DALLAS, May 4, 2007/ FW/ --- When Andres Throckmorton Stickney debuted his label ‘Dres’ (a short form of his first name) in New York in Sep 2003, he caught the eye of the fashion crowd with the innovative way he crafted clothing and accessories with rubber.

Using a patented process in perforating this natural material, Stickney created corset belts, bare midriff blouses, bandeaus, vests, A-line minis and skintight pants, even a set of bikinis.

Inventing the process took years of research, something he started while he was still a teenager, living all over the world with his parents who were corporate gypsies. It was not until October 2002 when Stickney settled in New York and established Dres, introducing it first as an accessories company.

Five years had passed since then, and today Stickney has a new rubber-based product that he invented – perfolast. Made with rubber components, it is smooth and has an elasticity of 200%. It is abrasion resistant and can be washed in a washing machine, even a dishwasher.

“I worked closely with manufacturers to create Perfelast,’ Stickney told FashionWindows in an interview. “My first plans for it was for the fashion industry, and then I realized that it a lot of potential for other uses.”

Introducing ‘Perfelast’ at the Design Suite at Smashbox Studios during the recently concluded Fall 2007 Los Angeles season, Stickney proposed belts, handbags and bracelets using this new material.

He also started incorporating gold into the mix, thus in turn launching the ‘Dres Collection,’ the luxury line of Dres, while still keeping ‘Dres Sport’ the more affordable line. And as Stickney forayed into the luxury market, he also started using his patented perforating process on crocodile and other animal skins, thus expanding his market.

Speaking of expansion, with ‘Perfelast’, Stickney also found himself in the home accessories arena.

“Perfelast is so versatile that it can be used as basis for home accessories,” said Stickney. “It is so very thin and it traps water, i.e., water is caught within the perforation. There are a lot of possibilities for its uses.”

With that in mind, don’t be surprised if you see the Dres logo not usually associated with fashion, such as table linens and coasters or for industrial uses such as carpeting.

“The potential is there,” said Stickney. “But, right now, I’m concentrating on fashion accessories. The other uses for Perfelast can wait a little longer,” he added.

For more information about Perfelast and Dres, please log on: www.dresdesign.com