Jessica Herman

Karolina Zmarlak got quite a graduation gift this year.

The Fashion Institute of Technology student was anointed the eveningwear category winner in this weekend's Gen Art Styles '05 fashion show shortly after completing her associates degree.

"This has basically fast-forwarded my whole design career times twenty," says Zmarlak, gushing over being written up in New York City's "end-all, be-all of fashion," Women's Wear Daily.

A few months ago, Zmarlak submitted two looks she created for her thesis to the competition on a whim. She received the good news a few months later, joining five other up-and-coming designers in Gen Art's first Styles '05 fashion show.

Zmarlak's whim went from big win to short-term whirlwind. The Polish-born, Chicago-bred designer had three weeks, $5,000 and a staff of seamstresses to help her to create eight looks for the showcase, which is aptly hosted by Jay McCarroll, the winner of Bravo's Project Runway.

Zmarlak cites her influences as nineteenth-century architecture, modern art and couture designers such as Victor & Rolf, Oscar de la Renta, and Carolina Herrera, with whom she completed a one-year internship. The 22-year-old designer describes her own look as "very structured, tailored clothing, with a lot of voluminous detail."

"I love the fifties silhouette where women had tiny waists, with full hips and breasts," she says. "It's just like architecture. I think that a piece of clothing should be put on any woman and you can create a shape no matter how her body is."

Does Zmarlak see Chicago in her future? Not quite, although she believes her look will appeal to Chicago's fashion-forward shoppers. She ultimately hopes to spearhead a luxury line, so the city's lack of a garment district, where she could browse through everything from French lace to Italian textiles, makes it a difficult home base. For now, she's focused on finishing up her bachelor's degree.

Styles '05 kicked off two weeks ago in Miami and lands at Chicago's Hard Drive at the Hyatt Regency, 151 East Wacker, (312)229-1701 on July 28.

(2005-07-26)

Also by Jessica Herman

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