Geek 2 Chic: Geek Charity Fashion Shows

About Geek 2 Chic

Geek 2 Chic is an amateur fashion show series produced by Microsoft's Office of Civic Innovation in Washington, DC. Shows take place around the U.S. and feature "geeks" transformed into fashion models to raise funds for outstanding civic causes.

Chic we like

More liked posts

Phil Tadros, Doejo

Phil Tadros is the Founder and CEO of creative agency Doejo (that’s doe-joe), straight outta Chicago. Besides doing really interesting work, they have an interesting recruiting strategy: Doejo finds creative people working at high-end coffee shops around the city. That may not sound very unusual until you realize that Phil owns the coffee shops too. Well, that’s one way to keep in touch with the tech community (and a tasty one, at that).

Another thing about Phil - he once rescued a baby squirrel. That’s why on the runway he walked with… an orange squirrel. You had to be there.

Below, Phil (in red) with some friends before the show.

Best of the Geek 2 Chic: DC Photo Booth

At the Geek 2 Chic: DC after party hosted by L2 Lounge, we had a photo booth with some accessories - geek glasses. Here’s the best photos from the booth - enjoy!

NBC News’ geeky cameraman and Geek 2 Chic model Jim Long. (Those are his real glasses.)

Above: Christian Moritz of the National Association of Manufacturers. Below: Dominic Campbell, Geek 2 Chic model and founder of consultancy FutureGov.

Bloomberg TV reporter Megan Hughes (middle) with friends.

Washington Post style blogger Dominique Vu (left) with friend.

The Burson-Marsteller digital team, with Geek 2 Chic model Michael Bassik in the upper left.

Media empresses (l-r) Sophie Pyle of Guest of a Guest DC, Lindsey Becker of DC magazine, and Cori Sue Morris of Bitches Who Brunch.

Director of PR for the W hotel in Washington, DC Kaitlyn Ferrara shows her geeky side.

Monster’s Scott Logan, a Geek 2 Chic model, and Jana Sedlakova of L2 Lounge (an actual model).

Geek 2 Chic model DJ Saul of iStrategyLabs (middle) and friends.

Blue Advertising’s Brian Chambers, a Geek 2 Chic model, and friend.

The fabulous Michael Dumlao of Booz Allen Hamilton (in hat) and friends.

And last but not least, Jayne Sandman, Barbara Martin, and their BrandLinkDC crew who helped out with planning and publicity for the Geek 2 Chic: DC 2012 event.

NFTE Beneficiaries Prowl The Catwalk

In both Chicago and Washington, DC, our Geek 2 Chic shows featured one model who directly benefited from the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

Johnnie Lovett (above) of Chicago is the founder of Fresh Connection Brand, LLC, and was the second-place recipient of the NFTE National Business Plan Competition in 2007. This senior at Illinois State University is pictured in a Theory suit and a Turnbull & Asser bow tie.

In Washington DC, Jabious Williams rocked the catwalk in a tuxedo set by Hugo Boss. He’s the self-taught founder of Jabious Bam Williams Art & Photography. Below, NFTE graduate Jabious is pictured with Geek 2 Chic emcee Angie Goff of NBC Washington (left) and Julie Kantor, the executive director of NFTE in Washington, DC.

Geek 2 Chic: DC Emcee Angie Goff

The universally-loved emcee for 2011’s Geek 2 Chic: DC was Angie Goff, the new weekend co-anchor for NBC Washington, and all-around tech/media guru in the local community. Her long-running blog can be found at OhMyGoff.tv and you can follow her on Twitter at @OhMyGoff.

Angie Goff on stage with Geek 2 Chic producer Mark Drapeau of Microsoft and Julie Kantor of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Claudia Cotca poses with Angie in front of the Geek 2 Chic: DC step-and-repeat.

Mark Drapeau Strikes A Pose

Producing a fashion event may seem like all fun-and-games, but for our fearless leader Mark Drapeau, it’s a five-hour crush of shaking hands and posing for photos. Here’s a selection from our recent events in Chicago and Washington, DC.

Mark poses with Geek 2 Chic model Adam Hecktman, a Chicago native and the director of that city’s Microsoft Technology Center.

Mark poses with Katie Churchey Osgood of the David All Group and some of her friends who came out support Geek 2 Chic: Chicago.

