Collaborating with famous artists to create fine art is always an electrifying experience. And working with renowned artist Ruben Toledo to design and develop a new statuette for the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) American Image Awards, was nothing less than exhilarating.
Each year, the AAFA hosts the American Image Awards to honor
the leaders and innovators in the apparel and footwear industry. When The
Bromley Group, a NYC based communications agency, and the AAFA came to us with
the idea to have the iconic Ruben Toledo design the statuette for 2015, we were
thrilled.
Ruben Toledo is an award winning artist with work spanning fashion design, painting and illustration. He is the author of the book Style Dictionary, and his work in collaboration with his wife Isabel Toledo was the subject of the NY exhibition, Toledo/Toledo: A Marriage of Art and Fashion.
We worked closely with Ruben from ideation through to manufacturing, bringing his sketches to life in 3D renderings and providing realization of the design into pure metal. The final trophy was manufactured using machined aluminum to allow for the complex shape and luxurious finish.
“The importance of fashion as a global industry is symbolized by the heroic stylized figures portraying diversity through the use of different metals representing humanity in living color, which for me, is what validates fashion trade and commerce. The globe at the base of the award defined by fashion products instead of continents, illustrates the idea that we are connected through creativity and all speak the same fashion language. America’s fashion influence truly is global and is represented by the work and support of AAFA and its membership.” – Ruben Toledo
The final statuette design was unveiled at the 2015 American Image Awards last week in New York City. The star-studded event was hosted by actress Debi Mazar, and honorees included Cynthia Rowley and Kelly Osbourne. Drawing over 400 industry executives and celebrity supporters, the event raised over three-quarters of a million dollars in support of their charity partner, Mercy Ships.
The opportunity to collaborate with prestigious artists and brilliant minds is a gratifying experience. And it goes without saying that it takes teamwork, and we could not be more thankful for the wonderful clients and artists we have been able to work with to date.