Photography by Marten Moreno and Yashur Garrett

Chicago has always understood drama. But on this particular evening in Andersonville, inside the intimate, electric walls of Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, drama didn’t simply unfold — it seduced.

Carmilla was not a runway show. It was not a play. It was not even a fashion spectacle in the traditional sense. Under the creative direction of Fashion Foundry and brought to life by Peach Palace, it was something far more intoxicating: an embellished fever dream of lust, dark romance, and whispered desire.

Romantic. Whimsical. But make it dangerous.

From the first look, the tone was clear — this was a story about hunger. Not the pedestrian kind. The kind that lingers. The kind that reveries you beautifully.

The staging blurred the line between spectator and participant. Models did not walk; they lingered. They prowled. They collapsed into embraces and broke apart again. Lighting carved cheekbones into chiaroscuro sculpture. Lace caught the light like secrets. Leather gleamed like intention.

The Designers: A Study in Seduction

Three design houses shaped the narrative arc of the evening:

Risque Business Chicago delivered structured provocation — corsetry reimagined with architectural precision. Their silhouettes spoke in sharp lines and whispered threats. A crimson-laced bodice paired with flowing black chiffon was less garment, more promise.

The Beaded Siren understood ornament as language. Beading cascaded like tears. Pearlescent embellishments shimmered under stage light, transforming movement into something aquatic and hypnotic. One ivory gown, dripping in crystal constellations, felt as though it had been dredged from a haunted lagoon.

Heidi’s Leather and Lace embraced tension — supple leather harnesses against delicate lace panels. There was something thrilling about the contradiction. Softness constrained. Power adorned. Romance weaponized.

And then there was the artwork — visceral, feminine, defiant — by Final Girl Outlet, punctuating the production with visual exclamation points. It grounded the fantasy in something contemporary and self-aware. A reminder that this wasn’t nostalgia. It was reclamation.

The Mood: Gothic, But Make It Modern

The genius of Carmilla lies in its refusal to be costume. Yes, there were references — the gothic heroine, the vampiric seductress, the trembling ingénue — but this was no period piece. It was modern hunger wrapped in romantic excess.

The embellishment was unapologetic. Sequins, beadwork, lace appliqué — nothing minimalist here. And yet, it never tipped into parody. The whimsy was deliberate. The romance, controlled. The darkness? Delicious.

Fashion Foundry’s vision stitched the entire production together with theatrical coherence. Each designer’s aesthetic felt distinct yet narratively entwined — like three lovers orbiting the same dangerous flame.

The Verdict

Carmilla proves that Chicago’s fashion scene doesn’t need permission to be grand. It doesn’t need Parisian approval or New York validation. It has theater in its bones and seduction in its bloodstream.

Ariana, Live from the Runway: Lace, Longing, a Cadence to the Theater of Desire

Chicago has always understood drama. But on this particular evening in Andersonville, inside the intimate, electric walls of Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, drama didn’t simply unfold — it seduced.

Romantic. Whimsical. But make it dangerous.

From the first look, the tone was clear — this was a story about hunger. Not the pedestrian kind. The kind that lingers. The kind that reveries you beautifully.

The staging blurred the line between spectator and participant. Models did not walk; they lingered. They prowled. They collapsed into embraces and broke apart again. Lighting carved cheekbones into chiaroscuro sculpture. Lace caught the light like secrets. Leather gleamed like intention.

The Designers: A Study in Seduction

Three design houses shaped the narrative arc of the evening:

Risque Business Chicago delivered structured provocation — corsetry reimagined with architectural precision. Their silhouettes spoke in sharp lines and whispered threats. A crimson-laced bodice paired with flowing black chiffon was less garment, more promise.

Heidi’s Leather and Lace embraced tension — supple leather harnesses against delicate lace panels. There was something thrilling about the contradiction. Softness constrained. Power adorned. Romance weaponized.

