park.
Foxglove: Chicago based photographer and artist Betsy Treacy Siber creates accessories from cuff lings to earrings out of vintage postage stamps from all over the world. She said she can generally find stamps for any country.
Soon to come out is Siber’s pebble collection created from found objects on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Loop Apparel: This collection is a great collaboration of four men creating affordable sweatshop free men’s t-shirts for under $20. Featuring the Chicago skyline among other recognizable urban insignia.