A Trip to Morocco!

April 8, 2024 Lori Weitzner

I have a long bucket list! So many things I want to do and see in the world, but I do not always have the time. Don't get me wrong as I feel incredibly blessed to be able to travel to amazing places for my work and for pleasure but there is just not enough time to do it all....so I sometimes live vicariously through other lenses.

Today, I am going to share Morocco through the eyes of one of my employees, Nina Starace. She went very soon after the earthquake and although I was concerned for her, she had an incredible experience.

I had the opportunity to explore the rich Berber culture, the indigenous people of Morocco. Once marginalized, the Berber culture is now celebrated and recognized in Morocco.

In Marrakesh, particularly in the Medina where I stayed, the colors were incredible. The juxtaposition of the vibrancy of clothing and nature with the more neutral buildings created a unique and beautiful atmosphere.

Even the mundane necessities for daily living - limes for sale in a marketplace - were picturesque.

Of course, while I was there, I took full advantage of their beautiful, perfectly spiced food.

While in Marrakesh, we were able to visit the Yves Saint Laurent museum there. Saint Laurent, who was born in Allegra, returned to Marrakesh later in his life, noting the specific light quality and color sensibility of Morocco as a major point of inspiration for his work.

The Berber people showcased their remarkable craftsmanship, from weaving to woodworking, offering a glimpse into a heritage that has influenced regions far beyond Morocco.

My visit to the Atlas mountains allowed me to tour Berber villages, witnessing their daily lives and traditions.

I went into a yarn store that was incredible on the roof vats of hot dyes were tended to. They were so excited to show me their process.

The colors where a mixture of artificial and natural pigments, and told a story of the mountains and the vibrant culture they represented.

Morocco, despite its recent challenges, remains a captivating and resilient destination. My journey was filled with awe-inspiring moments. The Moroccan people's strength and determination left an indelible mark on my heart. I encourage others to visit this beautiful country.

Addendum

Recently, I was able to help foster some puppies from one of my favorite rescue organizations - Potcakes Place in Turks!

Iris van Herpen; Sculpting the Senses

February 2, 2024 Lori Weitzner

Iris van Herpen is - in my opinion - one of the most fascinating fashion designers working today. She crosses the line between what is fashion and what is art better than anyone I know.

When I was recently in Paris for Deco Off - although working day and night - I was able to sneak away to see a retrospective of her works in person and found them to be so inspiring I couldn’t help but share a bit more about this designer and her work!

van Herpen was born in Wamel, a village in The Netherlands. After graduating from ArtEZ University of the Arts in 2006, van Herpen interned at Alexander McQueen and Claudy Jongstra before branching out on her own.

van Herpen was, perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the first designers to adopt and embrace 3-D printed technology and futuristic fabric manipulation, now considered a signature aesthetic of the brand and designer.

Although very much considered a couture house, Iris van Herpen designs are at the intersection of art and design, with her pieces always embracing volume, shape and form in a way that continues to be awe-inspiring.

Her debut collection in 2007 featured the brass ribs of 700 repurposed umbrellas, which not only got the attention of fashion press, but also of The Groninger Museum, which offered to buy some of the work. Those pieces are now held in their permanent collection in The Netherlands.

These days the brand still often collaborates with a company called Materialise NV, which offers industry-focused digital design and design technology services. You can learn more about this company here!

Iris van Herpen has also collaborated with numerous artists, dancers, choreographers and other designers to push the boundaries of design. Notably they recently partnered with artists such as Anthony Howe and architect Neri Oxmann, making a name for herself with her unconventional material use, including transparent acrylic, silicone, microfiber fabric and polyester film lace.

