Five years ago, Reggie Valdezco was studying pre-med at DePaul University. Although he wasn’t happy, his future seemed promising. After realizing he needed to do something else with his life, he transferred to Columbia, where his life was about to take a big twist.

On Oct. 3, Valdezco will be one of 15 students to showcase his work during Dress Code: Chicago Fashion Design School’s Show, a runway show featuring garments made by students from Columbia, the International Academy of Design & Technology Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

After countless hours of designing and preparation, they will have a couple of minutes to show what their fashion designs are all about and prove that they belong in the fashion world.

Dress Code is part of the weeklong fashion event known as Fashion Focus Chicago. It is the fourth time the city will host the event. The week will feature showcases from top designers—Alice Berry, Kent Nielsen and Michelle Tan—student designer events, runway shows in Millennium Park, fashion installations, shopping events and industry seminars that begin on Oct. 1 and will run

through Oct. 8.

“I feel like this is my big break,” Valdezco said. “Getting the news to participate in Fashion Focus was a reassurance that I’m doing something that is right and I’m finally following the right path to my future.”

When Valdezco first arrived at Columbia four years ago, he was clueless about how to hold a sewing needle the right way and making garments from scratch. On top of his lack of experience, Valdezco also struggled to prove to his family he was serious about the new changes his life was about to take.

“Coming to Columbia opened my eyes to endless possibilities,” he said. “It was my personal choice to transfer, and now I’m really glad I did.”

Lynda Roddy, a fashion studio teacher at Columbia, is one of Valdezco’s professors. She was there teaching him how to sew when he started and now she’s helping him select the pieces for the runway show. After attending monthly city meetings with other participating schools,  Roddy keeps the students updated on any changes.

“This is the first year that [runway shows] have been in the tents at Millenium Park,” she said. “We are the only city in the country that gives students this kind of venue to show their work.”

The other four Columbia students participating in the runway show are Elizabeth Klimek, Jen Beeman, Amy Fenderson and Yuka Takeda—all senior fashion design majors.

Each of the five designers select three items to show on the runway. The full-time faculty can either agree with their selection or suggest another piece. Valdezco’s pieces are focused on women’s wear. He described his three pieces as “over-the-top” evening dresses.

One of his goals is to make sure women know they can wear his creations however, whenever, with whatever they want. He refers to his pieces as having a hyper–feminine edge to them, meaning that the designs he uses are over-the-top and simple at the same time.

“Introducing feminine colors would be overkill to the piece. Instead of using a color I will use a pattern to portray the delicate feeling that you get from a feminine woman,” he said about using black and white for all his pieces.

Like his designs, he likes to keep his supplies minimal, as well. He works out of a small box that contains his needles and threads while he’s at school. He would rather work alone and listen to Incubus on his iPod as he creates a piece because it’s more relaxing to him. He drowns himself in his work so much that he forgets to eat sometimes and forgets about his surroundings.

His love for design is reflected through his own accessories. He wears different pairs of reading glasses to match his outfits, owns a lot of rings and wears a long gold thin necklace strand with a shiny lock pendant hanging from it.

“The best way to describe my collection is flamboyantly feminine,” he said. “It’s a reflection of my personality and my taste in women’s clothing.”

The three aspects of design that he tends to follow and keep in mind while creating a new piece are simplicity, volume and versatility. One of his dresses for the runway show is a two-piece outfit that gives the effect of a full evening gown and plays with his love of femininity.

The solid black sleeveless, v-neck top is simple and the skirt hits at the knee with puffy ruffles lining the bottom. Like most of his pieces, this too can be made into different styles. The skirt portion can be worn as a top or across the shoulders.

“It’s all about getting lost within the fabric while still maintaining a feminine figure,” he said about this particular piece.

Valdezco draws most of his inspiration from his family. The strong women he grew up around —his mother, his aunts and cousins—and their styles contribute to a detail of a dress or a color of a certain piece.

“Everything I do has come from my mom,” he said. “After she passed away, I think it’s a shame that she can’t be here to see the fruits of her labor because she always defended everything I ever dreamed of doing.”

After his mother’s passing, Valdezco said his way of thinking changed. He now tries his best in everything he does and aims to be on top, because his mother always told him to be the best.

Valdezco’s pieces will also be showcased at Fashion Lab, an exhibition that will open during the week of Fashion Focus at the Tourism Center, 72 E. Randolph St. The event is a showcase of work from the same participating schools—Columbia, the International Academy of Design & Technology Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

At Fashion Lab, students will get to display at least three pieces and talk to the crowd after the show about their pieces on Oct. 4, where they will be selling their work as well.

Kate Carlson, a secretary at the AEMM department at Columbia, is helping organize Fashion Lab by working with the students and Roddy. She consults the students on their selective pieces and let’s them know what works and what doesn’t.

“Fashion Lab will be a bigger venue for the students to show off their collection without having to worry about the lack of space,” she said. “The show helps to represent and have a few more student projects in there so that more students are seen and are able to participate.”

Valdezco said he hopes to get 15 of his pieces into Fashion Lab, which has kept him busy. He goes to bed at 4 a.m. and is up the next day by 9 a.m. working on his pieces. His life has been dedicated to his sewing machine and fashion these past couple of weeks. He recently turned his living room into his studio, giving him more space to work in so he can somewhat avoid the commute to school.

Only days away from the big show, Valdezco is feeling the pressure and the excitement. Getting the dresses to fit his models can sometimes take as long as creating the piece. Everything narrows down to getting things perfect and tying together all the loose ends for the event.

Valdezco is not sure what’s next for him after Fashion Focus wraps. He only hopes that someone discovers him through all the exposure.

“Now I feel like I’m more than ready to jump into my senior thesis and create a collection that really reflects and glorifies my love for fashion,” he said. “I feel like it will make my up-and-coming senior collection even stronger than I ever imagined, and I found something that makes me happy.”

Tune in to WGN on Oct. 2 to watch as Valdezco represents Columbia during their coverage of Fashion

Focus Chicago. For more information on Chicago Fashion Focus, visit chicagoFashionResource.com/events.