Below is a list of some Chicago designers. These names are discoverable in ARCHIE, CONTENTdm, and/or Capture. Please note this is not a comprehensive list of all fashion designers featured in CHM collections, but meant instead as a starting point.
Bes-Ben - 1920s-1970s Chicago-based millinery designer and retailer.
Carence Crafters - 1910s Arts & Crafts jewelry collective.
E.E. Holland - c.1880s dressmaker
Florsheim Shoe Company - Established in 1892 and active today.
Frances Macbeth Glessner - 1870s-1920s jeweler, silversmith, and knitter.
Jacques, Chicago - c.1930s custom dressmaker.
Jano Walley - Modernist jeweler, sculptor, and ceramicist active in the 1940s-1960s.
Kalo Shop - Women-founded workshop of Arts & Crafts silversmiths and jewelers that operated from 1900 through the 1970s.
Madame Marguerite Inc. - Run by fashion designer and retailer Marguerite Pick from 1912-1948.
Madame Schubert - c.1920s dressmaker
Mark Heister - Eveningwear and separates designer active from 1981-2009.
Mrs. A. Flynn - c.1900s dressmaker
N.B. Holden - c.1880-90s shoemakers
Nicki Ladany - Fashion designer behind "Catherine Scott" a high-end mid-century ready-to-wear women's brand.
Patricia Rhodes - 1980s-1990s fashion designer
Robert Mucklow - Jeweler who had a studio in Forest Park, Il in the 1970s.
Ruth W. Baylor - Fashion designer active in the 1940s-50s
The Vogue - c.1920s clothing brand and shop
Weeks - c.1890s-1910s dressmaker
Whitney - c.1910s dressmaker
We recognize there are many designers, both past and present, who are not currently included in CHM's collections, but who are an integral part of Chicago's fashion history. These designers include, but are not limited to, Madame Maerie Hats (Early 20th-century millinery by Maerie Harris); Paulette Original (Housedress brand manufactured from the 1940s to the 1960s); Sheila Rashid (Unisex clothing designer in business since 2010); Azeeza Khan (Womenswear designer in business since 2013); Boris Powell (designer of luxury men’s and women’s apparel & accessories); Barbara Bates (designer of styles for celebrities as well as the everyday person); and Sky Cupacub of Rebirth Garments (Gender non-conforming wearables and accessories for people on the full spectrum of gender, size and ability in business since 2014). We welcome additions to this list. Please e-mail research@chicagohistory.org.
Blum's Vogue - Fashion retailer operating from 1910 to 1983.
Chas. A. Stevens - Chicago department store with multiple locations. Active from 1886 to 1988.
Citation Hat Corp. / Mid City Uniform Cap Company - Founded in 1925 by Harry Lev this hat manufacturer made hats for the U.S. army and general consumers through the 1950s.
D.B. Fisk & Company- Founded in 1853, this large wholesale millinery supply shop was also a retailer of Fiskhats and the publisher of The Monitor of Fashion for the Millinery Trade.
Hart, Schaffner & Marx - Menswear manufacturers active from 1887 to the present.
I. Magnin - Department store with a Chicago location active from the 1970s through the 1990s.
The Langendorf Clothing Company - Clothing manufacturers who were active from 1919 through 1929.
Mandel Bros. - Leading Chicago department store that was open from 1855 through the 1970s.
Marshall Field & Company (Also known as P. Palmer & Company, Field, Leiter & Co., and Marshall Field's ) - One of the largest names in the department store business, it was headquartered in Chicago from 1852-2006.
Montgomery Ward (Also known as Montgomery Ward & Co) - Popularizers of the mail-order catalog, this Chicago retailer also had many department store branches and was headquartered in Chicago from 1872-2001.
N.H. Rosenthal Furs - Fur retailer active from the 1920s through the 1960s.
Sears, Roebuck & Company - This leading mail-order and brick-and-mortar retailer was based in Chicago from 1906-1993.
S.M. Greenman - Clothing manufacturer and retailer active in the 1890s-1910s.
Stanley Korshak - Known as one of the most fashionable and expensive clothing retailers in Chicago, it was open from 1909 to the 1980s.
Ultimo Boutique - High-end fashion retailer and importer open from 1969-2010.
Note: This is not a comprehensive list, but meant instead as suggested starting points.
For more general information on the clothing industry in Chicago see:
Chicago Fashion Coalition - A group run by fashion industry professionals in Chicago that operates a useful directory of Chicago fashion retail establishments, manufacturers, and other related services.
Chicago Fashion Incubator - A non-profit helping aspiring local fashion designers build skills they need to compete in the global fashion industry.
Chicago Haute Couture Club - Founded in 1962 by Chicago's first woman tailor Helen Barker, this club of approximately 160 individuals hosts an annual fashion show and various opportunities related to learning how to sew and design clothing.
Chicago Historical Costume Society - Founded in 2021, this inclusive social group celebrates sewing, wearing, and learning about clothing from a wide variety of time periods and cultures.
Moda Magazine - A fashion magazine published by students at the University of Chicago.
RUNWAY LATINx (RLx) - An annual event featuring top Latinx designers in Chicago that raises funds for internship scholarships presented to Latinas and other BIPOC women.
Bill Cunningham - Fashion photographer, who initially worked as a fashion reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
Charles James - Famed couture designer who got his start making hats in Chicago in the early 1920s.
Eleanor Nangle - Fashion journalist for the Chicago Tribune from 1926-1971.
Emilio Pucci for Formfit Rogers - Designer Emilio Pucci created a series of prints for Chicago-based lingerie company Formfit Rogers in the 1950s and 1960s.
Lucile Ltd. - One of the first designers to use live catwalk shows to display her creations, Lady Duff Gordon's label Lucile Ltd. had a Rose Room showroom in Chicago from 1915 through the early 1920s.
Kathleen Catlin - A fashion industry leader and longtime Fashion Director at Marshall Fields.
