Haute couture and skin afflictions seem like odd companions, except that they often differentiate the bearers of both. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. found itself ruminating about this unlikely intersection in the lead-up to the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, where it sought to familiarize attendees with the debilitating effects of generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) while its drug treatment awaited FDA approval. What Dutch fashion designer Bart Hess and exhibit house Access TCA Inc. delivered was an unforgettable stand that impressed Exhibit Design Awards judges so much that they bestowed it with the competition's top honor, the EDGE Award for exhibit design and graphic excellence. Boehringer presented Hess with interviews of people describing their painful GPP flareups and challenged him to create garments that would serve as metaphorical yet tangible representations of their anguish and isolation. Evoking a mash-up of Alexander McQueen and Iris van Herpen, the four-piece Unwearable Collection featured a gown of reflective foil and broken glass, a suit comprising layered paper shards, a body-wrapping boa of 2,900 knives and razor blades, and a jacket of fiery fabric. "Fashion can help express who we want to be," Hess said in a campaign video about creating the garments. "This time it will explain how people with generalized pustular psoriasis are forced to be."

Each hand-crafted creation was carefully placed on a mannequin elevated on a white riser and accompanied by a layered backdrop that reflected dramatic overhead spot illumination. "The light play is perfect," one juror said. "Even the shadows are beautiful." Stark, theatrical, and undeniably arresting, this somber exhibit was clearly a cut above its competitors. E