Iron Furniture Design · 2020
Cornice Dresser
by James Poss
- A' Design Award 2020 Iron Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: James Poss
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 8,987
- Verification code E2AE44AE23 · Verify this award
About Cornice Dresser
Cornice is a dresser designed for clothing storage and display. Cornice holds folded garments such as t-shirts and sweaters. Traditional dressers hide clothes inside drawers, while the open shelves of Cornice allow favorite pieces to be shown as well as stored. The sculptural open frame keeps the appearance light. Numerous slim shelves encourage single-layer organization and discourage messy stacking that can damage garments. The model shown is a scale version made of wood, and the final piece would be built from welded aluminum. Cornice suits both homes and retail stores.
Press Kit
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Image Credits
- All Images: Photographer James Poss, Cornice, 2019.