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.

The making of any exhibition is a fascinating and complex project. This video gives you a sense of what happened behind the scenes in the run up to the opening of Quicktake: Rodarte. Hear from Kate and Laura Mulleavy, Acting Director Caroline Baumann and Curator Gregory Krum.

The making of any exhibition is a fascinating and complex project. This video gives you a sense of what happened behind the scenes in the run up to the opening of Quicktake: Rodarte. Hear from Kate and Laura Mulleavy, Acting Director Caroline Baumann and Curator Gregory Krum.

Laura Mulleavy, one of the designers behind Rodarte and Vogue’s fashion news and features director, Sally Singer were at Cooper-Hewitt this past Saturday discussing Rodarte’s work. You can watch the full program below:   Rodarte is featured in an exhibition at Cooper-Hewitt through March 14, 2010.

A conversation with Laura Mulleavy, one of the designers behind Rodarte and Vogues fashion news and features director, Sally Singer. In 2009, Rodarte was Cooper-Hewitts National Design Award Fashion Design finalist and won the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year Award. Rodarte is featured in an exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt on view February 11, 2010...

Fashion Week closed with a big, fabulous bang last night at Cooper-Hewitt where Laura and Kate Mulleavy graced us with their extraordinary craft and design. While some of the media expressed amazement at the likes of Anna Wintour, Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst, Spike Jonze, and Kim Gordon attending the Rodarte party at 91st and Fifth,...

Rodarte show was like no other—breathtakingly beautiful materials in muted tones combined to communicate a dreamy state. Gorgeous pieces with surprising, mixed use of knits, lace, felt and silk. Fabulous from start—with invitation design by Patrick Li using personalized wax finish—and eerily gorgeous roundels of light emanating from the back wall, to conclusion with high...

Before any mannequin dressing begins, proper museum protocol regarding the intake of objects must be followed. The process generally goes like this: First, the boxes or crates are opened in a clean and secure gallery or room that has environmental controls (including a specific relative humidity and temperature). The entire uncrating process is always photographed,...

The first thing that comes to my mind when planning for an exhibition that has fashion is: how do we want to show the garments? Typically the answer is “on a mannequin”. While there are other ways to showcase clothing, such as hanging (as in the show I recently co-curated at Pratt Manhattan Gallery) or...

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum presents Maria Pinto in conversation with Mary Tomer, founder of Mrs.O.org and author of Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy. Maria Pinto, the Chicago-based designer, is known for her confident and sophisticated clothes, produced in clean lines and luxurious fabrics. Pinto is also known for providing many of First Lady...

Plans are taking shape for the July 24th public programs in Washington, D.C., celebrating the 10th annual National Design Awards. These events will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. at museums around the Mall. First Lady Michelle Obama will host the White House ceremony for the winners and finalists later in the day. Each...

If you happen to be in New York this summer (one day it will stop raining, I promise), be sure to check out these design destinations, all featuring previous National Design Award winners. Recently opened at the Museum of F.I.T., the very beautifully installed retrospective of Toledo Studio’s designs includes The Dress (i.e., the lemongrass...

The winner and two finalists of the Corporate Achievement category are, together, quite different from the winners of the past. As a whole, they represent what is possible at a smaller scale. The Walker does its amazing work in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Heath Ceramics has been handcrafting tiles and tableware in the same way for over...