Cooper Hewitt National Design Triennial Highlights Eco-Textiles and Artisanal Fashion

A great way to beat the heat wave in NYC right now, chill out with the latest in innovately cool textiles currently on view at the Cooper Hewitt's National Design Triennial: Why Design Now? Products and design initiatives from the following categories are featured: energy, mobility, community, materials, prosperity, health, communication, and simplicity.

It's a great way to update yourself on the current state of sustainable and forward-thinking design for change. An added bonus is the Cooper-Hewitt's Summer Cocktail Fridays where visitors can mingle in the historic gardens and geek out on design chat.

*above images courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt website and the designers. Listed from top to bottom: Fin spring/summer 2010 collection by Per Sivertsen; Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2009 collection, “Color Hunting”, Dai Fujiwara, Miyake Design Studio, Peru and Japan, 2008; Witches’ Kitchen collection, Design with a Conscience series by Tord Boontje; Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal Line; Cabbage chair of pleated paper, Nendo, Japan, 2008; and Painted Series by Saskia van Drimmelen, Desiree Hammen, Margaret Sweerts and Bulgarian artisans, The Netherlands, 2008.

Alabama Studio Style Booksigning at the Cooper Hewitt This Wednesday

Voilà , the perfect antidote to the recent New York Design Week frenzy - an intimate booksigning with Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum on Wednesday, May 19 on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. This will be a great opportunity to meet the designer, learn more about her views on slow design and sustainability, as well as pick up a signed copy of her latest book, Alabama Studio Style.

Upcycled interior by Alabama Chanin via Apartment Therapy

Details for the upcoming event are as follows:

Alabama Chanin: American Fashion
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 | 6:30 – 8:00pm
LOCATION: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2 East 91st Street
Members $5; non-Members $10; Students free.

Visit the Cooper-Hewitt events page for more details. Galleries will be open from 5:30 – 6:30pm preceding the program.

Quicktake: Rodarte Opens at Cooper Hewitt

Quicktake: Rodarte
opens February 11, 2010 on view through March 14, 2010
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum

"Rodarte's creations feature complex manipulation of materials and other meticulous techniques evocative of haute couture through an American lens. The Mulleavys deliver emotionally powerful, dynamic collections that interweave extremely hard and delicate elements simultaneously. Recent runway collections have referenced disparate themes, such as the building and taking apart of homes, California Condors, Boris Karloff as Frankenstein, land art and Japanese horror films." via C. Hewitt website

Don't miss Cooper-Hewitt Textile Conservator, Sarah Scaturro's Behind-The-Scenes 'Quicktake' exhibition installation reports.