With its sculptural and architectural nature, Van Herpen's designs are exhibited in various museums, including New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Royal Museum in Toronto and the Groninger Museum. Van Herpen's scientific inclination has also led to collaborations with CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Addendum

To my friend and talent extraordinaire, you were taken away from us all too fast, the world was just getting to know you and your inspired art. I feel blessed to have been able to collaborate with you and even more so, to simply be in your company.I know the heavens will now be graced with your stunning creativity and generous heart.
Lisa Hunt was a visual artist whose screen printed works on paper, canvas and collage, explored the spatial and meditative relationships between patterns. She participated in group exhibitions at national museums and galleries, and acquisitions of her artworks are held at the Asheville Art Museum, North Carolina; Weisman Art Museum, Minnesota; Google Headquarters, New York.
In Spring of 2020 she collaborated with WEITZNER to create *Reverie* — a sumptuous collection of wallcoverings and textiles reflecting her singular art pieces. She passed away peacefully this January.

New York Textile Month 2023

October 6, 2023 Lori Weitzner

Every year I look forward to New York Textile Month in September. This was the eighth year and it just gets better each year.

Finally TEXTILES are getting the attention they deserve! This year I am particularly proud and excited to share that I am on the board of directors of this fantastic city-wide event! I was so honored to be asked and am in the very esteemed company of Dorothy Waxman, Li Edelkoort, Philip Fimmano, Preethi Gopinath and Jacob Long. You can also read more about NYTM mission statement and board of directors here!

The best news is after a huge effort, NYTM is now a non-profit and we will have so many new opportunities in the future to get even more exposure for this incredible month long event!

Founded by Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano, my studio has always participated in NYTM in previous years. This year was no different, we hosted a pop-up event in our studio and it was so much fun! I genuinely love this community of artists, designers and creatives!

Every year there is a diverse selection of programming, from workshops to lectures and panels or pop-ups. But now that it is October, I wanted to take a moment and highlight some of my favorite events from last month.

Botanical Colors is a natural dye supply and information source. Utilizing plants, minerals - and sometimes bugs - to create beautiful dyed goods from cotton to wool and silk with a lower environmental impact.

Natural dyeing has seen a reassurance in popularity the last few years, and I highly recommend this resource for anyone curious in learning more!

Link to more information via NYTM here!

In keeping with an environmental perspective, NYTM offered workshops at Little Creek Farm to better understand the positive impact that responsible material sourcing can have on the environment. Focusing on techniques to redirect carbon from the air into soil.

Link to more information via NYTM here!

Turning our attention to industry, Black Sheep is the 2023 design collection from Brooklyn based Rhymes Studio. Focusing on interior design in connection with wellness, Black Sheep utilizes undyed wool from Irish Zwartbles sheep to create fully customizable wool rugs.

Link to more information via NYTM here!

Sharktooth x Common Loom worked together to create a month-long event, investigating the themes of repair, regeneration and renewal through the process of repairing and reweaving a worn rag rug from Sharktooth’s collection.

Link to more information via NYTM here!

Last but not least, I want to highlight a few fantastic exhibitions. Elana Herzog’s work is on display at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey until Feb 2024.

Herzog’s work is focused on the details and decay of fiber, creating hybrid sculptures with deep tapestry woven roots.

More via NYTM here!

Another interesting show was hosted by the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn featuring the work of artists from Singapore, Ukraine and Lithuania.

"The Embrace: Threads that Bind Us - an installation by Madhura Nayak from Singapore, Tereza Barabash from Ukraine, Virginija Stigaitė from Lithuania Ingrained in the spirit of every Indian are these three beautiful words 'Atithi devo bhava', which means ‘to treat our guests like we would treat our god!’ Before I take down my installation, I welcome the two guest artists into my world of creation celebrating weaving as a medium. The two works added to my current installation are by Tereza Barabash and Virginija Stigaite. Both artists already connected by the work they did together, now join me in celebrating this amazing medium!”

More via NYTM here!

Fibrations, hosted by L’space, and featured the work of established and emerging artists. It was such a wonderful experience and show, and I always appreciate being able to meet the artist’s behind the work.

More about this exhbition via NYTM here!

Addendum

Recently, I have been busy at work launching The Amaranthine Collection of Weitzner fabrics and wallcoverings. Included in this collection is a capsule collection, designed in collaboration with Lewis Miller. It has been such an honor - and so much fun - to work on this collection together!
More about The Amaranthine Collection here!

