Rampant Design from Parsons

Whether high- or low-tech, clever ideas ran rampant among the product prototypes presented by this year’s crop of Parsons School of Design seniors. Despite Parson’s claims to the contrary, we’re not certain that just anyone can be a designer. Here’s a survey of the best examples at the fair.

Survival for Fashion’s Fittest
Designer: Lorena Barrezueta
Material: valise, silk lining, paper, gas mask, etc
Perhaps the cleverest of the pieces is a survival kit inside a leather valise with a silk flowered lining that contains a gas mask, dog tags resembling charm bracelets, and decontamination swabs.

Fifty Cents
Designer: Sarah Cihat
Material: thrift store dishware, overglaze
Fifty cents is the cost of thrift store dishes stenciled and glazed by Sarah Cihat, who was influenced by the recycled nature of thrift and vintage store clothing. Resembling something off a Stella McCartney rack, even Cihat’s signature is a play on stickers on the dishes bought at yard sales. “The idea is to gather orphaned pieces,” says Cihat, “and put them together in whole new families.”

EUNA Elastic Wall (video demonstration)
Designer: Michael Rusch
Material: Santoprene thermal plastic
Michael Rusch’s pliable “elastic wall” can be literally punched into submission. You can use your hands to shape it into a seat, for instance, and then vacuum it out to restore it to its form.

ONUTE Lights
Designer: Joshua Howe
The ONUTE lights feature bulbs with magnets at their bases that appear to float on steel-stud walls or metal fixtures.

HALO digital fresco
Designer: Toby Roberts
Toby Roberts brings us a digital ceiling fresco that consists of lights which are illuminated based on the number of people passing through a space and the rate at which they stream through.