Art Chicago's Best Dressed

Factio Magazine launched two of the hottest art parties during Art Chicago on April 30th. Art collectors, enthusiasts and fashionistas began the night at the Chicago Creative Lounge sipping Hum & Bubbles and noshing on cheese and chocolate fondue from The Melting Pot and passed appetizers from LOKaL. Guests checked out art work (curated by fashion designer Agga B.) including Aga Podczaszy, Avisheh Mohsenin, Chadwick Anderson, Christine Sanderson, Conor Simpson, Jack Perno, Jolanta Niedziela, Jojo, Likalee, Marcos Raya, and Nestor Leivas. The lounge was transformed into a hip space with a 70s vibe with furniture vignettes from Lenny & Me and Persian rugs from Oscar Isberian, while fig media dj's played beats from the era. The band Streets on Fire performed to a packed crowd before guests headed out to the after party at Debonair Social Club. Once there, guests enjoyed three specialty tequila cocktails from Corzo like the Modern Margarita, Piñatinini, and Breeze, or on the rocks if that met their fancy (check out how to make them here)!

Curator/Fashion Designer Agga B. with Factio stylist Jesse Rodriguez

Luxe Links! Luxury Stories from Around the Web!

A skunk fur handbag? Did Fendi go too far? Luxist weighs in on the controversial skunk fur handbag

Luxury Launches suggests you wear an outstanding neck piece that moves to reveal the hidden treasure.

Factio Magazine could spend hours looking through hundreds of beautiful fashion illustrations by the talented young artist Danny Roberts and his blog Igor + André.

Millionaire property tycoon puts country estate on the market for £42m to fund divorce settlement -domesticblog is viewing a nice country place for the kids...

New York Fashion Week is almost here! Runway To Retail takes a sneak peek behind the world of fashion and checks out how BCBG Max Azria gets ready for their shows.

Luxury Links from Around the Web! Luxe Links...

Stripes Have A Checkered Past - From prison to the runway, Luxist looks at the history of wearing stripes

Factio Magazine Interviews Celebrity Hair Dresser John Nollet - In collaboration with hotel group Park Hyatt and Louis Vuitton, Nollet travels the world from hotel room to hotel suite giving hair advice and a cut and color to a lucky few (at $1,400 a session).

Soliloquy Super-Green Super-Yacht Is Obviously Super-Cool and Super-Expensive - domesticblog checks out the latest green design in luxury yachts

Runway To Retail explores how Prada will conquer yet another fashion capital with its new pop-up location in the City of Lights.

KristopherDukes is wanting, hating and loving the Oonagh O'Hagen Louis Vuitton Print Tote Bag

Luxe Links! Luxury Stories from Around the Web!

The History of America's Upper Class: A new book celebrates American high society from the Vanderbilts to Paris Hilton on Luxist

Kristopher Dukes is wanting, wearing, hating Black Halo Mini Dresses.

Factio Magazine attends Redmoon's gala Spectacle Lunatique and does a behind-the-scenes video!

Prada's Waist Down Exhibit Heads to Seoul, Korea launching at the Prada Transformer at the end of April at Runway to Retail!

Updated version of the classic grandmother cabinet , "Skyline" on MOMist

Stella McCartney's Lucky Spot Returns to Belsay Castle on Bloomacious

The ethics of cutting household help. So the lifestyle of the privileged also comes with some pitfalls...on domesticblog

Luxe Links! Luxury Stories from Around the Web!

Barbour Goes Britprep! Esteemed British clothing company J. Barbour & Sons has created a new "Britprep" collection which takes preppy to a new contemporary level.

A Few Facts About Leprechauns. What You Should Never Do If You Catch one!

Factio Magazine finds that platinum jewelry is "the new standard " to celebs like Amy Adams!

Is This James Bond's House? The Garage Alone Screams 007.

Shoes are always making statements and it’s no different for this season with boho-inspired sandals.

Luxe Links! Luxury Stories from Around the Web!

A supermodel for a super watch -Elle Macpherson helps launch Aspen watch brand! Luxist

Vacation in luxury in the Bahamas at the Marley Resort & Spa at Cable Beach in Nassau Factio Magazine

Barbie finally gets an anatomically correct boyfriend. Ahhhh, it's taken 50 years, but Barbie has finally landed a significant other with real working "parts". Bloomacious

Forget sweet, we want stylish dreams with the new luxury bedroom collection at IQMatics by Chimera Runway To Retail

6 tips to keep those pearly whites polished- celery and apples tooth whiteners? You bet! Bloomacious

The Designers of Macy's Show

Not even the pouring rain kept Chicago's fashionistas from attending the Fashion Focus Designers of Chicago Fashion Show on Tuesday, October 7. The grand finale for Chicago's week of fashion did not disappoint and included designers such as Horacio Nieto, Lara Miller, Tennille White, Yana, Kate Boggiano, Agga B., Evil Kitty, and many more.