'A Line of Beauty' at The Met

July 24, 2023 Lori Weitzner

A Line of Beauty closed at the Met last week. Every year, after the gala, the Costume Institute opens a show celebrating a designer, genre or theme in fashion. For those who did not have the chance to see it, my highlights are below!

This year, the show focused on Karl Lagerfeld, but perhaps more importantly the storied houses he oversaw, including Chanel, Fendi and Chloe.

While these shows are always so busy - A Line of Beauty was no exception - I was struck by the details within the textiles of these pieces.

Many previous exhibits have featured some of these pieces and design houses, A Line of Beauty focused quite a bit of attention on the sketches that conceptualized these famous designs.

The show also did a deft job at aligning similar styles from across Lagerfeld’s career, allowing the viewer to appreciate the reinterpretations done by the different couture houses.

I am always drawn to detailing on these garments. I fell in love long ago with traditional beading and embroidery - and it is always thrilling to see these important techniques preserved and used in dynamic ways.

One of my favorite elements of the show was the inclusion of video interviews with the artisans who worked on these garments.

However you feel about Lagerfeld, and opinions are justifiably split, it was exciting to see these classic works and to feel the energy yet again of a Met Costume Institute show!

If you want to see more of the entire exhibition, check out the video walk through here -

Addendum

This week my daughter Emma turned 21. She is fierce (in all the right ways), sensitive, kind and funny. I am a very, very proud mom.
But where does the time go? I never before thought about life being so fleeting as I do now. I constantly try to be present in the moment. Hard to do but I am trying.

Ode to Color at Google Xi Days

March 16, 2023 Lori Weitzner

I was honored to be selected as one of eight exhibitors at Google XI’s recent experiential conference, held at Pier 57 in New York City. Google XI is a division of Google dedicated to exploring and developing spaces that accommodate the array of differences in our learning styles and perspectives in order to maximize their inclusivity.

Using the synesthetic philosophy reflected in my book Ode to Color, I worked with Google to create a multi-sensory exhibit based on the 10 color worlds in the book. Each world was interpreted in scent, taste, smell and sight, with a view to emphasize the sensory associations and impacts of color.

Many of the attendees at the conference took the color test, comprised of 18 questions, developed to identify the color world or worlds that may best suit their home and work interiors and enhance their moods. You can take my Ode to Color test here.

I worked with musicians Mikey Enwright and Jason Myers on instrumental short pieces that translated the feeling and aura of each color world into music. Link to Jason’s website here and Mikey’s website here.

I was fortunate to work with the brilliant minds and noses at the prestigious French fragrance house Mane in developing scents that captured the essence of each color world. The company provided the formulas for each color world-based scent to the conference participants. You can learn more about Mane here.

Each exhibitor gave a talk about their contributions to the conference. Mine focused on how color and texture can influence how we feel in a space. I concluded with some design recommendations to inspire audience members in planning their next events, conferences, and work spaces.

Google’s accomplished chef’s prepared meals that masterfully reflected three of the color worlds – Night Shadows, Whisper, and Fragrant Woods.

Google Xi Days was an incredible experience. I learned so much from other talented presenters and attendees and it was thrilling to see Ode to Color come to life in this way!

Addendum

This is my new Gravity Suit. Because I have bad posture and Osteopenia, my physical therapist recommended this. So every night I come home and put this on for at least an hour....
It is admittedly extremely unattractive, but sometimes that is just what you have to do!

Threads of Power at the Bard Graduate Center

January 16, 2023 Lori Weitzner

For months I had wanted to see the Threads of Power exhibit at the Bard Graduate Center located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The Center is a graduate research facility for MA's and PHD's. It boasts gallery exhibits, research initiatives and programs that explore new ways of thinking about decorative arts, design history and material culture. I love going there and had it on my calendar but with the holidays, time was ticking. The last day of the exhibit was the same day I had to fly to the UK. I whipped up there in the morning- I had almost skipped it due to so many last minute errands. Thank goodness I didn't!

