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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF SCIORINO Superlatives VIEW FROM THE TOP gillion carrara EXTRAORDINAIRE. BY MOLLY EACH C A PASSION FOR FASHION DRIVES THIS DESIGN SCHOLAR hicago's most impressive fashion collec- tion isn't on display at one of our grand cultural institutions. Rather, away on the seventh floor of it's tucked the unassuming building at 36 South Wabash. Helmed by profes- sor Gillion Carrara, the School of the Art Institute's Fashion Resource Center—which celebrates its 25th anniversary this month—is a collection of thousands of books, magazines, videos, fabric, and garments that offer an encyclopedic look at every aspect of fashion, from inspiration to presen- tation and every stitch in between. "I wanted to create not a museum, not a library, but a resource center, where students could under- stand the existence of a garment that defines you, that you move in, pose in," says Carrara of the proj- ect, which first began in a small closet. A quarter-century later, Carrara, with the help of colleague Caroline Bellios, has grown the Fashion Resource Center into a two-room facility where SAIC students from any discipline can drop by at continued on page 64 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 63 Professor Gillion Carrara oversees the encyclopedic collection at the School of Art Institute's Fashion Resource Center. PEOPLE, CULTURE, STYLE