Every other year, an additional flurry of creativity and ingenuity descends upon Indianapolis, fueled by coffee and the sheer will of IIDA (International Interior Design Association) members across the city. It’s IIDA Fashion Show season and Team RJE + Knoll had their work cut out for them as they tackled this year’s theme: Modern Masters.
Team RJE was charged with creating a garment inspired by the work of Post-Modern Impressionist painter, Paul Cezanne, using only Knoll fabrics and materials. The creative RJE team pulled their ideas together and decided on a garment that played upon Cezanne’s love of juxtaposition — balancing the light with the dark, the masculine with the feminine, and life with death.
The team spent weeks crafting a garment that celebrated the style of Cezanne’s era, his love of both flowers and skulls, and the balance he constantly sought in his artwork. The end result was both utilitarian, avant-garde and universally loved by the team. The garment itself used Knoll fabrics and samples of Knoll’s Regeneration Chair that were melted into floral shapes and painted to mimic the sweeping fields of flowers found in Cezanne’s art. It took an extensive amount of work and man-hours to be ready for showtime, but the team pulled together and created an end result that RJE, Knoll, and Cezanne could be proud of.
On Friday, March 2, 2018, Team RJE had the chance to show off their handiwork at the IIDA Modern Masters Fashion Show, hosted at the Biltwell Event Center in Indianapolis. RJE’s model (and Designer) was Devyn Hage and she did a wonderful job representing RJE and Knoll on stage.
While RJE did not win an award for this year’s garment, the team had an amazing time putting the look together and seeing other teams’ creativity and hard work. Well done to everyone who participated and congratulations Team RJE!
