Over the past year, the Saint Louis Fashion Incubator’s six designers created uniforms for some of the world’s top chess players as part of Pinned! A Designer Chess Challenge. The designers were tasked with creating two submissions: a chess uniform and an avant-garde piece inspired by the game.
Although Audra Noyes was chosen as the winner of the competition in August, all the designers’ submissions will be on display beginning Thursday, October 6 as part of a new exhibit at the World Chess Hall of Fame.
Get a weekly dose of home and style inspiration
Subscribe to the St. Louis Design+Home newsletter to explore the latest stories from the local interior design, fashion, and retail scene.
St. Louis has become a bit of a chess mecca. It’s home to several of the world’s top players and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis frequently hosts high-profile competitions.
When Shannon Bailey, the chief curator at the World Chess Hall of Fame, learned that Susan Sherman was opening the fashion incubator downtown, it seemed like an obvious partnership.
See also: An inside look at Saint Louis Fashion Fund’s chess uniform competition
As part of the competition, each designer was paired with a grandmaster to learn more about the game and what would be required of a uniform.
“I feel like I drew the right name out the hat,” says Audra Noyes, of AUDRA. “Maurice [Ashley] is a player, but he’s also a commentator. He’s a fashionable gentleman, so he was able to speak to the needs of the player but also push those boundaries.”
Ashley helped Noyes learn about the origins of chess and of the queen. “I found that there was a parallel between my company’s mission of fusing American sportswear with the ease and allure of couture and the history of the queen, which was a fusion of two things as well. So that was my foundation.”
Noyes says it’s important to build a story behind what she’s creating. She researched the history of the queen and wrote a poem to help her create a story. “I definitely like to think about the emotional response of what someone is going through,” she says. “I thought about the physical colliding of the rook and the bishop and who she was in essence. The fabrics and the patterns and the embroidery all transcended or came out from that—from those emotions.”
In her avant-garde piece, Noyes used embroidery and Swarovski crystals to trace the movements of the rook and the bishop. “So those dancing diagonal lines, and those bold, straight motions all are tracing plays on a chess board. I thought it would further emphasize the fact that when combined she, the queen, transcends all the other pieces.”
All the designers found different ways to incorporate the game of chess into their avant-garde looks. “I knew how talented they were, but I cannot believe how impressive and awe-inspiring the final looks are and how interested they were in learning about chess,” says Bailey.
The exhibit will feature the creations from each of the designers and provide an understanding of their process. There will be videos highlighting the history of St. Louis’ garment district and a section on the history of chess in St. Louis.
The exhibition’s opening reception is Friday, October 6 from 6–8 p.m. at the World Chess Hall of Fame (4652 Maryland). The exhibit will run through March 25.
