Creative ingenuity with cultural expressions and artistic ploy, designer Danell Lynn brings new life to fashion and human nature. Her company, Dl-couture, is as unique in the fashion world as they are based in humanitarian endeavors. Each year they create a gown where 100 percent of the proceeds go to charity. This year, the gown is made of Arizona Cardinal game jerseys and is signed by the NFC championship team. It is up for silent auction until Oct. 31 and can be seen on www.dl-couture.com. Fifty percent of the proceeds go to Partners in Malawi, 30 percent to Kurt Warner's First Things First Foundation, 10 percent to Threading Hope and 10 percent to Highwire.
Creating a gown each year for charity is a great gesture in itself, but more so because they only make 13 custom gowns a year. Therefore, the exclusivity makes each dress seem almost more like a limited edition work of art than a clothing item. This is because Dl-couture provides beautiful fabrics from all over the world for clients, even flying to pick up the perfect fabric for a specific gown. Lynn also travels the world and hand selects the fabric used in her gowns and buys directly from the merchants, supporting global economy.
"How does it feel to create something that has never been done before?" asks Gillian Ferris-Kohl of NPR, regarding the Cardinal’s gown. As many question, where did the idea even come from to make a gown from NFL jerseys? The answer is simple. "The abstract side of my mind is overly active in creativity and an exact location can not be pin-pointed. It is a blend of my love for art and athletics, and I hope for many more ventures with professional sports," says Lynn.
Dl-couture is considered a rarity in the world of high fashion, not just because of the innovative designs but because of their true mission for blending clothing and compassion. Lynn received her start when she trained at Miami International University of Art and Design, and earned awards such as Advant-Garde Designer of the Year. She was also one of five in the nation winning a spot to present wearable jewelry design in the Lourve Museum in Paris. Situated in Florida’s fashion market, she worked as an assistant designer to a couture house on South Beach before following the road less traveled, embracing her imagination and creating Dl-couture. Lynn took the parts of the industry she loved and left behind that which she didn’t, blending artistic details, sustainability and creativity of fabrics from unique communities throughout the globe, and the seeds began to sprout.
She is building a name for Dl-couture with her graceful ability to carry out even difficult creations, from dresses made of playing cards, to elegant gowns of Chinese silk, to green friendly recycled creations of old jerseys that have hit the NFL playing fields time and again. She has dressed Mrs. World and Miss America and enjoys the variety and excitement that making a pattern only once entails. Clients have playfully mocked her mind's ability to create and expertly execute garments. "What’s next, an engineering degree?" asks a client who commissioned a dress of playing cards for their educational playing cards company.
Dl-couture is a custom clothing line that believes looking beautiful can also be meaningful. It specializes in Haute Couture, and they donate 15 percent of all their custom gown sales to aid those in need. "Every time our clients wear the handmade garments, they are reminded of their commitment to helping children and families less fortunate," says Lynn. "It is not just a gown, but a walking story."
The company is also heavily rooted in humanitarian work. As a global ambassador, Lynn travels the world for aid work and has also developed Threading Hope, a humanitarian entity of Dl-couture that creates and accepts donations from quilters around the globe to bring warmth to a child in need. "We are always looking for those with large hearts willing to create a quilt for us to take to foreign countries,” says Lynn. “Next year we are off to Malawi to deliver quilts to the sickest of the sick in the In Patient ward for Partners in Malawi hospital."
If you are interested in helping to donate go to www.dl-couture.com and click on the Threading Hope page for more information. For more information on Dl-couture or to contact Danell Lynn please visit www.dl-couture.com or email info@dl-couture.com.
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