Best Fashion Boutique Expansion

Notre With its understated aesthetic and low-key sales approach, the West Loop boutique has been a go-to for Chicago guys and visiting music industry celebs (Adam Levine, Travis Scott) since 2019. Now it’s embarking on a new era by introducing womenswear. Plenty of it. “We had a lot of guys that would come in with … Read more

Best R&B Opus

Tink’s Thanks 4 Nothing Tink is the prevailing mistress of Chicago R&B, a 28-year-old soprano whose Aaliyah-like head voice you could reasonably call angelic. Over the course of four albums and many online-only mixtapes, she has perfected a delicate balancing act: cherubic sweetness intermixed with saucy chutzpah. After she signed with megaproducer Timbaland’s Mosley Music … Read more

Best New Spot for Vinyl Browsing

Miyagi Records The Japanese surname Miyagi translates to “shrine fortress,” and that’s how co-owners Nigel Ridgeway and Marco Jacobo see their new record shop, which began as an online-only store in 2019 but opened a brick-and-mortar location in April: a place to both honor and protect the music they love, some of it made not … Read more

Best Incorporation of Mexican Heritage Into Fashion Design

Ciprianamía  Nelissa Carrillo has designed Nike sneakers for Serena Williams, and she once had her own genderless streetwear brand. But it wasn’t until 2021 that she looked to her cultural roots for inspiration, employing fabrics and sewing techniques representative of her Mexican heritage. The new brand, Ciprianamía, launched quietly, but this year the Chicago native … Read more