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Production Mode Feature in NS Modern Luxury


Production Mode in the April issue of NS Modern Luxury, featuring our 100% wool felt top and vegetable tanned leather skirt. Full article on our upcoming trunk show at Exhibit Wilmette can be found here.
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Production Mode Voted “Best Local Line” in Make it Better Magazine

Thank you to Make it Better magazine for naming us “Best Local Line” in their Green issue. Read the full article here …
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Chicago Woman Magazine Names Jamie Hayes one of Chicago’s 20 Women at the Top of Their Game
Thanks to Chicago Woman Magazine for including me in their list of 20 women in Chicago on the top of their game. It’s an honor and it’s motivating to receive this recognition! The truth is, for many of us to be on our A game as we start businesses and work multiple jobs to make ends meet, other areas of our lives sometimes go to B game. Thanks to my friends, family, clients, and collaborators who have been patient with me and supported me through this period of sleep deprivation and intense focus on work. It’s a true privilege to love one’s work—I am grateful! 📷 by Art & Science Salon. Hair by the amazing Tara Hulka at Art & Science. I am wearing Production Mode:)
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Production Mode Spring News & Events
Join us, March 14–18, for The Fair, a curated, shopable exhibit at the Evanston Art Center of some of our favorite Chicago designers.
THE FAIR HOURS: THU/FRI 11am-6pm, SAT/SUN 11–3pm
The Fair brings together independent fashion designers artisans and collectives to present their current spring/summer collections in a unique sales event benefitting the Evanston Art Center. As a part of the ongoing SHAPE OF NOW fashion residency series curated by Katrin Schnabl, the public will have the opportunity to shop a curated selection of fashion, accessories and objects created by the participating designers and guest artists at THE FAIR, a unique art-meets-fashion pop-up showroom at the Evanston Art Center.
Each collection offers a unique and refined point-of-view, with garments and items that are carefully crafted in small series. Whether the focus is on accessibility and collaboration through fashion as championed by the bright and playful, yet serious work of Radical Visibility Collective, sustainability and ethical manufacturing practices via ‘slow fashion’ as in Jamie Hayes’ Production Mode, technological innovation seen in Anke Loh’s knitwear, or on elevating the sensual materiality of garments and objects through artisanal attention, such as Gillion Carrara’s jewelry as well as Andrea Reynders’ and Anna Brown’s collections, new design forms are articulated through these careful considerations. By doing so, designers open up new ways of collaboration and collective engagement, and create fashion as an opportunity to participate and express our identity by connection to what is important to us.
Featured Designers include:
SHAPE OF NOW RESIDENTS
+Abigail Glaum-Lathbury
+Alex Ulichny
+Ayrun Dismuke of Misanthrope:
+Katrin Schnabl
+Kristin Mariani
+Radical Visibility Collective
INVITED (GUEST) DESIGNERS
+Andrea Reynders
+Anke Loh
+Anna Brown
+Department of Curiosities
+Gerry Quinton
+Gillion Carrara
+Jack Cave
+Production Mode
The Fair will be on display in our First Floor Gallery from March 14 — 18, 2018.
THE FAIR HOURS:
Thursday, March 15: 11am — 6pm
Friday, March 16: 11am — 6pm
Saturday, March 17: 11am — 3pm
Sunday, March 18: 11am — 3pm
RELATED EVENTS:
Designer Panel Discussion: Saturday, March 17 at 1PM
This panel discussion will offer a window into the creative practices of our designers, who will be on hand to introduce their work and to share insights into their processes and stories.
LEARN MORE HERE: https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/fair |
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Trunk Show 4/19 at Exhibit Wilmette
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Join us on the evening of Thursday, April 19th, 5–8 pm at our newest stockist, Exhibit Wilmette. I love Exhibit’s mix of structural independent fashion. Owner Mari-Rose McManus takes the time to research each brand and designer, and makes sure to source from designers who produce in their country of origin. I will be bringing the entire Production Mode line, please join us for an evening of slow fashion. |
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Jumpsuit by Meg, who will be popping up in our studio May 17–20 |
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Save the date for May 17–20, when we host New York-based designer Meg at our storefront studio, Department of Curiosities. Meg will be bringing their Spring/Summer 2018 collection of dreamy oversized jumpsuits, custom prints, separates and swimwear to Chicago for an exclusive sale in our shop. Stay tuned for more details … |
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I am excited to announce that I have been awarded a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events to produce a NEW Production Mode collection. The collection is called “REPEAT/EVOLUTION”, and will build on the work we created with The Weaving Mill for our recent MOVE/REPEAT collection. We are thrilled to be able to revisit and evolve the concepts we created with our various collaborators. There are always ideas, silhouettes, presentations, colors, and textures that we dream of creating, and now we can. More to come soon … |
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Production Mode Press: Chicago Reader Cover + Interview

In the December 6 issue of the Chicago Reader, Production Mode designer Jamie Hayes was interviewed as part of a story on fashion, gender, identity, and politics and the PM collection is featured on the cover and throughout. View the full story here!

