Leading Kiwi fashion designers are set to showcase their creativity with the design of an original and exclusive rug to raise money for their favourite charity.
The brainchild of premium rug company Designer Rugs, the Designer Rugs charity auction has secured the creative talents of Air New Zealand Fashion Week 2007 designers Zambesi, Cybčle, NOM*D, and State of Grace, along with WORLD and Crane Brothers, who will all create a unique single edition rug never to be reproduced.
A silent auction - set to take place in August 2008 - will offer punters the opportunity to own a true collectors piece. All monies raised by the silent auction will go to the charity chosen by each fashion designer as one they feel most passionate about.
Zambesi designer Liz Findlay has chosen The Child Cancer Foundation as Zambesi's nominated charity and says her design inspiration came from an iconic Zambesi image representing their philosophy of freedom, permanence and evolution.
"The colour palette and poetic imagery echoes the vast landscape and rugged coastline of New Zealand, its beauty and its isolation," she says.
Air New Zealand Fashion Week success story Cybčle Wiren has chosen Women's Refuge as her nominated charity and says she is looking forward to the challenge of designing for a new medium.
"For me the idea of a beautiful warm rug represents safety and comfort in the home. Every year Women's Refuge works toward providing safety and comfort for thousands of women and children and to help them live free from violence and fear," she says.
Murray Crane, designer for Crane Brothers, says his inspiration for taking part in the Designer Rugs charity auction came from a desire to achieve something interesting while raising money for a good cause.
"Anything that supports and promotes creativity is extremely important both spiritually and culturally," he says.
Crane says he chose his nominated charity ARTSPACE because of their ongoing support and commitment to New Zealand artists and their vision for the future.
NOM*D designer Margi Robertson says she was excited to be asked to work with Designer Rugs, given that Nom*D is a brand that always presents a graphic image within the collection.
"The opportunity to also bring the elements of texture within a dark palette proved challenging," she says. "We are looking forward to seeing the finished product!"
Robertson says her chosen charity of Hospice is one that she has had personal experience with.
"It works with individuals at a time so vulnerable in a caring and professional environment and benefits people from all walks of life," she says.
Established fashion designer Sherilyn Catchpole from State of Grace says she loved the idea of designing in a large scale and a totally new medium in support of worthy charities.
"I like to challenge myself and explore new creativity in different formats," she says. Catchpole has nominated Save The Children as her chosen charity, one she says she hopes will help improve the lives of children all over the world.
Liana Lorenzato, Marketing Manager for Designer Rugs, says she is thrilled the Designer Rugs charity auction initiative has been brought to New Zealand.
"We are really excited to be working with such talented New Zealand designers and we can't wait to see their finished products!" she says.
The New Zealand event builds on the phenomenal success of its Australian counterpart, which raised over $50,000 for charity. The Fashion Design Rugs event, spearheaded by Designer Rugs in Australia, secured leading Australian designers such as Collette Dinnigan, Alice McCall, Akira Isogawa and Easton Pearson and benefited nominated charities such as GREENPEACE, Amnesty International and UNICEF.
For more information visit www.designerrugs.co.nz
Written on behalf of Designer Rugs by Impact PR.
For further information or images, please contact Fleur Revell-Devlin fleur@impactpr.co.nz (ph.021509600) or Mark Devlin mark@impactpr.co.nz (ph. 021509060).
Notes:
Designer Rugs is a leading premium rug company recently launched in New Zealand and located at 73 The Strand Parnell, Auckland. For more than 20 years, Designer Rugs has been making and supplying the finest quality hand-knotted and hand-tufted rugs to embassies, hotels, banks, public buildings and to individual residences.
Designer Rugs are made from the purest New Zealand wool and the finest Oriental silks. The company has worked closely with architects including Harry Seidler and designers such as Akira Isogawa and Dinosaur Designs to produce tailor-made pieces for individual projects and for their own exclusive rug ranges. Designer Rugs is committed to ensuring its customers get the highest standards of service and their in-house designers and showroom staff will assist customers in choosing or creating the perfect rug for their needs.
Designer Rugs can work with the customer to produce any style, size and colour of rug required. This can include matching commissioned rugs to the hues of an artwork or decorative scheme. Their craftspeople are masters of classic techniques including carving, loop and cut, bevelling and embossing and use only the highest grade materials. New Zealand wool has the ideal qualities of strength, comfort, warmth and its natural whiteness allows it to be dyed to an endless palette of colours. From contemporary to traditional, tribal to classic, Designer Rugs supply stylish rugs, made to customer specifications or carefully selected from their impressive range of hand-knotted, imported rugs. Designer Rugs can be delivered anywhere in the world at a surprisingly low cost.
