Parsons Series - Meet The Contestants (Part I)

Welcome to the newest episode of the Parsons Series... or should I say Parsons saga? In case you didn't read last week's post, let me recap things for you. We, at MCM partnered up with Parsons School of Design Students in Fashion Design, Communication Design & Technology and Product Design to create a truly innovative new fashion accessory at the intersection between fashion and technology. The winning team gets a $5000 prize and at the end of the project, we will also donate $20.000 to Parsons to establish MCM Scholars Fund at The School of Fashion.

Without further ado, let's go and meet some of the teams! First up today are the Cambio and Soma groups. 

Cambio

The members of Cambio decided to stay true to our global travelling heritage and trunk making history and set off to make a line of travel essentials with a twist. I travel very frequently, be it for work or pleasure and I must say the idea behind the Cambio line is a very appealing one. It is essentially designed to make TSA checks easier and a smoother process for travellers: the trunk has a built-in scale to avoid nasty excess luggage surprises, the purse hides a camera (not quite sure why the camera needs to be hidden, unless you are an international spy though - if you are an international spy, please don't tell me), last but not least, the carry-on can hold liquids according to the very strict TSA standards. 

After reading up on their line, I caught myself daydreaming about a world where going through security at airports was easier and allowed people to remain stylish. When travelling, I always find it difficult to find the perfect balance between style and practicality and I end up compromising one of the other. I believe we can have it all... and Cambio is definitely working hard on it!

In their own words: "As technology becomes wearable, it is often very ugly. As designers it is our job to make it beautiful". I couldn't agree more.

Soma

?Our second group today is Soma. Their approach to the project is different: rather than focusing on MCM and our heritage as a travel brand, they chose to analyse our customers' needs in order to come up with a line of bags that are both functional and stylish... or should I say even more functional and more stylish than our existing bags with a little help from technology.

Before starting their work on the Soma line, the members of the group did a survey of the top 6 things women carried in their handbag and designed according to those responses. The result is a touch-enhanced purse that allows the person who carries it to instantly know where their keys, phone, wallet, make-up etc are. I think every woman can relate to the "black hole" syndrome I experience on a daily basis when trying to locate something in my bag and this could potentially be a life saver. Well maybe not literally a life saver as this is another group's concept, but the Soma line could definitely save you from a lot of craning of the neck!

These are only the first two groups, stay tuned for more in the next few weeks... I hope you enjoyed this new episode of the Parsons Series.

xoxo Laetitia