Fashion, Culture, Futures: African American Ingenuity, Activism, and Storytelling is a two-part symposium co-organized by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Presented virtually Thursday, June 17, and Thursday, Oct. 21, both programs bring together academics, designers, critics, models, artists, activists and others to share new...
On November 21, 1939, Women’s Wear Daily reported on the upcoming launch of a new line of fabrics from the Bol-Inca Group. Under the art direction of Will Chappel, this group of eight fabrics took direct inspiration from a collection of original pre-Columbian fabrics purchased in Bolivia by fashion and accessories designer Alma Norton Duffill...
In 2015, Eileen Fisher announced an ambitious corporate goal: to be fully sustainable by 2020. Vision 2020, as the initiative is called, includes moving toward 100% organic fibers and non-polluting dyes, on-shoring more production, rigorous supply-chain and social responsibility monitoring, and a take-back policy for used Eileen Fisher clothing. So far, nearly half a million...
Interaction design is not just about the way an individual interacts with his or her surroundings, it is about bringing people together and starting conversations. On February 4th at Cooper-Hewitt’s uptown Design Center, this was the theme for our group of Design Scholars’ most recent workshop. We held our first meeting with a few user...
The 2011 Fashion Design Award goes to J. Mendel. Under the creative direction of Gilles Mendel since 1981, the fifth-generation luxury brand was established on the principles of high quality, timeless style, and craftsmanship. Using only the finest materials, Mendel is a true innovator who is renowned for manipulating fabrics in unexpected ways. The Fashion...
Shortly after the Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay exhibition opened, I received a call from the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo in Florence. The exhibition features a show-stopping coat designed by Delaunay for the actress Gloria Swanson. The Ferragamo Museum suggested that they had the design for a matching shoe. Ferragamo moved to Hollywood...
Teens had a behind-the-scenes opportunity this week with a visit to SENA. Sena Yang is the creative force behind her namesake, SENA. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Sena began her career working alongside Alexander McQueen, Catherine Malandrino, LaROK and Sue Stemp. She shared her experience as an up-and-coming designer with students...
Art et Decoration, November 1926 Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay, which opened March 18, brings over 300 examples of the artist’s fashion and textile designs to our galleries. Here are a few fun things that were not included, but can all be found in Smithsonian’s National Design Library, housed here at Cooper-Hewitt....
A small group of Cooper-Hewitt Members had the special privilege of going on an installation tour of Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay. In the galleries, geometric prints popped with color and movement. Members previewed gorgeous gouache on paper and finished fashion pieces—embroidered swimsuits and a coat made for silent film star Gloria...