SYDNEY: The humble kitchen dishcloth has taken on a new life after a Sydney student sewed together hundreds of them to create an award winning couture garment.
The resulting gown, by Ultimo TAFE Fashion Design Studio student Carlos Bouman, was named the Dyson's People Choice Award winner in a recent exhibition of student projects at the Powerhouse Museum.
Dubbed DesignTech, the exhibition crosses a range of design genres with the aim of educating people on the importance of design while guiding students to realise their creative potential.
Bouman, 22, said his gown came about from his desire to create a haute couture inspired gown that was eco-aware and to meet a personal design challenge by using everyday household items.
"After collecting literally hundreds of dishcloths, I dyed them using standard domestic dye from the supermarket. I then applied different techniques such as pressing, embellishing and gathering. The cloths were then sewn together onto bed sheet panels which were overlocked to form the dress."
The exhibition, which featured innovative design from 25 design and technology students who studied for their HSC in 2008, attracted votes from around 2000 people.
The exhibition closed at the Powerhouse Museum in March and is now on show in Grafton on the first leg of a regional tour.