Akira's Spring Fashion show presented by Ford Models featuring the latest Spring looks from Seychelles, Chinese Laundry, Michael Antonio, Sebago, Lacoste Live, Ben Sherman, Hudson and AKIRA. Hosted by Julian On The Radio from B96 and Kelli Zink the host of
CelebTV.
Showcase Asian American Entrepreneurs in Chicago
(View full photo album of fashion show below)
The event was hosted by the Akira of Chicago. All three owners of Akira are Asian American - Eric Hsueh, Erikka Wang both are Chinese Americans, and John Cotay, Filipino American.
Over the past 7 years, AKIRA has taken Chicago fashion to a new level. Beginning with a single store in the Wicker Park/Bucktown area in 2002, it has since expanded to six retail locations in the trendiest neighborhoods of Chicago with additional locations at Northbrook Mall, AKIRA Men’s in Lincoln Park and the opening of AKIRA Shoes this week in Lincoln Park creating the similar feel to the store in Bucktown. AKIRA is an event driven company which propels its marketing by partnering with the most influential fashion vendors as well as corporate sponsors to make each event a success. AKIRA throws the best parties and runway shows in Chicago, with the most cutting edge trends in fashion and dedicated clientele.
An interview with Jon Cotray by Fil-Am Ako
I wanted to publicize the fact that AKIRA Chicago is owned by Asian-Americans, a fact that not too many people know about. During the course of the interview Jon discussed his life as a Filipino-American in the states, transitioning from a Registered Nurse to an entrepreneur, and providing advice for those interested in entering the fashion industry or business world.
Jon Davidson Lim Cotay. I’m 35 years old. I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. I came to the US when was 12 back in 1986 with my family when President Marcos was overthrown in order to find something new and exciting. We got here in Chicago and from there we stayed with some relatives for a couple of month. Then my parents started out with an 18 unit motel in Indiana, since then my family has been in the motel business for the past twenty-some years now.
The biggest challenge growing up in the US was moving around a lot because we had to go where my parents had to be at. The last time I counted in 14 years we moved 13 times. On top of that I went to like three junior highs and three high schools. The longest I ever stayed in one place was in college, where I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My parents being typical Filipino wanted me to go pre-med, but in my head I really didn’t want to do it because I wanted to do something in business. However, I was still able to fulfill part of my parents’ wishes because I majored in Nursing. I have a Bachelor’s in Nursing that I received back in 1998.
Supposedly, I was to take a one year break to go into Med school, do the MCAT and the whole works. However, I decided to take a different route. I worked as a nurse full-time when I moved to Chicago after college, but at the same time I wanted to do something else. I did real estate for 10 years and at the same time I did nursing for 8 years full-time. It came to the point for me that, “What should I be doing when I’m past thirty?” So I set a goal for myself if I didn’t do anything productive by the time I was thirty, which I was going to sell everything off to buy a small condo, move to Florida, buy a small condo, and follow the tennis circuit as a tennis groupie.
At twenty eight, opportunity came in when two of my college friends Erikka Wang and Eric Hsueh who both went to U of I working in computer consulting got together at a restaurant deciding to start a business. The biggest challenge was none of us ever worked in fashion nor were we big shoppers. We all came from different Asian backgrounds; Eric and Erikka are both Chinese Americans. Erikka migrated to the US from China when she was a kid and Eric was born and raised in Springfield, IL. None of us were fashion savvy, but we just decided to open our first store in Wicker Park/Bucktown area when I was 28. So that was 7 years ago, now we just opened or tenth store, a website, about 170 employees and hopefully more by the time this month ends. That’s to keep you up to speed.
Jovie Calma from CPRTV/VIA Times and Amie Hana from "ChicagoStyleEvents.com" at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago
Julian of B96
CelebTV.
Showcase Asian American Entrepreneurs in Chicago
(View full photo album of fashion show below)
The event was hosted by the Akira of Chicago. All three owners of Akira are Asian American - Eric Hsueh, Erikka Wang both are Chinese Americans, and John Cotay, Filipino American.
Over the past 7 years, AKIRA has taken Chicago fashion to a new level. Beginning with a single store in the Wicker Park/Bucktown area in 2002, it has since expanded to six retail locations in the trendiest neighborhoods of Chicago with additional locations at Northbrook Mall, AKIRA Men’s in Lincoln Park and the opening of AKIRA Shoes this week in Lincoln Park creating the similar feel to the store in Bucktown. AKIRA is an event driven company which propels its marketing by partnering with the most influential fashion vendors as well as corporate sponsors to make each event a success. AKIRA throws the best parties and runway shows in Chicago, with the most cutting edge trends in fashion and dedicated clientele.
An interview with Jon Cotray by Fil-Am Ako
I wanted to publicize the fact that AKIRA Chicago is owned by Asian-Americans, a fact that not too many people know about. During the course of the interview Jon discussed his life as a Filipino-American in the states, transitioning from a Registered Nurse to an entrepreneur, and providing advice for those interested in entering the fashion industry or business world.
Jon Davidson Lim Cotay. I’m 35 years old. I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. I came to the US when was 12 back in 1986 with my family when President Marcos was overthrown in order to find something new and exciting. We got here in Chicago and from there we stayed with some relatives for a couple of month. Then my parents started out with an 18 unit motel in Indiana, since then my family has been in the motel business for the past twenty-some years now.
The biggest challenge growing up in the US was moving around a lot because we had to go where my parents had to be at. The last time I counted in 14 years we moved 13 times. On top of that I went to like three junior highs and three high schools. The longest I ever stayed in one place was in college, where I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My parents being typical Filipino wanted me to go pre-med, but in my head I really didn’t want to do it because I wanted to do something in business. However, I was still able to fulfill part of my parents’ wishes because I majored in Nursing. I have a Bachelor’s in Nursing that I received back in 1998.
Supposedly, I was to take a one year break to go into Med school, do the MCAT and the whole works. However, I decided to take a different route. I worked as a nurse full-time when I moved to Chicago after college, but at the same time I wanted to do something else. I did real estate for 10 years and at the same time I did nursing for 8 years full-time. It came to the point for me that, “What should I be doing when I’m past thirty?” So I set a goal for myself if I didn’t do anything productive by the time I was thirty, which I was going to sell everything off to buy a small condo, move to Florida, buy a small condo, and follow the tennis circuit as a tennis groupie.
At twenty eight, opportunity came in when two of my college friends Erikka Wang and Eric Hsueh who both went to U of I working in computer consulting got together at a restaurant deciding to start a business. The biggest challenge was none of us ever worked in fashion nor were we big shoppers. We all came from different Asian backgrounds; Eric and Erikka are both Chinese Americans. Erikka migrated to the US from China when she was a kid and Eric was born and raised in Springfield, IL. None of us were fashion savvy, but we just decided to open our first store in Wicker Park/Bucktown area when I was 28. So that was 7 years ago, now we just opened or tenth store, a website, about 170 employees and hopefully more by the time this month ends. That’s to keep you up to speed.
Jovie Calma from CPRTV/VIA Times and Amie Hana from "ChicagoStyleEvents.com" at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago
Julian of B96
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