HP “Project Runway” Challenge Asks Designers to Create Unique Patterns with HP Technology

HP and Intel technology marries art and technology, transforming designers’ inspiration into striking garments on Lifetime Television’s hit series

HP showcased the powerful integration of technology and fashion with the return of a special design challenge from HP and Intel, which aired tonight on Lifetime Television’s hit show “Project Runway,” and took designers on a journey back to their cultural roots. This season’s HP and Intel Pattern Making episode focused on celebrating the extraordinary diversity among the group of designers whose backgrounds range from a self-taught designer to a design-school graduate. Contestants readily accepted the challenge of incorporating their cultural heritage into textile designs using HP TouchSmart PCs with Intel processors. During the pattern-making process, designers embarked on emotional reunions with family members and loved ones to help conjure family history and traditions, which they translated into digital canvases.

Pattern-making icons and former HP and Intel challenge winners Mondo Guerra and Anya Ayoung-Chee made a surprise return to help introduce and judge this year’s challenge. In Season 8, Guerra won the challenge with his touching story and now-famous “positivity pattern,” and Season 9 designer Ayoung-Chee captivated the judges with her island-inspired patterns and trendy silhouettes.

The HP and Intel Pattern Making challenge has become a signature episode and fan favorite for the long-running series. This season, family members and friends of the designers arrived in the “Project Runway” workroom with digital dossiers in tow, displaying each designer’s unique cultural heritage. The source of inspiration for their pattern making and final designs became clear as each designer viewed images of their personal family history on Intel-inspired HP UltrabooksTM.

“This challenge provided me with the opportunity to create a pattern that defined my personal history and design aesthetic. I wanted the judges to be able to feel and see my cultural heritage through my textile design and construction, which were also inspired by my passion for architecture.”

— Dmitry Sholokhov, winner of the HP and Intel design challenge