Energetic, theatrical performances and creative use of design materials have made Stitch a favorite staple event for the A&D communities since it began in 20xx. Each year, IIDA presents the highly anticipated mashup of wearable art and design along with all of the perks of a great party.

This year, the Stitch committee took the fun and pageantry to a new and exciting venue implemented a big change of venue . Revel Fulton Market gave the event a new twist with a forty-foot long runway—more than enough space for models to strut their stuff, which HOK’s team said “gave a more professional feel to the show.”

Also, in a departure from the norm, the judges this year were all members of the real estate, architecture and design industries.

Teams put in many hours of extra-curricular time to take architectural and design materials from their partner sponsor and turn them into stunning fashion-forward garments that demonstrated this year’s theme, Audio/Visual. When asked what the surprise was while preparing for the event, every team had the same answer—the amount of time that goes into designing and engineering the garment.

Catie Crutchfield of Aria Group said, “The biggest surprises came during trial and error in construction. There were a couple times we had a very clear picture of how something would work, and in reality it did not work at all.” However, as BOX Studios mentioned, “it was empowering actually to see how far people take it. Seeing the show makes us want to try harder next year knowing just how stiff the competition can be!”

Although building a garment from scratch out of non-fashion materials is difficult enough, most people would agree getting up on that runway and strutting your stuff for a full minute and a half is even harder! Martika Camacho of Aria Group was the team model and commented that, “walking down the runway for our performance was extremely terrifying before stepping on, but it was night [and] day once I stood on stage and felt the crowd’s energy. Honestly, knowing how proud our team was and hearing the support in the crowd is what makes working that runway fun! The dress felt so weightless on stage, and I had so much adrenaline!”

This sentiment was echoed in all the models’ responses. Jordan Hall of Eastlake Studio said, “the amount of support I received from not only my studio but other reps and designers on social media, was incredible. It really proved to me how tight-knit the design industry is.”

Each team had different priorities when preparing for the show. For some like CBRE Design, materiality was important. “We used our materials really smartly. We were paired with a furniture manufacturer and it was important to them that we showcase their materials, not just swatches. We used two barstools and turned them into exaggerated hips on the outfit, and cut and spray painted chair spindles to create a head piece and scepter.”

HDR’s team response hit on one of the event committee’s goals each year: have fun and be creative. “We really wanted to be creative and have fun while working together as a team. This experience really allowed us to collaborate with people outside of our work on a daily projects. That brought diverse ideas and skill sets together which made the process fun.”

Best in Show winner, Aria Group, spoke about what they thought set them apart from the rest of the competition.“The goal was always to push boundary, showcase a highly detailed garment and seamlessly execute a collaborative piece. Winning Best of Show was a huge accomplishment that our team is so proud of, each team member’s voice was truly part of our harmonious garment and performance.”

Chipman Design was the Best Concept to Creation Winner and said the firm’s garment “looked towards nature as a true depiction of audio visual, by using thunder as the product of lighting. This became our concept after discussing how it could be a powerful outfit for a male model.”

Best Stage Presence winner Wright Heerema Architects said “when we found out the theme was audio-visual we wanted to do something that was outside the box. I think our concept of ‘White Noise’ played to both audio and visual. You’re able to see the static surrounding our model, Sandra, and you hear the white noise within the music we chose.“

The teams gave some input on themes they would love to see in the years to come. Some of those suggestions include a sustainability-focused theme, a scary “what we see in the dark” theme, and motion picture/ Hollywood films theme. The options are endless.

In the end, anyone who has attended Stitch knows the competition can be fierce, but the co-chairs Jill Dexter of Stantec and Catherine Tejada of Global Furniture agree the most important thing to remember each year is to have fun. “After all the hard work that goes into designing and building the garment, you deserve to enjoy the night! The room is full of friends, colleagues, and industry peers and they are ALL so excited to see what you put together! We’re all rooting for each and every team!”

Check out all the photos here!

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