THE HERON POST presents THE ARTS

Oct 15, 2026 | Chicago

Union Station sees about 140,000 passengers on an average day. On October 15th, the Great Hall was set up for a runway instead.

The Chicago Fashion Showcase, produced by Minted Media Productions and led by founder and CEO Wendy Callupe, brought local designers, models, and artists to the station for a full day of shows and a pop-up market.

Our short documentary follows one of the models through the day, from the makeup chair to the runway.

Evelyn Sokol, a professional model and a proud mother of three, arrived early and spent several hours in hair and makeup.

Over the course of the day, she wore looks from several designers. Most notably, she wore Kim-Ly Hats, Smart Choice Suits, and CuteNick among many more.

Styled by Jazmine Castillo, Evelyn stood out in editorial photoshoots on location at Union Station for Chicago Fashion Showcase this year.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Showcase marked it with a segment called A Pink Moment for Chicago. A portion of ticket sales went to the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation, and designers created pink looks for the runway.

Chicago couture designer Stephane St. Jaymes, whose work was recently part of the Field Museum’s “Connecting Threads: Africa Fashion in Chicago,” debuted a custom pink ball gown made for the show.

Smart Choice Suits, Chicago’s largest independently owned menswear store, answered the theme with a custom pink suit, built to measure.

Allison Galvan, a 22-year-old recent graduate of Dominican University, received this year’s Emerging Visionary Designer Award. Her prize included mentorship and a runway show of her own, and she showed alongside established designers, including DoviArt Fashion, the Chicago brand founded by Lithuanian-born designer Dovilė Riebschlager, known for avant-garde, wearable art and for showing at New York and Los Angeles Fashion Weeks.

The Chicago Fashion Showcase will return to Union Station. Information on designers, vendors, and tickets is at chicagofashionshowcase.com, and the Showcase is on Instagram at @chicagofashionshowcase.

This film is an editorial work by The Heron Post, produced for non-commercial, non-profit use.