I found the experience so inspiring I wanted to share some with you!

Although the origins are not universally agreed upon, it seems likely that needle and bobbin lace both began in Italy in the late 1500s. During this time - and for hundreds of years thereafter - lace was a painstakingly slow and skilled process, using fine threads of silk, linen and at times even finely spun gold and silver.

Lace became more commonplace among the wealthy and elite during the 16th century in Europe. The Catholic Church was an early and eager consumer of this precious fabric, but by the turn of the century, wealthy families had adopted lace into furnishing, clothing and decoration.

The lace market was eventually regulated through strict sumptuary laws. These laws recast lace as a form of social currency, with only noble families allowed to buy or wear the most expensive laces.

These laws led to a sharp decrease in demand, which in turn helped democratize lace production. Lace making moved from specialized workshops to a cottage industry model, and linen was predominantly used.

Art critic, Roberta Smith, writes for the NYT;

"Threads of Power: Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen,” at the Bard Graduate Center, will give New York its first in-depth look in nearly 40 years at the history of this intricate, fragile and costly textile. Organized in collaboration with the Textilmuseum in St. Gallen, Switzerland, the show presents scores of examples from the 16th to 21st centuries, including bobbin-lace and needle-lace borders, bonnets, mantelets and samplers. Lace’s modern allure is reflected in dresses by designers like Dior, Givenchy, Saint Laurent and Prada, and in the lemony felted lace and silk radzimir ensemble that Isabel Toledo designed in 2009 for Inauguration Day in January 2009 when Michelle Obama officially became first lady."

One of my favorite objects in the exhibit was this bobbin lace pillow, from 1897 Switzerland. For me, this object underlined what a laborious process lacemaking was. The bobbin organization alone feels overwhelming!

The show did a fantastic job of centering the women who made these pieces, their precise and labor is felt throughout the show. As the technology evolved to include Swiss chemical lace, made on embroidery machines, lace became more ubiquitous than it ever had before.

Increasingly lace, in particular the finely crafted handmade variety, is becoming collectable works of art less so than daily adornment.

However, I for one, was so grateful to see this show and experience this important - and beautiful - piece of textile history.

Addendum

Me in Burano! When I was in Italy for my exhibit, Ode to Color, I took a side trip to Burano, which has a wonderful lace history of it’s own!

Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy

October 28, 2022 Lori Weitzner

A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune of being in San Francisco and in between meetings, was able to visit the Legion of Honor Museum to see the Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy. I have seen many fashion exhibits in my life but this one truly tops them all. The visuals speak for themselves as you scroll down and enjoy these miraculous examples of artisanship in all its glory. The combination of technique and fantasy blew me away. I was awestruck from beginning to end and am almost tempted to fly back to San Francisco just to experience it again.

Perhaps most famous in the US for her incredible creation worn by Rhianna at the 2015 Met, Guo Pei electrified the red carpet, and send t the internet abuzz with the firm trimmed gown.

Although the Met gown undoubtably established Guo Pei as a fashion force, Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy does not include the gown. Instead the show is a retrospective of Guo Pei’s career both before and after 2015.

Gun was born in Beijing in 1967. She graduated in 1986 from Beijing Second Light Industry School with a degree in fashion. She worked for one of China’s first fashion houses, Tianma, until 1997 when she left to start her own label and atelier. The scope of her work for one so young astounds me.

Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy features over 80 looks from the designer’s archive, focusing on the handwork, beading and intricate embroidery she has become known for.

Interwoven with the gowns themselves are videos of interviews focusing on history, technique and inspiration of the atelier.

Speaking of the show, Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, he says “Our Costume program highlights extraordinary designers who have changed the course of fashion history, and Guo Pei is a perfect fit: Her career is emblematic of a shift in global fashion narratives and China’s rise as a fashion leader.”

I was absolutely in awe of the incredible detail of these pieces. The golden embroidery alone was enough to captivate me for hours. Throughout the there were endless moments to focus on the details alongside the dramatic voluminous forms.

