220 Pound Dress Made of 50,000 Gummy Bears Is A Tribute To Alexander McQueen.

For TWELV Magazine's debut issue, Hissa Igarashi and Sayuri Marakumi created a dress entirely out of gummy bears; paying homage to the late Alexander McQueen.



To create the masterpiece, steel wire was twisted into the shape of the dress and covered with a sheet of vinyl. Then 50,000 gummy bears were painstakingly glued on by hand in a colorful pattern reminiscent of a Chevron rainbow.



Taking three weeks to complete, the final dress was fitted exactly to MAJOR model Jessica Pitti's measurements. And weighing in at approximately 220 pounds, required the strength of three adults to move.

The shoot was held at Splashlight Studios and took 4 to 5 hours to complete.

McQueen's Rainbow Dress that served as the inspiration:



information and images courtesy of TWELV Magazine

Monster, Beast & Bear Rugs - Oh My!

Monster rugs, rugs with teeth, and bearskin rugs made of anything but bearskin, seem to be all the rage these days. So, I thought I'd share some with you.

First, a design and blog favorite, Joshua Longo's Monster Skin Rug, about which I was one of the first to write in a previous blog post:




above: made of Felted Cashmere, Wool, Polymer Clay, Stuffing
Visit Longoland, Joshua's store to see other cute monsters and furniture.


Monster Workshop's Monster Rug:


above: Monster's Workshop rug.
They also makes adorable plush monsters for purchase.

Adopt them here.

Beast Rug from Punga and Smith

Introduced at the 2009 Milan Furniture Fair, the felted wool rug has a brass skull


Punga and Smith

Eelko Moorer's Rubber Urethane Bearskin Rugs:
The brown, black and white rugs are specifically hand cast and made to order. Other colors are available upon request.







The original model has been executed by hand in clay. From this, a silicone mold has been made for the subsequent rugs. The rugs are all numbered and have a signature cast in the back:




buy it here.

The Blanket Statement by Lise Lefebvre:



The artists' own description: Blanket statement is a contemporary bearskin rug handmade from reclaimed traditional Dutch blankets. These one of a kind rugs showcase the intricate patterns and thick sturdy construction while hinting at another traditional décor style.

I don't know if the artwork below was inspired by some of the above rugs or not, but they would be a fun compliment.

Megan Burns painting:

above: Monster Rug, 2006, oil, 60 x w: 38 in / h: 152.4 x w: 96.5 cm
Contact The Proposition gallery for price (212) 242-0035

Benjamin Hall illustration for Blue Sky Comics:


The Road Kill Carpet from Ooms:



Edible Gummy Bear Rug
And of course, the Gummy Bear Rug, made entirely of gummy bears by sculptor Ya Ya Chou:


above: "Simon," 2006, 7"X32"X30", gummi bears, faux nailtops on wire armature and canvas (Retired)

So, given the trend, I guess it's time to get the monsters out from under the bed and place them square in the living room.


The Chrissy Skin Rug by Chrissy Conant.
Addendum: A reader mentioned being surprised there were no "humans as animal rugs", which reminded me of one of my favorite artists' pieces, which I simply had to add.  Thanks for the reminder Amy!





above: The Chrissy Rug by Chrissy Conant (image courtesy of Saatchi gallery)

To see tons of really cool rugs, check out my Fancy Flooring and Radical Rugs list on This Next.