Interior designers turned their talents from styling rooms to designing outfits at the annual Fashion + Fusion event.
Held as a fundraiser for People Serving People, members of the local chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) created outfits with commercial materials. The result was more "Project Runway" than HGTV.
A team of first-time participants from Encompass Interiors started with discontinued glass tiles. "It's a little blue dress, instead of a little black dress," said Jauson Almer.
Almer's team used a hot glue gun to stick the tiny squares onto a dress bodice, created a headpiece from a floral arrangement and a window-covering remnant, then used wall covering to drape a skirt. They had intended to sew the vinyl skirt together, but the sewing machine couldn't stand up to the rigid material, so they stapled it.
Model Elke Burkhardt said she didn't feel the staples in the skirt, but admitted to being tired after wearing a 10-pound dress for several hours. She looked fabulous, though, which proves the maxim that it's painful to be beautiful.
Sara Glassman • 612-673-7177
