In celebration of Women’s History Month, March Object of the Day posts highlight women designers in the collection. Sheila Hicks is one of the most important living artists today, who has chosen fiber as her primary medium. The museum is fortunate enough to have over sixty works spanning more than fifty years of her career,...
Infographic: what you need to know about the fashion industry. In the past forty years, the scale and the geographical distribution of production of the textile, clothing and footwear industries have changed dramatically.
This textile study sample was woven by Lydia van Gelder in preparation for a larger wall hanging, “Houses on a Street” that she created for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. Serving as a diminutive sample for the larger piece, it is tapestry woven – double interlocked with extended dovetailing for shading....
Knotted netting is one of the most ancient methods of constructing textiles, often used for functional objects essential to early cultures, such as bags, snares and nets. Many examples have been found in the middens, or refuse piles, of the Pre-ceramic cultures of the desert coast of Peru. Nets played an essential role in fishing:...
Industrial felt production at Brand Felt of Canada Toronto, Canada, 2008. Produced by Cooper-Hewitt with the cooperation of Brand Felt of Canada Fashioning Felt presents an extraordinary range of felt. From two-dimensional carpets to three-dimensional environments, each work reveals the virtuosity of both the material and the designers. The exhibition and book focus on felt...
Two significant tools for American designers seeking to make their design process more sustainable have recently been announced. The first tool, which hopefully will have broad and positive implications for manufacturers of outdoor industry goods, is Eco-Index . Basically an assessment tool which evaluates a product’s environmental impact, Eco-Index allows manufacturers to measure six...
Filmed by Chrtstine Martens. Made with the support of the Asian Cultural Council Fashioning Felt presents an extraordinary range of felt. From two-dimensional carpets to three-dimensional environments, each work reveals the virtuosity of both the material and the designers. The exhibition and book focus on felt that has been produced by traditional hand- or machine-felting...
Making the Palace Yurt felts at the studio of JA Felt Centralia, Washington, 2008. Fllmed by Paul Moore. Courtesy of JA Felt Fashioning Felt presents an extraordinary range of felt. From two-dimensional carpets to three-dimensional environments, each work reveals the virtuosity of both the material and the designers. The exhibition and book focus on felt...
Fashioning Felt on view Mar 6 through Sept 7, 2009 at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. This exhibition explores the varied new uses of felt in a range of fields, including product design, fashion, architecture, and home furnishings.
