NEW YORK — While the worlds of art and fashion often intersect, it is rare they do so over denim.
For an upcoming exhibit from designer and artist Susan Cianciolo, however, denim will be the artistic medium.
“The Woman of the Crowd” is the result of a collaboration between Cianciolo and historic denim manufacturer Cone Mills, which is billed as a multimedia showcase of art and fashion pieces constructed from Cone’s premium White Oak denim. The show kicks off Sept. 6 at the Sears-Peyton Gallery on 11th Avenue here, and will run through Sept. 20, before moving on to the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions in mid-October.
Cianciolo said she drew from a “vast collage” of influences in her approach to the exhibit, which included a New Wave influence, Surrealism, Dadaism and architecture.
“This show is a conceptual piece for me,” said Cianciolo.
Traditional American handcraft work was another major influence that stemmed from the long history of Cone Mills and the White Oak plant. Cone Mills was founded in 1891, while the White Oak plant has continuously produced denim since 1905. The challenge, said Cianciolo, was putting all the influences together to present something new.
Cianciolo is no stranger to denim. When she branched out on her own in 1995 to launch Run Collection, her first line included a series of prints on denim. In later years, her collections featured denim skirts, which she said were also a substantial part of her custom work for personal clients.
“It’s a big part of my own history,” said Cianciolo. “I completely understand it.”
The range of options available and improvements in quality have changed dramatically since 1995, said Cianciolo, opening the door for the fabric to be used in new ways. She particularly welcomed the greater degree of flexibility these options provided when it came to designing the exhibit’s denim fashion collection, called Brother Jeans and Sister Jeans. Cianciolo said she had the option of using untreated organic denims that incorporated hemp, providing a blank canvas for her to manipulate, or using ready-made fabrics.
“What I have now is so many qualities that are so premium from Cone that I’m able to drape a really beautiful dress that is structured for the couture end,” she said.
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Aside from the denim collection, the exhibit will include Cianciolo’s drawings and collages, music, photographs by Mark Borthwick and art installations adorning the walls, floors and ceilings. The Sept. 6 opening also will fete the release of a book, titled, too, “The Woman of the Crowd,” written by the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology research curator Patricia Mears. The book chronicles the collaboration between Cone and Cianciolo.
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