It’s been just over a year since the stunning Rodarte exhibition here at Cooper-Hewitt. Known for finding inspiration in unexpected things, the prolific Rodarte duo have just released a fashion film to accompany their Spring 2011 collection. It’s inspired by 1970s northern California, redwood forests, the gold rush and various asian traditions. Titled after a...
A custom T-shirt design transmitted to the machine via Twitter Pa++ern is a project that uses Twitter to source unique t-shirt designs. Created by Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi, the system translates short bits of custom code received over Twitter into an embroidered shirt pattern. According to the designers, their project is an “esoteric language...
Textile design #253 from Sonia Delaunay, 1928-30. Gouache, ink, and pencil on paper. Private collection © L & M SERVICES B.V. The Hague 20100623 Photo: © private collection As New York Fashion Week Fall 2011 draws to a close, I wanted to compare some beautiful textile patterns that fashion designers this past year have shown...
The 2010 Fashion Design Award goes to Rodarte. Rodarte was founded in Pasadena, California, in 2005 by Kate and Laura Mulleavy. Inspired by things as diverse as California Condors, Japanese horror films, and our national parks they do amazing and magical things to fabrics and materials. They are creating a new lens for the world...
As a guest of Jean and Frederic Sharf, I spent this past weekend celebrating the Arnold Scaasi exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Museum’s recent acquisition of his archive and more than 100 of his designs. Festivities commenced at the Sharfs’ home in Brookline, with a delectable dinner for nearly 70...
This past weekend was a terrific Cynthia Rowley/Johnson & Johnson extravaganza at Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Cynthia’s show at Lincoln Center was downright gorgeous, with stunning skirts perforated with geometric shapes and cabochon-covered fabrics with transparent cardigans and gauzy stockings. I sat behind Rebecca Romjin and Alan Cumming, which was fun, despite being...
The evening of May 19th capped off a three-day residency at the Cooper-Hewitt for Natalie Chanin, founder and designer of the design studio Alabama Chanin. Chanin, one of the founders of the burgeoning “slow fashion” movement, followed up her two-day Design Directions workshop for teenagers with an hour-long public lecture and book signing. “Lecture”...
Last night at Cooper-Hewitt, Washington Post Style Editor Robin Givhan lead a conversation with past National Design Award Winners Francisco Costa (Women’s Creative Director of Calvin Klein Collection), Yeohlee Teng, and Maria Cornejo about their work and the role of fashion in contemporary culture. Their designs are all featured in Design USA: Contemporary Innovation, which...
Washington Post Style Editor Robin Givhan, leads a conversation with past National Design Award Winners Francisco Costa (Womens Creative Director of Calvin Klein Collection), Yeohlee Teng, and Maria Cornejo about their work and the role of fashion in contemporary culture. Their designs are featured in Design USA: Contemporary Innovation.
