CHICAGO FASHION VANGUARD TEAM
Born and raised in Chicago, Dave Jeff is a pioneer and influencer in the Chicago urban retail industry. Founding Chicago's first Black-owned sneaker boutique has led over the years to multiple sneaker collaborations amongst 3 major footwear brands.
For over a decade PHLI has provided urban tastemakers with unique limited edition, private label apparel as well as rare and exclusive sneakers.
This has made Dave Jeff and the PHLI apparel line a part of Chicago’s cultural fabric expanding far past fashion and retail - evolving into a staple in community building and brand strategy consulting. This has led to helping open other lifestyle ventures ranging from restaurants and night clubs to assisting urban store chains with local market knowledge and hosting community events such as health fairs and youth forums.
Ian is a leader in arts & entertainment experiences, marketing, brand partnerships, and community building.
He co-founded The Curio and Chicago Fashion Week. He currently runs The Curio with Maggie Gillette, which has produced 25+ fashion events in its effort to unite the Chicago fashion community, showcase its best talent, and raise the profile for Chicago fashion.
Prior to that he founded and helmed Gen Art, the industry game-changer for re-engineering the dynamic between consumers, experiences, and brands in the emerging fashion, indie film, and visual art realms. Gen Art produced over 1,000 events across its five base markets in partnership with many Fortune 500 companies during his 17 year tenure as CEO.
Gen Art Chicago championed the city’s talent and was tapped by the City of Chicago to serve as an anchor partner of Chicago Fashion Focus Week, which it producing 1,000 person runway shows in Millennium Park during its first 5 years.
Maggie began her career teaching in the Chicago public school system. She then pivoted to fashion, moving to NYC for a decade to launch a successful intimates brand. Maggie then gained extensive organizational leadership experience when she launched and ran the most prominent independent intimates trade show for the four years leading up to the pandemic.
At such time she returned to her hometown of Chicago and shortly thereafter joined The Curio in May of 2022 become a principal of the company along with Ian. Her experiences as a designer and trade show owner perfectly complement Ian's event-showcasing experiences. In addition she co-founded Chicago Fashion Week with Ian, is a member of FGI Chicago, Costume Council, and AIBI, and when not juggling all of this, she is also a freelance fashion, beauty, and lifestyle writer.
With a decade-long career in advertising and marketing at prestigious publications, Christine's expertise in brand partnerships spans various industries, including fashion, beauty, tourism, and dining. However, her true calling emerged in 2018 when she launched her entrepreneurial venture, The Brown Girl Project, which launched BLK + BRWN Market, which more recently rebranded as Monte Vista.
Through this endeavor, Christine identified and addressed a market need, particularly within communities of color, fostering a movement to #gatheronpurpose. Their programming has included pop-up marketplaces, social networking events, and red carpet fashion experiences. Beyond her professional endeavors, she is a dedicated mother of three.