Cornice Kofasi mo Ofu by James Poss is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award Uʻamea in Mamanu Meafale Competition Category.

UʻameaMeafale· 2020

Cornice Kofasi mo Ofu

by James Poss

Client: James Poss

A' Design Award Uʻamea Winner in Meafale Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #97273

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Colors

The Design

About Cornice Kofasi mo Ofu

'O le Cornice o se kofasi na mamanuina mo le teuina ma le fa'aalia o lavalava. E teu e le Cornice ofu ua gaugau e pei o mitiafu ma puloou mafiafia. 'O kofasi masani e natia lavalava i totonu o fata tatala, a'o fata tatala o le Cornice e mafai ai ona fa'aalia mea pele fa'atasi ai ma le teuina. 'O le fa'atulagaga tatala e pei o se fa'atagata e fa'atumauina ai le foliga mama. 'O le tele o fata pauu e fa'amalosia ai le fa'atulagaga i se tulaga e tasi ma fa'alavelaveina le fa'aputuina fa'alētonu e mafai ona fa'aleagaina ai lavalava. 'O le fa'ata'ita'iga o lo'o fa'aalia o se fa'ata'ita'iga la'ititi na faia i le laupapa, ma o le mea fa'ai'u o le a fausia mai le alumini fusifusia. E fetaui le Cornice mo fale nofoia ma faleoloa.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Uʻamea

O le A' Design Award Uʻamea na manumalo ai Cornice Kofasi mo Ofu, o se faamaoniga mamalu e tuuina atu i mamanu lelei e faataunuu ai manaʻoga faapolofesa ma pisinisi e faamoemoeina mai galuega ua mamanuina lelei. O ē manumalo i le Uʻamea e faaalia ai le tomai tele, le faapitoa maualuga, le malamalama o tagata poto ma le mafai fatufatuaʻi o ē na faia. E faamoemoeina Cornice Kofasi mo Ofu e avea ma mea ua matuā vivii, mataʻina ma pelepelea e aogā ma fou. O lenei mamanu na manumalo i le A' Design Award Uʻamea e tuufaatasia ai faiga sili o le pisinisi ma e iai uiga faatekonolosi mafai ua fesoʻotaʻi ma le poto ma le taleni. Ona o lona faatuatuaina, e tatau ai Cornice Kofasi mo Ofu ona faaaloalogia ma ua mamanuina e tuuina mai ai faaleleiga o le olaga e fesoasoani e faia ai e le lalolagi se nofoaga e sili atu ona lelei.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Cornice Dresser clothing storage/display concept design. Open sculptural frame and numerous slim shelves encourage single layer garment organization. Designed for both home and retail applications.
Dimensions & Packaging: 1260mm x 510mm x 1430mm
Tags: dresser, bedroom, clothing, clothes, garment, garments, streetwear, fashion
Production Technology: The piece shown is a 1:4 scale model made of wood. The realized piece would be constructed with welded aluminum.
Design Challenge: The most difficult part of developing this piece was maintaining the open, almost weightless feeling of the frame while still having enough structural support. We conducted scale weld tests to make sure the realized design would have no problem supporting the intended weight. Thanks to the numerous drawers, the design's structural rigidity exceeded all expectations, and would not need any additional support.
Research: Prior to beginning work on this design, I researched as many current and vintage dressers/bureaus as possible. I surveyed trusted authorities in the fashion industry, who confirmed demand for such a product, as modern fashion consumers are frustrated that their dressers have not evolved along with the trends. The explosion of streetwear has resulted in luxury t-shirts becoming the new status symbols, yet people are still forced to stuff them into dresser (despite the high price point, these t-shirts are still primarily made of thin cotton, which cannot be hung long-term without being deformed by its hanger). Fashion is by definition about showing off, and I sought to create a new kind of dresser that would enable people to display their prized garments in addition to storing them. I also conducted anatomical research to make sure that there was enough room in between the shelves to easily retrieve and replace garments without obstruction.
Inspiration: Inspired by the modern fashion consumer. Luxury t-shirts and hoodies are the new suits and ties, yet clothing storage options have remained unchanged, with traditional dressers hiding casual clothes stuffed inside drawers. Cornice Dresser's open shelves enable display of prized garments in addition to always-ready storage.
Project Duration: This project was created in August 2019 in London.
Operation Flow: This piece would be used in place of a traditional dresser. Since formal wear needs to be hung, this is designed for folded garments such as t-shirts and sweaters/hoodies. The modern fashion consumer is buying more and more luxury streetwear pieces, but they can't show them off if they are hidden away stuffed inside of drawers. This dresser enables the user to display their favorite pieces, and the slim shelves discourages messy, damaging stacking of clothes. Alternatively, this could be used as a display piece for retail stores.
Image Credits: All Images: Photographer James Poss, Cornice, 2019.