Building Chicago’s Fashion Infrastructure, One Designer at a Time

How Christina Schutz and The Fashion Foundry Consulting are helping emerging designers transform creativity into sustainable businesses while positioning Chicago as a global fashion destination.

For decades, conversations about American fashion have largely centered on cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Yet beyond the traditional fashion capitals, a new generation of designers is quietly building brands, cultivating communities, and redefining what fashion entrepreneurship looks like. In Chicago, one woman is working to ensure those designers have the resources they need not only to create—but to thrive.

Photo: Christina Scutz, founder of the Fashion Foundry Consulting.

For Christina Schutz, fashion has never been solely about garments. It has always been about storytelling, visibility, and building pathways for creative professionals to succeed. Through her company, The Fashion Foundry Consulting (FFC), Schutz is helping independent designers navigate the often-overlooked business side of fashion while advocating for greater recognition of Chicago’s growing creative economy.

From Journalism to Fashion Entrepreneurship

Schutz’s professional journey sits at the intersection of media, marketing, and fashion. After studying journalism at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she built an impressive editorial portfolio that included leadership positions with Her Campus Media, Style Magazine Today, and Forward Magazine for the Condé Nast College of Fashion. She later served as an Associate Editor for Behindthechair.com while simultaneously developing brand narratives for fashion and beauty companies as a freelance copywriter.

To strengthen her expertise, Schutz pursued multiple marketing certifications and completed a Business of Fashion certification through Parsons School of Design. Her work as a Social Media Strategist for luxury fashion label Corii Burns—an internationally recognized Paris-based brand featured in British Vogue—further expanded her understanding of luxury branding and consumer engagement.

Yet it was her hands-on experience within Chicago’s fashion community that ultimately inspired her next chapter.

Since 2022, Schutz has worked extensively behind the scenes as a stylist and creative collaborator on runway shows, editorial campaigns, e-commerce productions, and fashion events. Through partnerships with organizations such as The Curio Experience and FashionBar Chicago, she gained a front-row seat to both the promise and challenges facing emerging designers.

Photo: Courtesy of the Fashion Foundry Consulting

Identifying the Gap

What Schutz observed repeatedly was not a shortage of talent.

Instead, she encountered designers with exceptional technical skill and artistic vision who struggled with the infrastructure required to build sustainable businesses. Many needed support with website development, social media strategy, brand positioning, product placement, marketing, and customer acquisition.

“I realized there were many designers with the ability to create incredible products,” Schutz explained, “but not everyone had the business infrastructure or knew how to best promote their brand.”

Recognizing an opportunity to bridge that gap, she launched The Fashion Foundry Consulting on May 5, 2025. The company was designed as a comprehensive resource hub where designers could access both creative and business support under one roof.

A One-Stop Shop for Emerging Brands

Unlike traditional agencies that focus on a single service area, The Fashion Foundry Consulting takes a holistic approach to fashion business development.

The company offers services ranging from brand development, website design, social media strategy, and marketing campaigns to editorial features, manufacturing support, photoshoot production, event planning, and fashion show execution.

For emerging designers, this integrated model removes many of the barriers that often slow growth during the early stages of business development.

FFC also extends its support through an e-commerce platform that allows customers to shop independent designer collections directly. Through strategic partnerships—including opportunities with FashionBar Chicago at Water Tower Place—designers gain additional avenues for product visibility and retail exposure.

The result is a support system designed to help brands evolve from concept to collection, and from collection to commercialization.

Elevating Chicago’s Fashion Identity

While supporting individual businesses remains central to FFC’s mission, Schutz’s vision extends far beyond the success of any single designer.

She believes Chicago deserves greater recognition as a legitimate fashion hub.

Her involvement with the Runway7 New York Fashion Week core team has provided a unique perspective on how major fashion capitals cultivate visibility, attract investment, and create opportunities for local talent. Through that lens, she has become increasingly aware of how often Chicago’s designers and creative professionals are overlooked in national conversations.

Rather than accepting that reality, she is actively working to change it.

By creating opportunities for designers, facilitating collaborations, producing events, and highlighting local talent, Schutz hopes to contribute to a stronger fashion infrastructure that positions Chicago as a respected force within the global industry.

Early Momentum

In just over a year, The Fashion Foundry Consulting has already begun making its mark through a growing portfolio of projects and productions.

Among the company’s recent highlights are:

• The Exhibition Vol. 1 Fashion Show

• The Carmilla Fashion Show for Peach x Palace

• Backstage Production and Designer Interviews at Signature Moda

These initiatives represent more than events—they serve as platforms where emerging designers gain exposure, build community, and connect with potential customers and collaborators.

Creating Space for Diverse Creatives

Inclusivity remains a foundational principle of the organization.

Schutz emphasizes that The Fashion Foundry Consulting welcomes designers from all backgrounds, experience levels, and design categories—from streetwear and eveningwear to avant-garde fashion. The company also prioritizes creating supportive environments for models and creatives working within productions.

As a woman-led organization, FFC seeks to foster spaces where creative professionals feel respected, encouraged, and empowered to grow.

That commitment is particularly meaningful within a city as culturally rich and diverse as Chicago.

“Many of the designers I work with are people of color, and they are incredibly talented,” Schutz shared. “I hope women and people of color can see how these brands are growing and feel inspired to start their own fashion brand—or pursue whatever creative career they are interested in.”

The Future of Fashion, Built Locally

The fashion industry often celebrates the final product—the runway presentation, the collection launch, or the viral campaign. What is less visible is the infrastructure required to make those moments possible.

Through The Fashion Foundry Consulting, Christina Schutz is helping build that foundation.

Her work demonstrates that supporting creative entrepreneurs requires more than inspiration; it requires strategy, systems, education, and community. As Chicago’s fashion ecosystem continues to evolve, organizations like FFC are helping ensure that emerging designers have access to the resources needed to compete, grow, and be seen.

And in the process, they may help reshape how the world sees Chicago—not just as a city of architecture, food, and culture, but as a city of fashion.

🔗 Learn more about The Fashion Foundry Consulting: The Fashion Foundry Consulting