Award Winning Style: Paper Fashion Show 2019
April 17, 2019 / Posted in Featured, Fun, Process
Last week, ArtHouse Design had the pleasure of participating in the 15th Annual Paper Fashion Show at the Stanley Marketplace. With four months and hundreds of hours of preparation, design and creating, the ArtHouse Team entered the Paper Fashion Show with a high-fashion white and gold paper gown titled Zephyrus; God of the West Winds, paying homage to the theme of the show 'Flight Without Wings.' The gown is made entirely of French Paper company paper with the exception of brads used at attachment points and a hoop at the bottom to allow for walkability. The inspiration for the gown came from wind and air currents, literally the natural phenomenon that allow animals, machines, insects and humans to fly, as well as meteorological charts and maps that show the paths of weather, wind and air in a diagrammatic and structured way.
On the day of the show, the ArtHouse team convened at the Stanley Marketplace's Hangar Event Space to put the finishing touches on the garment, fitting it to the model perfectly and making last minute adjustments. As our model, Amber Dextrous a local drag queen, runway model and friend of the studio went through hair and makeup, ArtHouse created accessories like a Hermes-inspired fascinator head piece and wrist cuff, decorated with brass brads evocative of studded leather. In a last minute decision the team also decided to have Amber forgo her wig and strut the runway bald to heighten the intricacy and geometry of the dress.
While our gown perfectly embodied ArtHouse Design's tagline 'Left Brain. Right Design' for its structured, yet organic form, it was brought to life by Amber Dextrous who shimmied, posed and worked the runway for an audience of nearly 1,000 people and a panel of expert judges. Everyone was captivated by the movement of the dress and Amber's charismatic performance. As a result, ArtHouse Design won the DAVA's Choice Award (essentially the fan and judges favorite award), one of 6 awards out of 48 entries this year. The Paper Fashion Show was a massive success over all and showcased ArtHouse's renowned design expertise, showing that we can iconically design and bring to life any challenge that comes our way.