BIOGRAPHY ASSYRIAN-BORN SAM KORI GEORGE MOVED WITH HIS FAMILY TO GLENVIEW AT AGE NINE. SAM STUDIED FASHION DESIGN AT BOTH THE SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO AND CHICAGO’S INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF FASHION DESIGN. AFTER GRADUATING NEAR THE TOP OF HIS CLASS, SAM FORMED A PARTNERSHIP WITH GREG GONZON; THE TWO YOUNG MEN OPENED THEIR FIRST ATELIER IN 1987, ON WALTON STREET. FOR SEVEN YEARS DURING THE 1990S, SAM TOOK A POSITION AT BARNEY’S, TO GAIN EXPERIENCE IN SALES AND MARKETING, WHERE HE BECAME ONE OF THE STORE’S TOP SALES PERSONS. AT THE SAME TIME, SAM CONTINUED HIS WORK WITH GREG AT THE ATELIER, WHICH THRIVED UNTIL GREG’S UNTIMELY DEATH IN AUTUMN 2001. IN DECEMBER 2002, SAM DECIDED THE TIME HAD COME TO PURSUE HIS CAREER AS A DESIGNER FULL TIME. IMMERSING HIMSELF IN THE WORK HE LOVES - THE ART OF DRESSING ELEGANT WOMEN - SAM CONTINUED DESIGNING FOR HIS LOYAL FOLLOWING ON A SMALLER SCALE, BUT ALSO EXPANDED HIS PROFESSIONAL HORIZONS BY CREATING A PREMIER COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL DESIGNS. THE ATELIER MOVED DURING THIS TIME, TO THE THIRD FLOOR OF THE WALTON LOCATION, AND OFFICIALLY OPENED AS THE SAM KORI GEORGE ATELIER ON JUNE 5, 2003.