People are so obsessed with an old Marriott hotel carpet that they're turning it into outfits
Redeem now - A beloved hotel carpet at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis was discontinued in 2015.
- Fans at Dragon Con, held at the hotel every year, didn't let go.
- They continue to honor the carpet by turning scraps and recreated patterns into costumes and accessories.
- It's part of a larger subculture of carpet pattern devotees.
A discontinued Marriott Hotel carpet has found a second life — as a fashion statement.
Fans of the carpet at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis are turning scraps of the discarded carpet into costumes, according to the Wall Street Journal. The pattern developed a following at Dragon Con, a convention for fantasy fans held at the hotel every year.
But fans called foul when the Marriott renovated one of its events halls in 2015, discarding the carpet in the process. The fans derisively describe the new carpet as "skid marks" — it looks like streaks of brown and beige — a less sophisticated-looking pattern than the mosaic-like blues, yellows, and reds they grew to love.
Some went dumpster diving to save the scraps of the original carpet, keeping it for themselves or selling it on eBay. And in the 2016 Dragon Con parade, Zan Bowden, an IT worker living in Florida known as "Eternal Zan" to Dragon Con attendees, turned the carpet into a costume. Since then, others have followed her lead.
"I got 30 random strangers to dress up like carpet and march with me," she told the Wall Street Journal. "You should have heard the cheers of the crowd."
And although the carpet is now gone from the floors of the Marriott, it lives on in the hearts and minds of Dragon Con attendees.
There are blogs that instruct people how to make their own, homemade fabrics using the pattern to turn it into DIY creations, and Facebook groups where fans barter strips of fabric like in a highly specialized carpet bazaar. They call themselves the "Cult of the Carpet."
Some wear it as costumes.
Including a carpet-themed Stormtrooper ...
... and a Marriott carpet Deadpool.
Some fans formed the "Marriott Magic Carpets Quidditch team."
One fan even brought a shrine for the carpet to Dragon Con.
There's a tradition where people take photos of themselves dressed as the old carpet against the "skid mark" new carpet.
There are even Cult of the Carpet members who turn the fabric into handbags, backpacks, dresses, and other accessories.
Loving my new Marriott carpet pin by @garbage_humans! #ripcarpet
The Cult of the Carpet is one small element in a larger subculture where people cling onto carpet designs.
In 2013, for example, Portland's PDX airport began replacing its beloved teal-colored carpet, which featured slashes of violet and light purple.
But fans of the design didn't let go, and replicated it for everything from bike helmets to beer bottle labels, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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