Folkwear goes to NYC

August 28, 2017 3 Comments

I had a wonderful time in New York City the other week, and I wanted to share some of my adventures here!

First, I visited the Museum at FIT and saw their exhibit "Forces of Nature".  This was a great, small-ish exhibit (and its free!!).  This exhibit looks at how nature has influenced fashion and can be an indicator of culture's relationship with nature.  The garments were beautiful, and while we can obviously see how natural elements like flowers and feathers influence fashion, it was interesting to see how tectonic plates or celestial bodies also influence fashion and design.  

Then, I made my way to the Garment District.  I visited quite a few shops, including Mood, which was of course amazing.  My other two favorite shops were Hamed Fabric and Swan Fabric on 39th St.  All these fabric stores are overwhelming. I spent hours in them and really did not see close to everything.  There is a good video on how to shop for fabrics in the garment district and I used quite a few of the tips when I was shopping there.  I got a few great pieces that I hope to share with you soon as a kit for a new pattern!  Stay tuned!

One of the main points of this NYC trip was to get to see the Counter-Couture exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design before it closed (closed August 20).  This exhibit was a look at the folk movement of the 1960s and 1970s as it manifested itself in clothing.  Clothing became a folk art movement with the creative use of embroidery, ethnic influences, textile manipulation, painting, etc.  And, our company, Folkwear was born out of this movement.  It was really great to see so many interesting garments and how that folk art movement created this company and its original patterns.  Alexandara Hart, a co-founder of Folkwear, and an influencer of this exhibit was given some love at the exhibit too!

Afghan Nomad Dress by Alexandra Hart. 

Hand painted version of Gaza Dress by K. Lee Manuel.  

To round out my NYC adventures, I made a quick stop at the MET to see the Kawakubo exhibit.  I can't say I LOVED this exhibit, but I found it very interesting and I liked the USA Today quote about it: "Is clothing art? Who cares, you'll love the new MET exhibit anyway."  Also, the Impressionist room was beside the Kawakubo exhibit and it was amazing to walk around for 10 minutes and see a Monet, Manet, Renior, Gauguin, Van Gough, Cezanne, and Matisse.  Wow!

And, I made some stops to visit the Highline Park, the World Trade Center Memorial, Central Park, and the Brooklyn Bridge!  New York is exciting and energetic, but also exhausting.  I was glad to get back home (and still look forward to my next trip!).

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