October Partnership - From Fashion to Interior Design, Color Gradation Influences All Design Disciplines

submitted by:  Elizabeth Chambley, Mohawk Group

From Fashion to Interior Design, Color Gradation Influences All Design DisciplinesBy-line: Susan Curtis, Senior Director of Color and Design, Mohawk Group

Mohawk's 2012 CZAR Collection by Cesar Galindo

As a commercial textile designer, I am often inspired by the motifs, colors and forms presented in fashion. So, you can imagine how excited I was to see the Mohawk Group’s State of Mind collection of carpet make its runway debut during Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week in NYC in September. While we as textile designers are often moved by the fashion world, I would venture to say that it is a rare event that a fashion designer is moved by a piece of carpet!

The overlapping of the fashion and contract design industries began earlier this year when fashion designer Cesar Galindo designed a series of dip-dyed dresses, ties and scarves that were inspired by Amused and Enthralled, two State of Mind styles that launched at NeoCon 2012 in Chicago. The exciting aspect is how contemporary both the fashion and contract industries are working, drawing on the richness of each other.

State of Mind provided the perfect backdrop for the Spring 2013 CZAR by Cesar Galindo fashion show. The carpet spanned the length of the runway and continued up the back wall in full, undulating effect. It was very rewarding to see our design featured in such fabulous company!

Design-driven industries respond to social trends and often use these as inspiration. We at Mohawk developed State of Mind in response to the DIY trend we see everywhere. This collection, perhaps more than any other on the market today, allows the customer to design their ultimate floor. We think of State of Mind as a personal journey: it is a fun exploration of shifting color and ómbre effect that can be manipulated and managed to meet individual preferences. By creating a collection of textures that allows for myriad opportunities for aesthetic variation, we are opening up the design box, inviting in many more voices.  I believe that by continuing this design dialog we will be able to deliver additional exciting, dramatic and relevant products.