Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse

It's satisfying to see so much conversation happening around recycling, upcycling, and sustainabie decision making – especially when that also means that one is not sacrificing beauty and artistry. The Palm Spring Art Museum Architecture and Design Center will be showcasing an exhibit from the Cooper Hewitt / Smithsonian Design Museum: Three Women, Three Continents, Three Companies That Put Recycling at the Heart of the Design Process . . .

From the description, "Scraps will present three designers’ alternative approaches to the shockingly high human and environmental costs of textile industry waste. Luisa Cevese (Riedizioni, Milan, Italy), Christina Kim (dosa, Los Angeles, USA), and Reiko Sudo (NUNO, Tokyo, Japan) all share a profound respect for scraps as repositories of raw materials, energy, labor, and creativity. Inspired by the long tradition of using handcraft to give new life to scraps and cast-offs, each takes an entirely different approach to contending with textile waste. But all three agree that there is much to be gained—aesthetically and financially, as well as environmentally and socially—by making recycling an integral part of their design practices."

The exhibition is organized by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and is curated by Matilda McQuaid, Deputy Director of Curatorial and Head of Textiles, and Susan Brown, Associate Curator of Textiles,. The Palm Springs presentation is organized by Brooke Hodge.

image: (detail) Basket Bag, 2015, designed 1996, designed by Luisa Cevese, produced by Riedizioni (Milan, Italy), © Luisa Cevese Riedizioni