Apparel Industry & Chicago Fashion Week with Ambar Campos
Written by Hana Razvi
On October 1st, 2024, members of the Vault had the pleasure of listening to the Executive Director at Apparel Industry Board Inc. in Illinois, Ambar Campos. Ambar graduated with a degree in Fashion and Apparel Design from The Art Institutes in Atlanta, Georgia in 2010. As a veteran of the Chicago fashion scene, Ambar discussed her leadership experiences at AIBI ranging from internships to assisting administrative fashion events and project management up to her position as Executive Director. Her passion for AIBI shines through her explanations of how far the company has come since she first joined back in May of 2007. Ambar has worked in multiple different sectors of the company including; garment construction, machine operation, grant writing and most recently, event planning. These experiences have strengthened her leadership abilities and gave her firsthand knowledge of the many facets of the fashion industry.
Apparel Industry Board Inc. is an organization based in Chicago that primarily focuses on supporting small designers. They have created multiple programs that enhance designer’s products and improve their chances to find substantial business. Since 1978, AIBI has aided in establishing over 300 apparel and sewn product companies in the Greater Chicago area. In 2013, AIBI began witnessing a lot of growth in smaller manufacturing production that allowed their designers to create 50-100 piece minimums in comparison to 250-300 pieces, as that was unattainable for direct to consumer creators. Furthermore, they created a wonderful shared sewing and coworking space called “The Fashion Lab” in July of 2020. It serves as a place for fashion students, designers or employees in general that don’t have access to machinery in order to craft their work.
“For a show, they’re maybe making 100 pieces at most. As opposed to wholesale, which needs to account for re-orders and the possibility of sold out items.” - Ambar Campos
Ambar further explained in great detail the history behind Chicago Fashion Week and how it has evolved post-Covid. Established in 2004 and known as Fashion Focus, Chicago Fashion Week was approved by Mayor Richard Daley initially as a gateway to impress the Board of Directors of The World Olympics. During the first few years since its inception, Fashion Focus in Chicago generated a good amount of buzz and became a great space for up and coming designers and small business owners in the fashion and retail industry to generate consumers. Ambar also produced an event known as “Chicago is Red Hot”, which she claimed was her favorite fashion week experience. However, in 2008 when it became apparent that Chicago was not going to be chosen as the next host of the Olympics, funding began falling short. Unfortunately, it was eliminated by 2015. During the pandemic, Chicago Fashion Week was revived by co-founder of the fashion events organization, The Curio, Ian Gerard.
“This all came together as a grassroots – from the ground up.” – Ambar Campos
The fashion and apparel industry in Chicago is incredibly fortunate to have such a talented and passionate asset in Ambar. Her hard work and dedication speaks for itself through her work with the Apparel Board Industry Inc. over nearly two decades. The Vault wishes Ambar the best of luck during this year’s Chicago Fashion Week.
Chicago Fashion Week is being held on October 9th, 2024 through October 20th, 2024.
After approaching the city and asking for proper recognition, Chicago Fashion Week was relaunched. This year, there are approximately 50 events lined up. They range from educational panels to runway shows to retail stores and installations. A unique aspect of Chicago Fashion Week’s events is that they are all open to the public. Anyone is welcome to attend a fashion show or purchase a ticket to a pop-up shop. AIBI is hosting around four to six events during this year’s fashion week, including an exclusive hand embroidery workshop that focuses on ancient Mayan techniques in conjunction with the Museum of Mexican Art.