Photography, illustrations and collages by Petya Shalamanova. HMU by Andrea Samuels, Styling by Matthew Ancer, Models are Caitlin, Mana, and Cam from Ford.
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Production Mode Press: Paper Magazine

Production Mode felt skirt featured on Papermagazine.com.
Photo by Diego Campos
Styling by Kit This with assistance from Tanner C. Branson.
Hair by Randy Wilder at 10 Mgmt
Makeup by Andrea Samuels at Factor
Manicure by Ashley Crowe
Prop Styling by Kelly McKaig
Clothing Credits:
Left to Right: Cortazia, Grace, Erica
Grace wears Alex Carter coat, at Sir & Madame. Alice and Olivia blouse, at Nordstrom. Cities in Dust double disc earrings. Manolo Blahnik.
Cortazia wears Odeeh blouse, at Chalk Evanston. Roland Mouret pants, at Chalk Glencoe. Balenciaga belt, at Blake. A Détacher slides, at Robin Richman.
Erica wears Carven sweater, at Chalk Evanston. Production Mode skirt. Manolo Blahnik shoes.
http://www.papermag.com/hotline-bling-2509133514.html
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Art Institute: PM Designer Jamie Hayes Leads Roundtable Discussion
This fall the Art Institute invited me to activate the exhibit Revoliutsiia! Demonstratsiia! Soviet Art Put to the Test. As part of the exhibit, curators asked different artists to host an event within the Workers Club, a reconstruction of Aleksandr Rodchenko’s 1925 design, Workers Clubs were spaces for leisure and education for workers and their families located within Soviet factories.

I gathered ten activist/artists to discuss the question: What is the role of the artist/activist in dark political times?” Our group spent the morning discussing our own experiences with art and social justice, and the intersection of the two.
We talked about the fallacy of thinking of time and evolution as linear, and also the hubris that artists alone can reinvent society. We also talked about the importance of continuing to make art, political or otherwise, as the act of creating keeps us vibrant and helps us to dream of a better, more just and loving future.
The exhibit explores the role of artists in building society during the time period immediately following the Soviet Revolution, and incredibly rich period of art history. This period of Russian Constructivism is especially influential to my work, not only aesthetically, but also in terms of the way that Constructivist artists considered the whole cycle of production.



Graphic designs in the exhibition
Artists like Stepanova and Popova understood the importance of clothing design, and considered the design of the 2-D print in relation to the cut of the clothing to produce 3-dimensional shapes on the body. They designed so as to waste as little cloth as possible, working directly with textile mills to integrate the surface pattern design with the patterns used to cut the cloth.

Textile by Popova

Textile by Stepanova
They also understood fashion’s role in creating identity within society. In fact, already in the early 1920s, they were using design to question and subvert gender and class roles.

Designs by Varvara Stepanova
It was a time when the “lesser arts” like clothing and textile design were considered to be of the utmost importance because of their prevalence throughout society and due to the intense amount of human and natural resources required to produce clothing. In addition, gender equity was a pillar of the revolution, so traditionally “feminine” arts like clothing design, as well as female artists like Stepanova and Popova, were well respected at the time. 
The exhibit runs through January 15, 2018.
Thank you to Annemarie Strassel, Abigail Glaum-Lathbury, Ayesha Jaco, Damon Locks, Hoda Katebi, Charlie Vinz, Eve Fineman, Megha Ralapati, & Terri Kapsalis for joining me in the discussion.
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MOVE/REPEAT Collection Launch & Studio Open House
Photo by Sara Pooley of Emma Collins (L) in a Production Mode drop crotch jumpsuit & Linda Pulik ® in the maxi tunic at our collection debut performance |
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We invite you to the launch of our new collection, MOVE/REPEAT, at our production space/showroom, Department of Curiosities. The collection will be available for purchase at special preview prices as a thank you to early supporters.
The collection features textiles designed and woven in Chicago by our neighbors, The Weaving Mill. We spent over a year developing the textiles, a felted merino wool/cotton blend, in collaboration with Mexico City-based artist Nuria Montiel. The resulting weavings inspired by her drawings and art practice.
We then developed a collection of wrapped and draped capes, tunics, hoods, and oversized coats that cocoon and cloak the wearer. All items are designed, cut, and sewn in our Logan Square studio following a slow fashion model of ethical production.
In July we debuted the work on dancers in a piece choreographed by Anna Martine Whitehead, with music by Damon Locks, and set pieces by Nuria Montiel at the Hyde Park Art Center.
We now are coming full circle to present the work in our workshop, an intimate setting where pieces can be tried on and fitted at your leisure.
Also on view will be the first Production Mode Collection, the full Department of Curiosities collection, and Morua corsetry and couture, all made in the Department of Curiosities space.
Join us as we celebrate the launch of our new collection!
Details:
Collection Launch/Studio Open House
Saturday, August 19th, 2–8 pm
Department of Curiosities
3013 W. Armitage Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647 |
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Production Mode warp getting ready to be put on the loom at the Weaving Mill. Photo still from the film “Floorplan” by Julia Dratel. |
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Martine Whitehead (L) & Keyierra Collins ® wrapped in the “sketch” blanket created by the Weaving Mill to finalize textile designs on the loom. Photo by Sara Pooley from the MOVE/REPEAT performance.
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Photo by Sara Pooley of Keyierra Collins, Petty Crocker/Itunu Ebijimi, PM designer Jamie Hayes, & Martine Whitehead, and perhaps others in the knot … 🙂 |
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Production Mode MOVE/REPEAT Collection Debut on 7/7!
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PM Designer Jamie Hayes Voted “Best Local Designer” in Chicago Reader Poll
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