IIDA Los Angeles Haunt Couture: Bewitching Evening of Fun and Fashion

The stage was set and curtains were drawn for an evening of entertainment and fashion as over 750 industry leaders in design, commercial real estate, and construction gathered for the IIDA Los Angeles Haunt Couture on October 22, 2014. IIDA Los Angeles Haunt Couture is an annual event of cocktails, dancing, networking, and the main event: an outrageous and stunning couture runway show competition. The enlisted design firms were tasked with designing garments made from materials used for interior design and then present their Halloween inspired gown to the IIDA audience. This year’s theme “Mirror, mirror, who’s the fairest?” was inspired by the Snow White classic fairy tale and event was held at the newly renovated Avalon Hollywood night club.

The Ware Malcomb Los Angeles office was 1 of 14 design teams that feverishly worked to create a dress with our team given the theme, “Beauty and the Beast.” Not an easy task yet we rose to the challenge by taking our theme a step further with our interpretation of Beauty and the Beast with the title “The Evolution of Beauty.” Our fashion model, Ware Malcomb employee Krista Venti, walked onto the runway, wearing what appeared to be a “beastly” cloak representing her grotesque exterior. This cape was made from small bits of brown fabric, donated by Ware Malcomb’s fabric sponsor, Anzea, which gave it a “fur-like” look and feel. As the fashion model paused at the end of the runway, her exterior was shed to reveal a beautiful woman with a gorgeous gown representing the beauty within. The beautiful violet garment was made, from Anzea fabric, satin and chiffon fabric and was crafted by our very own interior design team.

The event was a success! This was our first venture into the IIDA Haunt Couture competition for our Los Angeles team and everyone from the Los Angeles office attended and had a great time. This was the start to a new Ware Malcomb Los Angeles tradition. A portion of the event proceeds go to Project Color Corps, a non-profit organization established to bring color and art to inner city neighborhoods. A special thank you to our sponsors Anzea (@Anzea_Textiles) and Pivot Interiors (@pivotinteriors).

About the Author: Anita Makwana is Director, Interior Design and Architecture for the Ware Malcomb Los Angeles Interior Design studio and has been practicing interior design for over 16 years. amakwana@waremalcomb.com Twitter: @AMakwana