IIDA New England Fashion Show, Recap!

On Thursday, November 3, 2022, Design Pool joined Paul Designs Project and Formed in submitting a garment to the IIDA New England Fashion Show. “The most unconventional show in Boston,” the event serves as a time for the interior design community to flex their creative muscles while mingling and networking.

The theme of this year’s IIDA New England show was Emerge.

At our first creative meetup, Paul Lewandowski was initially inspired by the idea of emerging technologies. That inspiration led us to think about technology, outer space, and classic SciFi movies. With that as a jumping-off point, we thought about how space exploration always carries a feeling of wonder, hopefulness, and possibility. As 2022 winds down and we, as a planet, emerge from a global pandemic, what are we hopeful for? What finally feels possible? These questions led to our concept: Mother Earth and the Man on the Moon.

“After a rough few years, Mother Earth and the Man on the Moon are emerging stronger than ever. Their cycles remind us that everything good comes back around and every rebirth is a new chance to reach for the stars.”

Thank you to our vendor partners!

The rules of the fashion show’s competition state that teams must make their garments out of unconventional materials entirely donated by vendor partners. Importantly, no more than 50% of a garment can be constructed of fabric. Our partners came through with excellent materials.

OFS made a donation of leather scraps from their manufacturing facility. They also donated wood veneer, acoustic fabric, and edge banding, a plastic product used on the side of a veneer top.

Crypton sent us fabric, as well as cones of chenille and boucle yarn. Also in their package was hardware from the looms, specifically heddles, springs, and loom cording from jacquard loom heads.

With Design Pool as a vendor partner, we reached out to a few of our printing partners. They supplied different materials printed with patterns Kristen Dettoni designed, inspired by patterns found in nature. Fabric Images printed on acoustical material, Serigraph printed fabric, and Color Reflections printed window films.

Paul led the team’s design process with sketches of Mother Earth and the Man on the Moon.

Mother Earth

Mother Earth’s ensemble began with a bodice created with Crypton’s yarn and loom parts. Kristin Crane wove fabric on her floor loom in her home studio using the chenille yarn. While weaving, she incorporated the heddles and springs into the structure of the cloth for a bodice with a hint of a shield. Next, Paul used Crypton’s loom cording to knot a unique macrame headpiece.

For the skirt, Paul sewed thick acoustical panel pieces together to form half a globe. Using the scraps of leather, he pieced together a beautiful cover with continents hand cut from leather. Next, we sewed handmade tassels onto custom-printed fabric to add a bustle to the look. Kristen deconstructed fabric printed by Serigraph by patiently pulling warp and weft yarns apart and bundling them together to create tassels. Leather gloves and gladiator-style sandals made with printed acoustic material for the base, edge banding, and fabric scraps completed the look.

Special thanks to Kristin Crane for being our Mother Earth model! Check out the garment in full 360º.

Man on the Moon

Our Man on the Moon brought the mystique of space travel to the runway. At first glance, you spot his incredible floor-length coat sewn from custom-printed window film printed by Color Reflections and lined with fabric scraps from OFS. On his head sit leather goggles.

Underneath the jacket, he’s wearing hot pants knit by Paul with Crypton yarn and a statement leather codpiece. A chest plate made from OFS’s wood veneer and leather scraps, and his thigh-high moon boots, made from acoustic material, complete his look.

Thank you so much to Chaz Wilcoxen for being an excellent Man on the Moon. Check him out in 360º.

Mother Earth and Man on the Moon each carried something in their orbit, handmade bags created from clear plastic salad bowls with edge banding and sparkly mini planets inside. Hair and makeup done at The Raven Salon in Portland, Maine put each of the models into character.

We were thrilled the judges at the IIDA New England show awarded our garments Best Interpretation of Theme. As they said when announcing the award, we “did our homework.”

It was a blast collaborating across Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine to create these two winning garments. Special thanks to Kim and Ben from Formed for creating the unique graphics and putting our concept into words to submit our entries. Also, thank you to Paul Lewin, Chaz Wilcoxen, and Andrew Treworgy for lending their creativity and skills to the project.