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Lauren Harwell Godfrey Designs a Flag for Arkansas
She was one of more than 120 American designers who created flags for the “United Flags of Fashion” project led by CFDA and Vogue.
PHOTO Jewelry designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey of Harwell Godfrey designed Arkansas’ flag for the “United Flags of Fashion” project. It is on display at the Rockefeller Center Rink through Sept. 4.
PHOTO A close up of Lauren Harwell Godfrey's Arkansas flag
New York—The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Vogue, and Rockefeller Center have teamed up with national nonpartisan organization America250 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with the “United Flags of Fashion” project.
The project is a sweeping tribute to American creativity, identity, and design, said the CFDA.
It comprises more than 130 bespoke flags representing the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the six U.S. territories.
Participants were tasked with reimagining one of the original flags, offering a creative interpretation that reflects the nation’s rich diversity and cultural breadth, said the CFDA.
Among the more than 120 American designers that created flags for the project was Lauren Harwell Godfrey of fine jewelry brand Harwell Godfrey.
While some participants were matched with their home state, she was given the state of Arkansas at random, a lucky coincidence as it is her grandmother’s home state.
Godfrey said she broke down the landscape of Arkansas into simple graphic forms because that is what she feels a good flag needs to do.
“The design relies on concentric triangles in earthy tones that double as a rising mountain ridge and a subtle ‘A’ for the state. The contrasting background blocks evoke the day and night sky, while a crisp white chevron at the center nods to Arkansas's famous diamond mines,” said Godfrey.
“The inspiration comes directly from Arkansas’s identity as ‘The Natural State.’ I purposefully based the color palette on natural, earthy colors to reflect its mountains and unique geological features, translating the landscape into simple graphic shapes that honor the state’s terrain.”
The three forms also reference the three nations that have claimed Arkansas, France, Spain, and the U.S., while the five triangular shapes honor the five Native American tribes who originally inhabited the region, said the CFDA on its website.
The project is a sweeping tribute to American creativity, identity, and design, said the CFDA.
It comprises more than 130 bespoke flags representing the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the six U.S. territories.
Participants were tasked with reimagining one of the original flags, offering a creative interpretation that reflects the nation’s rich diversity and cultural breadth, said the CFDA.
Among the more than 120 American designers that created flags for the project was Lauren Harwell Godfrey of fine jewelry brand Harwell Godfrey.
While some participants were matched with their home state, she was given the state of Arkansas at random, a lucky coincidence as it is her grandmother’s home state.
Godfrey said she broke down the landscape of Arkansas into simple graphic forms because that is what she feels a good flag needs to do.
“The design relies on concentric triangles in earthy tones that double as a rising mountain ridge and a subtle ‘A’ for the state. The contrasting background blocks evoke the day and night sky, while a crisp white chevron at the center nods to Arkansas's famous diamond mines,” said Godfrey.
“The inspiration comes directly from Arkansas’s identity as ‘The Natural State.’ I purposefully based the color palette on natural, earthy colors to reflect its mountains and unique geological features, translating the landscape into simple graphic shapes that honor the state’s terrain.”
The three forms also reference the three nations that have claimed Arkansas, France, Spain, and the U.S., while the five triangular shapes honor the five Native American tribes who originally inhabited the region, said the CFDA on its website.
The United Flags of Fashion project is on display at the Rockefeller Center Rink from July 27 through Sept. 4.
The flags can also be seen on the CFDA website.
After its closure, the flags are slated to be donated to the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, where they will be preserved for future public exhibitions.
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