The local Chicago designers debuted their Spring 2009 collections to a full house. Many of the designs displayed on the runway were very wearable and showed what we can look forward to seeing added to Macy's inventory.

Some of the highlights you can purchase at Macy's were rose twill jackets with a funky edge, bright silk dresses, ruffled tops, ethnic embroidery,'50s-inspired bikinis, embellished long-sleeved blouses, leather and cotton dresses, fun club attire, and mustard mini dresses and ball gown skirts.

Designers were not shying away from accessorizing their outfits. There was everything from draping necklaces and glittering brooches to bracelets, chandelier earrings, and even bedazzled sandals.

It was a perfect (and wet!) end to Chicago's Fashion Focus Week, leaving the crowd wanting more and looking forward to next year's shows.
-Katherine Mingey

photos by Alyssa Blanchard

Travel in Style with Factio's Newest Issue

Hey, all of you Factio Magazine readers! If you're in Chicago, make sure you pick up a copy of our summer issue! It's packed with style, travel, celeb scoops and the best fashion and art parties (Vogue, 86Collective, Jeff Koons) - everything you find in our websites basically, but in a large oversized, glossy format! Pick it up at high-end places like boutiques (all over Bucktown) or in the magazine boxes in The Loop and off of Michigan Avenue!

Here is a look at some of our favorite pages from this issue...
In Press Trip, we ask our friends in fashion media to tell us about their favorite vacations, and of course, what they packed! Our friends in this feature include, D. Graham Kostic and Amalie Drury from CS magazine, Stacey Roney of Glossed and Found, Kelly Ryan O'Brien and Susanna Homan from Michigan Avenue Magazine, Amy Tara Koch, a Chicago-based trend reporter, Beth Wilson of WWD and Elisabeth Fourmont from Chicago magazine and La Coquette. Not in Chicago, check out the online feature click here.
A special thanks to photographer Kristiina Wilson. We already received a shout out from Papierdoll mag, so thank you! Are you a fashion photographer and interested in working with us? E-mail marketing@factio-magazine.com, Photography in the subject!
Our travels took us to the ever-inspirational Las Alamandas resort in Mexico, at the helm of heiress Isabel Goldsmith-Patiño, who is also featured in the issue! Click here to watch our video on the gorgeous resort.
Find out what to wear, and where to wear it - London, the Greek Islands, Mexico City, Miami and Tokyo.

Beauty is global, we didn't have to tell you that, but we did find some amazing products from all over the world. Shea Terra Organics from Africa, Chidoriya from Japan, La Compagnie de Provence Marseille from France, Ortigia Sicilia from Italy and Summersent, from Evanston (Illinois)!
This page features refreshing designs: MCL Designs, Lana's Shooting Stars, Tanishq, Dana Rebecca Designs. Check it out online.
Factio Magazine produced its 2nd Annual After Art Party for the much-anticipated Artropolis/Art Chicago weekend, bringing on local celebrity hosts Ali Azhar and Kelly Edwards from "Design on a Dime." Sponsors included Artropolis/Art Chicago, The Peshtigo, Branmar Swiss Watches, Rubi Rey Rum, Summersent, IQMatics, Fig Media and Michelle Levelle Boutique.
You know we love our fashion parties, and in this issue there was a slew of them, including Nordstrom's Fall Fashion Preview, An Evening in Vogue, Lux5, Night of Stars, Michelle Levelle Launch Party, and the Gen Art Film Festival, where we re-cap the 5 looks of the Gen Art gals.

A special thanks to our sponsors and advertisers for spring and summer, for without them, we wouldn't be possible. Thank you so much for partnering with us to launch and feature your products. Take a moment to check them out!

Michelle Levelle Boutique
IQMatics
Summersent
The Illinois Institute of Art
W Hotels
James De Colon
En-Vent
Heike Jarick
Rubi Rey Rum
86Collective
Ideeli
The Peshtigo
Art Chicago/Artropolis
Branmar Swiss Watches
Dismero
Gamma Player

Interested in advertising or sponsoring one of our events? We have multi-media opportunities in print, web, e-mail marketing and events. Contact kerchh@factio-magazine.com.