CHICAGO – Design Collective by Cintas has walked away with six Image of the Year Awards for best employee apparel from the Network Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors (NAUMD) annual convention held in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Design Collective and its clients were recognized for award-winning apparel collections in the following categories:

• Citrus Club at Arizona Biltmore - RESTAURANTS & FOOD SERVICE
• Durango Casino & Resort - CASINOS
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts - LODGING
• SRM Concrete - PROPERTY CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT
• De Palm Tours Aruba – ENTERTAINMENT
• RETAIL SPECIALTY STORES

"We are excited to be recognized for award-winning design across such a diverse group of clients," said Kristin Sharp, Director of Design Collective. "Our collaborations are important to us, and we show that through our comprehensive design approach. Learning and understanding our client's brands and needs allows us to design with purpose, which is something we always strive to achieve. We are proud to have the talent and resources to carry out each client's vision."

Courtesy images of winning programs are available here.

Citrus Club at Arizona Biltmore
The Citrus Club Lounge is an exclusive adults-only lounge at the Arizona Biltmore built on providing a top-tier experience for guests through personal concierge service. The apparel program was designed to outfit team members across several job functions, including hosts, servers and bartenders. Inspired by the client's brand, Design Collective created an apparel collection featuring a citrus fruit print blouse, custom citrus flower print shirts and custom aprons.
Design Collective created a high-end fashion look that is stylish yet practical and would reflect a sense of place with luxury appeal in a fresh perspective. Functionality was the key driver, opting for a more relaxed silhouette for the top to create ease of movement and comfort while incorporating stretch built into blazers. To maintain a streamlined look, wrinkle-resistant technology was built into the fabric. Design Collective's ability to implement fabric and print research into the program allowed for a unique collection aligned with the brand.

Durango Casino & Resort
Design Collective's collaboration with Durango Casino and Resort spanned across the entire casino. Outfitting more than 2,200 employees, this program was 95% custom and included collections for front desk, bell attendants, valet, casino floor, cocktail waitresses, housekeeping and several restaurants. All fabrics used were specifically curated to fit beautifully into the property, focusing on fit, function, comfort, and style.

The local Las Vegas casino is a true oasis in the desert, becoming the focus as the jewel in the local neighborhood. Durango's goal was to have a wardrobe program that looked like it came straight off the runway and into the local Las Vegas neighborhood. Design Collective's ability to establish a strong relationship and work with every level of Durango's staff, from interior design to marketing, allowed them to create a complete program that was in line with the brand's overall goals.

SRM Concrete
SRM Concrete is a family owned, ready-mix provider who is recognized as the largest and fastest growing concrete producer in the United States. The goal was to outfit their two main divisions for an employed staff of over 8,500 people. Concrete and Materials, with a custom look, elevate their brand in the marketplace, while also providing the wearers with comfortable, durable garments.

Design Collective created a program offering a complete system of SRM branded apparel that includes exclusive design, enhanced visibility, short- sleeve polo shirts, performance 1⁄4 zip layering and an enhanced visibility hooded duck jacket. The Design Collective team tapped into their industry experience and capabilities to deliver a program consisting of custom long sleeve polos and hooded layering pieces that utilize fabrication, silhouettes and safety features to meet SRM's requirements.
De Palm Tours Aruba
De Palm Tours Aruba collaborated with Design Collective to develop a program that was simple to administer for a rapid turnover while addressing the need to provide superior materials that were appropriate for the Caribbean. As a result, Design Collective modified their Ready to Wear collection to match the color scheme and job functions of each designated area. Expertise in regional weather, geographic challenges and performance fabrics allowed designers to effectively communicate every detail as the program was designed.

With approximately 400 workers, The De Palm Tours Aruba is a tour and transfer firm. They have maintenance departments, all support services, and tour guides out in the field (bus, UTV, Jeep, catamaran, boat, submarines) in addition to lifeguards, divers, waiter staff, and cleaners at their waterpark. The collaboration improved the appearance across all corporate divisions, maintained uniformity across all departments, and maximized the brand standards such as colors, logos and design details across their services.

About Design Collective by Cintas
The Design Collective by Cintas is a distinctive fashion house dedicated to creating a modern wardrobe for employees. With design studios in Las Vegas, Chicago, Toronto and Miami, Design Collective's award-winning designers blend garments from our ready-to-wear line with custom-designed pieces to curate apparel collections that enhance brand identity. These collections are often complemented with garments from our retail brand collaborations, giving employees wardrobes they want and love to wear. Design Collective is a division of Cintas Corporation, a publicly held Fortune 500 company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS, and a component of both the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and Nasdaq-100 Index.