The FashioNext finalists have been selected! Caroline DeVillo, Katrin Schnabl, and Carla Hwang and Kenneth Park of VWIDON will move on to the next round of the competition. The finalists will create original wedding gowns inspired by select pieces from the upcoming exhibition I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot, opening May 22, 2010. The winning garment will become part of the Museum’s collection and will be featured on display in the exhibition.

After careful consideration of their designs, inspirations, design stories, fabric selections, and overall concepts, the judges narrowed the field from eight fantastic design submissions to these top three.

Caroline DeVillo

Caroline DeVillo explains that she was immediately drawn to the 1967 Givenchy inspiration piece as it embodies the aesthetic she strives for in her own collection. In her own words, “From the simple elegance to the architectural lines, this piece inspired me to conjure a classic wedding gown with a dramatic twist.”

VWIDON

Carla and Kenneth looked to the 1958 Scassi for inspiration, and were particularly taken with the pulled up detail in the back of the dress. In their words, “We decided to use a sheer material to create a lighter, more playful wedding dress. Our design is about the directness of a young bride in expressing her beauty and vitality.”

Katrin Schnabl

Also inspired by the Scassi orange wedding dress, Katrin Schnabl gives a nod to the color in her design, which features warm red, glowing sand, and gold hues. She explained, “I envision the bride [who wore the Scassi] as an independent woman who felt no need to prove herself by complying to conventions. I am recreating this spirit for a contemporary woman…”

Over the coming weeks we will profile the designers and offer more insight into their design aesthetics.

> Learn more about the FashioNext 2010 competition
> View the finalists’ designs and all the inspiration pieces on Flickr

Tags: Brianne Peck, Brianne Peck Bertuca, Carla Hwang, Caroline DeVillo, Couture, Design, Fashion, FashioNext, I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot, Katrin Schnabl, Kenneth Park, VWIDON

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 3:45 pm and is filed under Events, Exhibitions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.