Queer Couture Runway spotlights nine designers in Wicker Park

Nine designers brought their work to Public Works Gallery in Wicker Park on Oct. 15, 2026, for Queer Couture Runway, a sold-out Chicago Fashion Week event attended by more than 100 people. The presentation put independent Chicago designers and their explorations of gender and identity at the center of the runway.

Executive producer Madison Smith and artistic director Emry Yarger described it as the first Chicago Fashion Week event explicitly organized by queer creatives to emphasize queerness in design. Both recognized that LGBTQ+ artists have long contributed to the city’s fashion community. Their goal was to offer an open setting where emerging designers could experiment and share their ideas.

The participants brought different levels of experience, with some developing a collection for the first time. The lineup included In Between Branches, Daisy In Chains and Jaluda by Antonio Arcé. For local audiences, the show offered a chance to see a range of independent work together rather than a single designer’s approach to fashion.

Gregory Pagán-Hill, who works under the name Uncle Greg, drew on a lifelong connection to sewing. His mother’s enthusiasm for making quilts helped guide his own quilting practice. He described the collection-making process as an opportunity to expand his creativity beyond the practical sewing he had known since childhood. His runway presentation was titled “Go to Bed, Baby.”

Another participant, Frida Benitez, graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s fashion program and has spent about eight years sewing and screen printing. Their brand, Reina de Colores, combines influences from their Mexican heritage with androgynous and unisex clothing. Benitez saw the event as a way to introduce their work to a wider audience and become more involved in Chicago’s fashion community.

Other runway presentations included Jordan Chavez’s “Country Tease,” Max Davis’ “Fatherson,” Antonio Arcé’s “Perfect Stranger” and Lana Sternick’s “Equipose.” Benitez also presented designs for “Damxs Y Caballerxs.” Together, the collections reflected the variety of styles represented by the nine participating designers.

For Smith and Yarger, the gathering was also about recognizing the cultural contributions of queer and trans creatives, including Black and Brown artists. By giving those designers a shared platform during Chicago Fashion Week, the Wicker Park event connected their work with an audience interested in the city’s independent fashion scene.