Fashion: Industrial CHIC

Talk about factory-direct fashion: Designers more accustomed to blueprints than dress patterns cobbled together some very creative ensembles to vie for top contest honors. The International Interior Design Association's annual fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House included a fashion show featuring a "Project Runway"-like challenge. Competitors used upholstery fabric, metal, wire, tiles and many other materials, usually found in the world of interior design, to make outfits. Here are some of the ensembles that went down the runway for Fusion + Fashion 2008.

TIN WOMAN

Designed by: Mayumi Amada, a sculptor who modeled her own design.

Won: Best overall.

The idea: "It's for self-protection. It has two meanings. It physically protects, like armor. It also visually protects because I don't have to show my body. My breasts aren't big, but I could make them look bigger," Amada said.

Materials: Steel.

How long it took to make: Several years. She stopped for a while when she couldn't get the line she wanted.

Challenge: Walking. "[The dress] is not flexible. It's awkward."

PAPER DOLL

Firm: MS&R, architecture and interior design.

Designed by: Jessica Harner and Alana Zbaren, modeled by Zbaren.

The idea: Three dresses that showed the progression from natural state, to process stage (this dress), to finished product. This dress represents what happens when wood becomes paper.

Materials: Recycled paper. The colored bodice was made from magazine paper, and the skirt was packaging paper. Origami flowers were used for ornamentation.

How long it took to make: Four weeks.

HIGH-GLOSS GOWN

Firm: MS&R.

Designed by: Kristilyn Vercruysse and Natasha Skogerboe, modeled by Skogerboe.

The idea: This dress represents the end result of processing corn and wood.

Materials: More than 800 wood-laminate samples sewn to a body suit for the top and Inego corn fabric for the train.

Design challenge: Using all of those heavy tiles to show off the female form and not have the model fall down.

CARPET QUEEN

Firm: Julz Marie.

Design by: Julie Robbins, modeled by Alana Gordhamer.

The idea: The entire outfit represents what you can find in a home.

Materials: The skirt was made of carpet samples, the shirt was cabinetry samples strung together with upholstery fabric, the earrings were countertop-laminate samples; the hat was a lampshade, the bracelet and ring were vinyl flooring; the fan was fabric on one side and paint samples (in the colors of the outfit) on the other.

How long it took to make: A solid week.

Instead of thread: A hot glue gun. "I burned every single fingertip on my hand," Robbins said.

HARDWOOD HOOPS

Firm: Howard Roark & Associates.

Designed by: Concept by Anne Graham and Victoria Steidler; construction by Victoria Steidler and David Dick; modeled by Cristin Ray.

Materials: Wood veneer by Decca Contract.

Normally found: In office furniture -- desks and cabinets from law firms and banks.

How long it took to make: Four days.

Next year: They're planning a garment of aluminum.

TILED STYLE

Firm: Tile by Design, tile distributor.

Designed by: Jean VanWie and Marie Schuster, modeled by Alyssa Peterson of Evoke and Todd Kukral of Tile by Design.

Materials: Bisazza glass mosaic, mostly 14-karat white-gold glass stuck on a modified trench coat and an old bridesmaid dress with fabric glue. Her outfit was made of about 864 tiles and weighed about 30 pounds; his had 1,400 tiles and weighed about 60 pounds. You'll find the same tiles adorning parts of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Solera restaurant.

Sharp edges: "It was hard to hug people. I hugged a girlfriend of mine and cut her chin," Kukral said.

See it: On display at their showroom (1720 Annapolis Lane N., Plymouth).

Sara Glassman is a Minneapolis-based fashion writer. She blogs at www.startribune.com/stylepoints.