The Crucible seeks submissions and team proposals from fashion designers and industrial artists for our January 2013 fashion show event.

General Information

Something amazing is in the works at The Crucible. For the second time in our history, we’re launching an event bringing the creativity, skill and glamour of high fashion together with the strength, power and volatility of the industrial arts. Introducing HOT COUTURE: A Fusion of Fashion and Fire.

As our 14th year anniversary event, Hot Couture seeks teams of designers to collaborate and design industrial haute couture. Our event concept is to blend the intensity and craft surrounding true French haute couture with the raw energy and materials found in the industrial arts. We’re calling for fashion designers to pair with industrial artists to use talents from both fields to create bold design, visionary fashion, and accessories that can only exist in this rare coupling of worlds.

Leather, metal, paper, stone, silk, fire, electricity… All materials and methods of beautifully integrating them with the human form are up for grabs. The supporting event will be produced in proper Crucible style, with a focus on industrial elements set to a backdrop of metal and fire.

Once the show run has completed, all pieces will be included in a moving art installation as part of a set of exhibits in museums throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

To start the process, The Crucible is hosting an informal mixer for interested fashion designers, fine and industrial artists, and visionaries on September 11th at 7pm. This informational session will allow interested artists to talk to the organizers and meet potential collaborators. We’ll have wine and snacks, as well as highlight themes and concepts for the show.

Requirements

  • Design teams much produce a minimum of four complete looks for the show.
  • Looks must be imaginative and well executed.
  • Wearable is a guideline; we are looking for fashion sculpture.
  • All designs should be flame resistant.

Event Details

  • The dates for the show will be Friday and Saturday nights, January 11th and 12th, 2013.
  • The Crucible will provide a materials stipend for each team selected.
  • The Crucible will own the works after the show.
  • All artists and designers will be credited for their work.

HOT COUTURE: A Fusion of Fashion and Fire fashion is a spectacle that you won’t want to miss. We’re looking forward to supporting you and your team, and we’d like to get started as soon as possible.

Coming to the September 11 7pm mixer? Please RSVP to Andrea@TheCrucible.org to let us know how many people to expect.

For information on haute couture and it’s place in France’s fashion DNA, Vanity Fair has this: http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2009/09/couture200909