Jessica Graham, 36, is a sales rep for Maharam, a textile company with offices in the Merchandise Mart. She makes clothes for herself and occasionally other people.
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Jessica Graham: I did a selection for a fashion show just for fun that was auctioned off. But normally I don’t work with our fabrics because it’s really hard to work with interior fabrics–they’re really thick. I go on eBay a lot; I also have favorite places around the city, thrift stores. I have a bunch of skirts out of vintage tablecloths. This skirt–I think it was drapery fabric I found on eBay. Underneath it’s a big poufy slip from a wedding dress. The T-shirt I cut up and then I attached some ruched fabric. Everything except for the shoes is salvaged.
JG: I like to layer things a lot. I like the idea of having different dimensions–mixing two patterns together, one sheer and one that’s not. I love little belty things, collars. I’m working on a jacket that has a built-in pouch for your keys, your ID, money.
