BACK WHEN CALVIN Klein’s hit fragrance Obsession debuted in 1985, its steamy marketing campaign epitomized the greed-is-good generation, an era of over-the-top indulgence.

These days, we throw around the term “obsessed” much more casually, as in, “I’m obsessed with this new lip gloss,” or “The Real Housewives? I’m obsessed!”

So we decided to focus our October issue on our current obsessions. It began falling into place last winter, when photographer Maria Ponce (daughter of Chicago Tonight host Phil Ponce and artist Ann Ponce) told us about a project she was working on: She wanted to capture some of Chicago’s most beloved TV personalities stripped of their news-anchor regalia. The resulting photos are nothing short of showstopping.

You’ll find evidence of our many obsessions sprinkled throughout this issue. Here, a few of my personal fixations:

Diego Rocha handbags: His made-to-order beauties are so worth the splurge, the hardest part is choosing between the glam oversized handbags and sexy exotic clutches. (I bought both!) Visit diegorocha.com

Dresses by 5p1t: We featured these up-and-coming Chicago designers last fall, and since then I’ve bought several of their chic dresses, which always elicit gushing responses. Visit 5p1t.com

Neal Zucker: We’ve been friends for years, but in his role as “advisor-at-large” to this magazine I’m constantly floored by his ability to sniff out the next big thing long before anyone else.

We hope you’re as obsessed with this issue as we are!

SUSANNA HOMAN
EDITOR IN CHIEF