And then there was the artwork — visceral, feminine, defiant — by Final Girl Outlet, punctuating the production with visual exclamation points. It grounded the fantasy in something contemporary and self-aware. A reminder that this wasn’t nostalgia. It was reclamation.

The Mood: Gothic, But Make It Modern

The genius of Carmilla lies in its refusal to be costume. Yes, there were references — the gothic heroine, the vampiric seductress, the trembling ingénue — but this was no period piece. It was modern hunger wrapped in romantic excess.

The embellishment was unapologetic. Sequins, beadwork, lace appliqué — nothing minimalist here. And yet, it never tipped into parody. The whimsy was deliberate. The romance, controlled. The darkness? Delicious.

Fashion Foundry’s vision stitched the entire production together with theatrical coherence. Each designer’s aesthetic felt distinct yet narratively entwined — like three lovers orbiting the same dangerous flame.

The Verdict

Carmilla proves that Chicago’s fashion scene doesn’t need permission to be grand. It doesn’t need Parisian approval or New York validation. It has theater in its bones and seduction in its bloodstream.

At a time when so much fashion feels algorithmically safe, this production chose emotion. It chose story. It chose desire.

And that, darling readers, is always in style.

Ariana, Live From The Runway

Ariana, Live from the Runway: Lace, Longing, a Cadence to the Theater of Desire

Chicago has always understood drama. But on this particular evening in Andersonville, inside the intimate, electric walls of Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, drama didn’t simply unfold — it seduced.

Romantic. Whimsical. But make it dangerous.

From the first look, the tone was clear — this was a story about hunger. Not the pedestrian kind. The kind that lingers. The kind that reveries you beautifully.

The staging blurred the line between spectator and participant. Models did not walk; they lingered. They prowled. They collapsed into embraces and broke apart again. Lighting carved cheekbones into chiaroscuro sculpture. Lace caught the light like secrets. Leather gleamed like intention.

The Designers: A Study in Seduction

Three design houses shaped the narrative arc of the evening:

Risque Business Chicago delivered structured provocation — corsetry reimagined with architectural precision. Their silhouettes spoke in sharp lines and whispered threats. A crimson-laced bodice paired with flowing black chiffon was less garment, more promise.

Heidi’s Leather and Lace embraced tension — supple leather harnesses against delicate lace panels. There was something thrilling about the contradiction. Softness constrained. Power adorned. Romance weaponized.

And then there was the artwork — visceral, feminine, defiant — by Final Girl Outlet, punctuating the production with visual exclamation points. It grounded the fantasy in something contemporary and self-aware. A reminder that this wasn’t nostalgia. It was reclamation.

The Mood: Gothic, But Make It Modern

The genius of *Carmilla* lies in its refusal to be costume. Yes, there were references — the gothic heroine, the vampiric seductress, the trembling ingénue — but this was no period piece. It was modern hunger wrapped in romantic excess.

The embellishment was unapologetic. Sequins, beadwork, lace appliqué — nothing minimalist here. And yet, it never tipped into parody. The whimsy was deliberate. The romance, controlled. The darkness? Delicious.

Fashion Foundry’s vision stitched the entire production together with theatrical coherence. Each designer’s aesthetic felt distinct yet narratively entwined — like three lovers orbiting the same dangerous flame.

The Verdict

Carmilla proves that Chicago’s fashion scene doesn’t need permission to be grand. It doesn’t need Parisian approval or New York validation. It has theater in its bones and seduction in its bloodstream.

At a time when so much fashion feels algorithmically safe, this production chose emotion. It chose story. It chose desire.

And that, darling readers, is always in style.

Ariana, Live from the Runway: The MOS Brand Fashion Show @WNDR

Ariana, Live From The Runway

The genius of Carmilla lies in its refusal to be costume. Yes, there were references — the gothic heroine, the vampiric seductress, the trembling ingénue — but this was no period piece. It was modern hunger wrapped in romantic excess.