Cooper Hewitt to Present Exhibition on Textile Industry Innovations This Fall

NEW YORK, April 19, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Featuring creative and alternative approaches to confronting textile industry waste, "Scraps: Fashion, Textiles and Creative Reuse," on view Sept. 23–April 16, 2017, presents the work of three designers who put sustainability at the heart of the design process. Highlighting contemporary design that embraces the tradition of using handcraft to give new life to scraps and cast-offs, the exhibition showcases work by Luisa Cevese, founder of Milan-based design studio Riedizioni; Christina Kim, founder of Los Angeles-based brand dosa; and Reiko Sudo, cofounder of Toyko textile design firm Nuno.

"Telling the inspiring and empowering stories of three women designers and entrepreneurs who hail from three continents, 'Scraps' brings critical focus to the human and environmental costs of fashion consumption while also offering viable solutions for reducing waste and raising awareness," said Caroline Baumann, director of the museum. "Installed in the museum's Design Process Galleries, the exhibition will be an illuminating display of design ingenuity."

Through more than 40 works, the exhibition explores key facets of sustainability, such as the efficient use of materials and resources, the preservation of local craft traditions and the integration of new technologies in the recycling process. Works on view include tabletop accessories and handbags refashioned from silk selvage scraps by Cevese, appliquéd panels produced from recycled jamdani saris by Kim, and a variety of fabrics woven from kibiso, a luxury fiber Sudo developed using discarded parts of the silk cocoon. "Scraps" is organized by Matilda McQuaid, deputy director of curatorial and head of textiles and Susan Brown, associate curator of textiles.

Related educational programs include workshops for high school and college students, children and adults, and a panel discussion with the designers.

A 112-page illustrated catalog of the exhibition, written by the curators McQuaid and Brown with essays by the featured designers, will be published Sept. 20 by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

About the Museum
As the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design, Cooper Hewitt educates, inspires and empowers people through design. The museum has recently undergone a transformative renovation resulting in an entirely new visitor experience and 60 percent more exhibition space to showcase one of the most diverse and comprehensive collections of design works in existence.

SOURCE Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum