A famous store made popular by the iconic reality fashion competition “Project Runway” is now open in Chicago.
“The wait is officially over, Chicago!,” Mood Designer Fabrics posted Aug. 28. According to the post, the Mood Fabrics showroom opened for business Monday, at 109 S. State Street downtown. The store will be opened daily from 10 to 7 p.m.
“We can’t wait to welcome all of Chicago’s creators, designers, and sewing enthusiasts to explore our new space,” the post said.
The store first announced it was coming to Chicago over the summer. The nearly 2,000 square-foot showroom, with more than 10,000 fabric swatches and thousands of accessories marks Mood’s first Midwest location.
The store will be a bit different than what fans typically see on “Project Runway.”
Instead of digging through textiles, fabric samples at the Chicago showroom will have a QR code attached so customers can scan and order directly from Mood’s website. Shipping is typically three to seven business days, and there is a store pickup option.
“We see that the modern creator [doesn’t] necessarily want to walk through a warehouse with 15,000 square feet,” Cohen said in July. “It can be overwhelming for people, as well as having to lug all of that fabric home. Sometimes if you’re working on a big project or multiple pieces, it’s not always convenient.”
Shopping online for fabric can “notoriously be hard,” she said. “You can’t feel or drape the fabric. You can’t test the stretch [and] can’t accurately gauge the colors of the fabrics. So the showroom is really like a tactile playground.”
Mood opened its first showroom in Atlanta, a 1,400-square-foot space that offers paid classes and community events since opening in April.
The company wanted to bring Mood to “underserved areas,” especially after fabric and craft retailer Joann shuttered in 2025.
Cohen said its showroom locations have been chosen with nearby colleges and schools in mind. The Chicago site is near the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia College, making it an opportunity for collaboration, she said.
The Atlanta showroom hosts free meetups, where people can bring their own machines or use one at Mood to work on their projects. There are also workshops including making tote bags and instructional demonstrations, like introduction to patternmaking for $5.45 and business of fashion workshops for $10.
Mood plans to offer similar events and workshops in Chicago.
The showroom concept is a move away from what Mood has largely been known for.
Mood was founded in 1991 by Jack Sauma, who later passed the business over to sons Philip and Eric. The company has stores in New York, Miami, Houston and Los Angeles, as well as its Atlanta showroom.
Originally operating as a fabric wholesaler, Jack Sauma pivoted to retail. By 2001, he expanded to its 40,000-square-foot warehouse in New York’s Garment District. Soon after, Sauma was asked if the pilot of a new reality TV show, Project Runway, could be filmed at the store.
The series quickly became an Emmy-nominated hit and one of Bravo TV’s most successful series at the time. Many scenes were filmed in the crowded store, where more than 90,000 fabrics were piled on top of each other, and desperate contestants searched for fabrics to make clothing for an episode’s challenge that was then presented on the runway.
Former Project Runway judge Tim Gunn’s catchphrases like, “Make it work!” and “Thank you, Mood!” — the latter of which Mood turned into merchandise — seeped into popular culture and helped cement Project Runway, and Mood, as a hit. The show is now on the Walt Disney Co.-owned network Freeform.
After the show premiered in 2004, Mood became a destination with “global recognition,” Cohen said.
“They’ve been partnered with Project Runway since the beginning,” she said. “They say there’s been only two constants on Project Runway since the beginning. It’s [judge] Nina Garcia and Mood.”
The company wants to open more locations, including showrooms. Cohen said the showrooms will help Mood test markets and determine if a flagship store can be added.
“This is more like how can we get as many people access to fabric as possible and as quickly as possible. So the showroom model rolls out very fast,” she said. “Everything is neat and orderly, and it’s more like a library of fabrics, and it’s definitely still a creator space.”
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