Couture

 

The Bi-Annual Design Competition put on the the Southwest Chapter of the International Interior Design Association randomly pairs local design firms with interior finish product manufacturers, from which the design team must design, construct, and model a piece of haute couture.  A color forecast for the coming year is also given, and each team is randomly assigned a color on which their concepts must be based.

 

We participated in the 2011 competition, and were paired with J+J Invision carpeting.  Our color was Chivalry Copper.

 

We looked at the entire carpet manufacturing process and made use of a waste product, created when the nylon fibers become tangled in the tufting machine.  These massive wads of tangled yarn reminded us of the billowing dust clouds brought by seasonal monsoons in the Sonoran Desert, where Phoenix AZ is located.  Once we determined that the fashion show runway would be spanning across the swimming pool at the Hotel Valley Ho, this further strengthened our concept of the monsoon, and the transformational power of water in the desert.  After wind and dust comes rain, which channels through canyons and arroyos, setting off blooming desert plant life.

 

We also utilized several yards of untufted yarn, as well as each separate layer used to form carpet backing to construct the body of the dress, which represents striations of canyon walls, and their channels which collect water and blossom into life.

 

Our entry took Couture 2011's Best of Show Award.