Referencing countless cultural histories that in part make China so rich in imagery and craft, Guo Pei’s work transcends what it means to be a contemporary couture atelier.

Guo is the first born-and-raised Asian designer to be invited to become a guest member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.

Beyond the gold and gild, I was especially drawn to the quieter and more updated detailing ever-present in these creations.

I cannot overstate how stunning this show is. If you find yourself in the San Francisco area now until November 27, when the show closes, you absolutely must go. You will not regret it!

Addendum

Recently, I went to 80 Miles North flower farm. It was a magical day that I will cherish for a long time. For more on this farm, and project, check out the link here!

New York Textile Month

August 25, 2022 Lori Weitzner

Every year as the summer wanes, and we turn our attention to fall, at least for us in our NYC-based studio, that means one thing; New York Textile Month is almost here! I have long admired the work and insight of Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano, and have been part of New York Textile Month since it’s founding a few years ago.

Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano via Trend Union

This year is no exception. We will be hosting a NYTM event at our studio - there is more information about our event below. But, I also wanted to take a moment to share some of the events that I am most intrigued by and excited to participate in.

MAIZ; biographical textiles through the lens of corn

Friday September 2nd at 6:00 pm

Looking at corn (maiz) as a connecting cultural through-line and foundational food source, this participatory workshop aims to reconsider corn in ways both mundane and sublime.

"From a multidisciplinary thinking, Elisa Lutteral and Lina Celis navigate into textiles through material culture studies working in collaboration with Leon Duval and Ruben Gomez, who are researching transcalar studies about food accessibility and architecture. Through a participatory workshop exhibition held in Factory Tamal, we will open a conversation around corn and its meanings by setting a table to share memories, recipes, and thoughts and an interactive crochet session where you would be able to be at the centerpiece of the table collaborating with others.” - NYTM

More information about this workshop here!

Tapestry Weaving with Paper Yarn and Natural Fiber

Saturday, September 3rd at 3:00 pm

This open-air tapestry workshop will take place in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Designers and artists, Lin Qiqing and Amirtha Arasu will be exploring materiality through handmade paper and natural fibers like hemp, cotton and linen. This is a great introduction to simple frame loom weaving and no previous weaving experience is required.

More information about this workshop here!

Democratizing the textile industry through collaboration

Wednesday, September 7th at 1:00 pm

Without question, the textile and design industries are changing rapidly. Part of the shift within our community is with the intent to make the supply chain more sustainable, fair and dynamic. For me, this is something I feel strongly about, and it is a consideration in everything we design. I am truly looking forward to this panel discussion to learn the ways other folks in the industry are moving forward and designing a better future.

"In October 2022 BYBORRE launched a new global initiative (WoTO™), together with a consortium of partners to democratize the textile supply chain to global and emerging brands, industry trailblazers and young talent. The Window of Textile Opportunities (WoTO™), showroom represents a worldwide transparent ecosystem of supply chain stakeholders and industry changemakers, housing permanent exhibitions of the partners. Borre Akkersdijk, Co-founder of BYBORRE, together with WoTO™ Partners join the conversation at the NYTM Panel Discussion on “Why the WoTO collaboration is leading to pathways forward for all plays in the textile industry”. Moderated by Noah Trager from FIT they will dive into why collaboration is important in changing the textile industry.” - NYTM

More information about this panel here!

Lori Weitzner Jewelry Pop-Up + Open Studio

Wednesday, September 7th at 5:00 pm

We are so excited to be hosting an open studio and jewelry pop-up event as part of New York Textile Month! We will be in our beautiful “white box sanctuary” studio in Chelsea, with drinks, tours and a bit of mindful shopping.

More information about our studio event here!

Weaving a harmony between art, craft and industry to better spread a message

Wednesday, September 21st at 1:00 pm

While it is fantastic to have some many events back in New York City, and in person, there are a few NYTM events that are online.

Nadine Marchal is a textile designer with over 30 years of experience. She currently lives and works in France, where she will be offering a tour of her workspace, sharing her work, thoughts on the future of the industry, and her foundation, Weaving for Change.

More information on this virtual event here!

