Cooper Hewitt's new exhibition explores beauty in making something from nothing, Scraps is an exquisite installation of textiles created through innovative and sophisticated reuse of materials and resources. The exhibition can be visited until April 16, 2017 at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Featuring creative and alternative approaches to confronting textile industry waste, “Scraps: Fashion, Textiles and Creative Reuse,” on view September 23–April 16, 2017, presents the work of three designers who put sustainability at the heart of the design process. Highlighting contemporary design that embraces the tradition of using handcraft to give new life to scraps and cast-offs, the exhibition showcases work by Luisa Cevese, founder of Milan-based design studio Riedizioni; Christina Kim, founder of Los Angeles-based brand dosa; and Reiko Sudo, cofounder of Toyko textile design firm Nuno.

Installation view of "Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse." Photo by Matt Flynn © 2016 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

“Telling the inspiring and empowering stories of three women designers and entrepreneurs who hail from three continents, ‘Scraps’ brings critical focus to the human and environmental costs of fashion consumption while also offering viable solutions for reducing waste and raising awareness,” said Caroline Baumann, director of the museum. “Installed in the museum’s Design Process Galleries, the exhibition will be an illuminating display of design ingenuity.”

Installation view of "Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse." Photo by Matt Flynn © 2016 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Through more than 40 works, the exhibition explores key facets of sustainability, such as the efficient use of materials and resources, the preservation of local craft traditions and the integration of new technologies in the recycling process. 

Works on view include tabletop accessories and handbags refashioned from silk selvage scraps by Cevese, appliquéd panels produced from recycled jamdani saris by Kim, and a variety of fabrics woven from kibiso, a luxury fiber Sudo developed using discarded parts of the silk cocoon. “Scraps” is organized by Matilda McQuaid, deputy director of curatorial and head of textiles and Susan Brown, associate curator of textiles.

Installation view of "Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse." Photo by Matt Flynn © 2016 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Related educational programs include workshops for high school and college students, children and adults, and a panel discussion with the designers. A 112-page illustrated catalog of the exhibition, written by the curators McQuaid and Brown with essays by the featured designers, will be published in September 20 by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Installation view of "Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse." Photo by Matt Flynn © 2016 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Basket bag, 2015, designed 1996. Designed by Luisa Cevese (Italian, b. 1955), produced by Riedizioni (Milan, Italy). Courtesy of Luisa Cevese Riedizioni

Waraji sandals, 2015; Woven by Shonai Tagawa, JA. Fujishima Branch (Yamagata, Japan); kibiso. © Rhizomatiks. Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt

Luisa Cevese working on “Spread Threads” mat. Photo: © Luisa Cevese Riedizioni. Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt

Eungie skirt, 2008 collection. Designed by Christina Kim (American b. South Korea 1957), produced by dosa inc. (Los Angeles, California). Courtesy of Dosa Inc.

Gee’s tikdi textile (detail), 2009. Designed by Christina Kim (American b. South Korea 1957), produced by dosa inc. (Los Angeles, California). Courtesy of Dosa Inc.

Online, Scraps Stories expands on the exhibition's important concerns. 

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Top image: Installation view of "Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse." Photo by Matt Flynn © 2016 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

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