By Cate Jensen
The 5th Annual Cosmo Couture event that took place this past Thursday had all the pomp and circumstance one would expect to see at an event that with a Presidential theme. While a star, spangle and banner party is nothing new in the Northern Virginia area, Cosmo Couture is a unique and special event all on its own, put on by the International Interior Design Association’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter, headed by event chair, Pedro Nunez. The rules: An architecture or interior design firm is paired with a manufacturing company to produce a couture creation, having to use at least 85% of materials from that sponsoring vendor, varying from metallic fibers to lights. This year 25 teams competed against each other for six different awards.
The competition held at the Artisphere in Rosslyn was judged by James Cornwall (Celebrity Stylist of Cornwell Styling), Michael McCarthy (Editor-in-Chief at DC Magazine), Elaine Mensah (Founder of SVELTE, LLC), Tashia Senn (Fashion Designer) and finally Jennifer Sergent (Creator of the blog, DC by Design).
Alison Starling and Steve Rudin from ABC7/WJLA-TV, co-emcees of the night, kept the mood of the packed venue happy and light, with music from the resident D.J Mina, as the contestants cat walked the runway. The beneficiary of the night’s competition was My Sister’s Place, a D.C based center for domestic violence. An issue that has gained more attention in the media, especially with the recent events in the NFL as a few guest speakers noted during their speeches. This year’s Cosmo Couture raised approximated $20,000 for My Sister’s Place, totaling near $100,000 over the past five years.
The winners included the following: Wingate Hughes sponsored by HBF for Best Performance for their team’s President William Harding, Interplan sponsored by Federated Lightening for Most Creative with their light-filled interpretation of President Ronald Reagan, VOA sponsored by Bernhardt Design for Most Creative Material, Fox Architects sponsored by OFS Brands for Best Interpretation of Theme for their fun and funky creation of President Lyndon Johnson. The fan favorite of the night was WDG Interior Architecture sponsored by Patcraft’s creation of President James Madison, winning the Audience Favorite Award through voting via Twitter with the hashtag, #CCPeoplesChoice. Finally the winner of the Haute Couture Award went to CORE sponsored by Architectural Ceramics for their stunning creation of President William Taft.