World Hope Forum Ireland

Saturday, September 24th at 9:00 am

World Hope Forum has been one of my favorite experiences for the last few years. I have loved every session I have attended, and cannot wait to hear what Antonia Reilly-Parker, the World Hope Forum ambassador from Ireland, has planned for this session!

More information on this virtual event here!

Carbon Farm Tour with Laura Sansone from NY Textile Lab

Saturday, September 24th at 1:00 pm

If you have ever wanted to visit an alpaca farm, this is absolutely your chance! This tour provides an opportunity to get into the country, and experience climate-positive farming firsthand.

"Join New York Textile Lab at Little Creek Farm Alpacas to dig into healthy soil and see how your material sourcing can have a positive impact on climate change. Tour the farm and meet innovators from the agricultural and design industries who are actively working to shift our textile production systems to regenerative models. Explore Climate Beneficial textiles and engage in a Q&A panel to learn about current legislation, certifications, and other strategies to help us grow a textile industry rooted in social and environmental equity. Speakers include: Liz Alessi/ Coach, Becca Coughlan/ Remake, Gibson Durnford/ Watershed Agricultural Council, Stacie Chavez/ Imperial Yarn, Caroline Priebe/ The Center for the Advancement of Garment Making.” - NYTM

More information about this tour and panel here!

Beyond the numerous panels, lectures, tours and workshops, there is some thematic programming at a few NYC-based museums.

Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech” is on view at the Brooklyn Museum in the Great Hall. Considered a multidisciplinary visionary, Abloh redefined the boundaries between art, design, culture and music.

'“Figures of Speech” traces Abloh’s exploration of the communicative power of design. His use of language and quotation marks turns his designs, and the people who engage with them, into literal figures of speech. The artist uses the Black gaze to dismantle the traditionally white-crafted structures at work in fashion, design, architecture, and art, reconstructing new work through the lens of the Black cultural experience.” - NYTM

Figures of Speech is open until Sunday, January 29th, and more information and tickets can be found here!

Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and Their Legacies via NYTM

At the Museum at FIT, there is a beautiful retrospective entitled Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and Their Legacies. This show aims to compare and contrast the work of two major couturiers of the previous century.

Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and Their Legacies is open until Sunday, November 6th and more information can be found here!

Addendum

For the first time, we are what they call “empty nesters”. It’s a good term. I’m proud of our girls - they are already important contributors to their communities in such positive ways. I’m enjoying some new freedoms and a tidy home. But - I have an ache too. Missing them a lot.

In America: An Anthology of Fashion at The Met

June 17, 2022 Lori Weitzner

My favorite thing to do is spend hours at the Met with no other plan and no cell phone (except for photography).

I have been a proud member since the mid 80's. Growing up, my Dad would take me to the Met on most Sundays. Just the two of us. I never got tired of it. I knew that touching the artwork was prohibited but I did it anyway when I thought the guards weren't looking. I believed that if I touched the objects into which these artists had poured their creativity, it would rub off on me. I was caught a few times and chastised appropriately, but the guards did that with a smile on their faces. Even with a job to do, they understood the desire to connect with the things that move us.

I had been wanting to go to this exhibit for a while now and finally got there. It was worth the wait.

I make a point to attend each Costume Institute show, and 2022 In America: An Anthology of Fashion is no exception. Spanning over 13 of the period rooms in the museum’s American Wing, the juxtaposition of fashion in these rooms and spaces is beautiful!

Paying special attention to previously unnamed or anonymous designers, In America: An Anthology of Fashion is in a way the second part of last year’s show, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. Anthology traces the roots and histories of design over the last few centuries in the United States.

Curator Andrew Bolton described the impact of this show to Vogue as such; The designers included largely came from “research that we’ve been doing in our own collection archives. We’ve been exploring untold stories and focusing on designers who have been almost written out of fashion history because they weren’t commercially successful or they had a short career span, but at the time had a big impact on American fashion.”