Dorothy Radke, director of marketing and communications at the Illinois Technology Association stops for a photo with Mark. Numerous models in the show are part of the ITA community.

In a corner of The Underground at the Geek 2 Chic: Chicago after party, Mark gets comfortable with (l-r) Kelly Simon, Jessica Gruber Levins, and Julia Labandz Fischer.

At Bloomingdale’s Chevy Chase (MD), 94.7 Fresh FM personality Kelly Collis visits with Mark before the fashion show.

Mark Drapeau, NBC’s Angie Goff, and NFTE’s Julie Kantor pose with many of the Geek 2 Chic: DC models immediately post-show.

Mark pauses to hang with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Michael Dumlao and WUSA 9’s Kristina D’Ambrosio at the Geek 2 Chic: DC after party at L2 in Georgetown.

Mark Drapeau and the W hotel’s PR director Kaitlyn Ferrara strike a pose.

Mark enjoying a moment at L2 with friend Rhonda Binda of the State Department.

Chicago’s Chic Ladies Support Geek Models

Jessica Zweig (AKA “Cheeky Jessica”), co-founder of Cheeky Chicago, raised a glass of champagne with her husband James Goeke (left) and Geek 2 Chic model Phil Tadros, the CEO of creative agency Doejo.

Director of marketing for Rockit Ranch Productions (owner of The Underground, which hosted the Geek 2 Chic after party) and amateur model Tim Toomey is flanked by a couple professional models and their friends. 

The CEO of ElectionMall, Simer Singh, is flanked by a couple of chic Chicago ladies who came out to support the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

Chic tech-savvy ladies pose for a photo-op in front of the Geek 2 Chic step-and-repeat.

Edward Glassman, Flashpoint Academy

Model Edward Glassman runs marketing and business development in Chicago at Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, a premiere digital media college. Take a video guided tour of the amazing Flashpoint Academy with CEO Howard Tullman here. While many in the audience were familiar with Eddie’s work at Flashpoint, few knew about his beatboxing skills. Our emcee Julia Allison asked for a demo - below is the result. And that sexy leather jacket is by Michael Kors, ladies.

The ‘Lincoln Lounge’ Tech Experience

Geek 2 Chic: DC featured a “Lincoln Lounge” (the car company, not the president) inside Bloomingdale’s, featuring technology provided by Microsoft’s new retail store in Tyson’s Corner, VA. Above, guests are playing tennis for Xbox Kinect. Below, guests and store employees lounge and enjoy a variety of games, including the popular Dance Central 2.

Above, that’s Paola Quiroz, director of charity fashion show Arts for Autism, and Christian Moritz, director of marketing for the National Association of Manufacturers.

Executive producer of Geek 2 Chic Mark Drapeau poses in the Lincoln Lounge pre-show with Lucia Davila, Katelyn Gimbel, and Jana Sedlakova of L2 Lounge, which hosted the after party in Georgetown.

Chicago After Party Geeks & Games

The Geek 2 Chic: Chicago after party at The Underground - the “sexiest nightclub in Chicago” - featured live table tennis and staff decked out in their geekiest gear. The ping-pong equipment was donated by Robert Blackwell of Killerspin (top), who is also the President of Electronic Knowledge Interchange and was a Geek 2 Chic model. His opponent (second from top) is Wilfried Schobeiri, the CTO of Chicago-based Tap Me!, which provides a video game advertising software development platform. Below, Geek 2 Chic model Jeff Willinger of Rightpoint puts in a request for “tech support” with some of The Underground’s staff.

Geek 2 Chic: Chicago Emcee Julia Allison

Syndicated columnist and geek heartthrob Julia Allison emceed the Geek 2 Chic: Chicago event this year. When she’s not writing for Tribune Media Services, she’s traveling between Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York doing a variety of things - like hosting events. Here she’s pictured with Geek 2 Chic executive producer Mark Drapeau of Microsoft’s Office of Civic Innovation.

Burson-Marsteller, Gettin’ Geeky

One of the big hits of the Geek 2 Chic: DC 2011 after party was our black/white photo booth and “geek accessories” guests could wear in it. Here’s the Burson-Marsteller gang geeking it out with their boss Michael Bassik (upper left), the chairman of the firm’s digital practice and a model in the show. Below, Michael graces the runway at Bloomingdale’s Chevy Chase (not pictured: John Varvattos combat boots).