Willi Smith: Street Couture

Opening march 13, 2020

In the first museum exhibition dedicated to American designer Willi Smith (1948–1987), co-founder of the iconic brand WilliWear, over 200 works by Smith and collaborators will illuminate how the streetwear pioneer broke down social, cultural, and economic boundaries.

Ghetto Gastro Selects

Opening April 20, 2020

The Bronx, New York-based creative collective Ghetto Gastro will curate the 19th installment in the exhibition series that invites designers, artists, architects, and public figures to examine and interpret the museum’s collection.

Suzie Zuzek for Lilly Pulitzer: The Prints That Made the Fashion Brand

Opening may 15, 2020

Between 1962 and 1985, prolific textile designer Suzie Zuzek (1920-2011) created over 1,500 designs for Key West Hand Print Fabrics in Key West, Florida, which were used by Lilly Pulitzer. The exhibition will feature more than 35 original watercolor and gouache design drawings by Zuzek, alongside finished screen-printed textiles and some of the fashions that made them famous, to reveal the nature and scope of Zuzek’s artistic contribution to the iconic Pulitzer style.

nature by design: selections from the permanent collection

Nature by Design presents a rotating selection of extraordinary design drawn from Cooper Hewitt’s collection of over 210,000 objects, inviting visitors to discover how nature and design have intersected in the past and continue to converge in our world. Learn more.

Nature by design: botanical expressions

opening dec. 7, 2019

Interpretations of botanical forms wind their way through the decorative arts of the late 18^th through the early 20^th centuries. Botanical Expressions focuses on key figures—Christopher Dresser, Emile Gallé, William Morris, and Louis Comfort Tiffany—whose knowledge of the natural sciences and personal practices of gardening enriched their creative output as designers.

Supporters

Nature by Design is made possible by major support from Amita and Purnendu Chatterjee. Additional support is provided by the Cooper Hewitt Master’s Program Fund.

Ghetto Gastro Selects is made possible by the Marks Family Foundation Endowment Fund.