Bolton recruited a handful of famous directors to design each vignette on display in the museum; from Sofia Coppola to Tom Ford to Martin Scorsese (who happened to design the Frank Lloyd Wright room, my personal favorite!)

Considering the role a museum plays in contemporary and historic fashion, Bolton admits these vignettes have been on his mind for a while. In an effort to refocus the viewers' attention to the craftsmanship and significance of these objects, Bolton is stepping away from the white boxes of past shows, and interacting with the time period in a way that feels both traditional and fresh once again.

While Anthology is the major new draw for the Costume Institute, in mid-March, pieces were added and updated to the Lexicon show, including the viral quilt worn by A$AP Rocky at the 2021 Gala.

The quilt, found secondhand, and relined by designer Eli Russel Linnetz parallels perfectly with the focus on anonymous or unnamed designers. The original quilt in question was created by Mary Ann Beshers, and donated by her family to a local thrift store.

Beshers’ granddaughter, Sarah, recognized the now famous quilt as being that of her late grandmothers, and recognition is now given to Beshers as the original maker of the object. But, Anthology, echoes the question of what happens to other trailers, seamstresses and designers who did not get their moment of public recognition, but whose work has contributed significantly to the evolution of American fashion?

Included in Anthology is the designer Ann Lowe, who we did a blog on a few years ago - you can read that here! Director Julie Dash created her scene with some of Lowe’s most famous pieces, but also the black-clad mannequins playing the role of designer who remain obscured from view.

In America: An Anthology of Fashion in a layered and beautiful show, telling cascading stories of identity, racism, politics and beauty. It is absolutely not to be missed; do what you can to make it to the Met, before the show closes, alongside In America: A Lexicon of Fashion on September 5, 2022.

Addendum

I am so pleased and proud to share a bit of the process behind my Venice Biennale exhibit, Ode to Color!

Venice in Living Color

May 13, 2022 Lori Weitzner

Seeing the world through color – our experiences, emotions, challenges, moods, joys, and journeys – may seem idiosyncratic to many people. Color is a single dimension, you may think, of a single sense.

But color has always triggered all my senses, and I believe it does for most of us, even if it happens subconsciously. Green is often fresh, and you can taste it and smell it; red is often hot and passionate, and you can feel it. Blue can be moody, and you can hear it.

Combinations of colors evoke more complex and nuanced responses, but they are real. And they are powerful enough to transform a space, a moment, an impression, a memory.

This is what I have strived to convey in my exhibit at the Venice Biennale – the transformative power of color and its connection to all our senses. The exhibit comprises ten display cases, each showcasing in mixed media ten color combinations that I call color worlds – the ten that correspond most closely to my perception of the main gears we live and work in.

All are featured at length in my book Ode to Color. Paired with each color world is a customized scented candle that captures the essence of that world. And completing the sensory presentation for each display is original music (composed by Jason Scott Myers and Mike Enwright) that captures the character and meaning of those color worlds.

To experience the music - link here!

It was, from conception to realization, one of the most meaningful projects of my career: a chance to offer an experiential rendering of the concepts that have guided me as an artist and designer throughout my professional life. Translating color into scent and sound was a remarkable undertaking for me as an artist.

More importantly, the viewer response to the exhibit moved me profoundly. Juxtaposed against the exceptional work of the other artists at the Biennale, whose messages and mastery were breathtaking, the Ode to Color exhibit represented to the attendees what I always hoped and believed it would: a place to rest, to appreciate, to lose oneself in through a full engagement of the senses in color and its many rhythms and manifestations. Some people cried. A great many lingered. And a number of guests returned repeatedly.

I am deeply grateful for the support of my sponsors and the contributions of the many with whom I collaborated on this project. Artistic Tile, Hunter Douglas, Pollack Weitzner and Samuel and Sons supported my work financially and supported me as an artist throughout this process. Among many others who assisted in the project, I want to thank Milton DePaul, Ivan Cassamassima, Roger Thomas, Art Libera, and Dorothy Mitchell.

The exhibit runs through late November. I also invite you to learn more to get a more holistic sense of the inspiration and motivation behind this exhibit - link here!