Media Contacts:

 

 

 

Laura Jacobs                                                                Leonard T. Deshield, Jr. (El'Jay)

 

 

 

Communications Director                                              Deshield Enterprises, LLC (Momolu's publicist)

 

 

 

479-418-5774                                                            703-498-8578

 

 

 

Laura.jacobs@crystalbridges.org                                     info@deshieldenterprises.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos: Print quality JPEGS available upon request

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intersection of Art and Nature Inspires Designer Korto Momolu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Runway contestant designs uniforms for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jan. 16, 2011 ...You won't see them on the runway at Fashion Week, but the guest services and security staff at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., are sporting some exclusive designer fashions. Elements of the uniforms for both men and women at the museum were designed by Arkansas-based fashion designer and Project Runway "All Star" Korto Momolu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Momolu, whose first name is pronounced "cut-TOE," is a Liberia native, and was first runner up and "fan favorite" in the fifth season of Bravo TV's hit show, Project Runway. She was approached in 2010 by Crystal Bridges director Don Bacigalupi to create unique and stylish uniforms for the museum's frontline staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After visiting the Museum site and discussing the vision and mission of the museum with Bacigalupi and museum founder Alice Walton, Momolu developed designs for a vest and sweater for the male employees, and a dress and blouse for the women. She also created a custom fabric print for the scarves and ties worn by guest services staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Momolu took pains to find ways to connect her Crystal Bridges designs with the museum itself, and with the landscape of her adopted state. Long before the museum buildings were completed, she spent time in the forest on the Crystal Bridges site, gathering samples of local flora for color and texture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Walking around the grounds of the future museum site enabled me to become one with what the creators fell in love with...the beauty of Arkansas right at your feet," Momolu said. "It was then that it came to me to take inspiration from the very place the museum would call home, the grounds surrounding it. I gathered leaves and berries and flowers that were well known to the area with the hope to create a signature print that not only represented the Crystal Bridges foundation but show the beauty of Arkansas."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visitors to Crystal Bridges can see the result of Momolu's work on guest services staff in the museum. The scarves in Crystal Bridges' signature colors are reserved for staff members, but a variation of Momolu's print is also available for purchase in the Museum Store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Crystal Bridges

 

 

 

The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of landscape. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate our heritage and artistic possibilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Founded in 2005 by Alice Walton, who serves as board chair, and opened 11-11-11, the Museum takes its name from a nearby natural spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A series of pavilions nestled around two spring-fed ponds house galleries, meeting and classroom spaces, and a large, glass-enclosed gathering hall. Guest amenities also include a restaurant on a glass-enclosed bridge overlooking the ponds and a Marlon Blackwell-designed museum store. Sculpture and walking trails link the Museum's 120-acre park and gardens to downtown Bentonville, Arkansas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information about Crystal Bridges visit http://CrystalBridges.org/.

 

 

 

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