Cone Sponsors Fashion/Art Exhibition
Cone Denim has teamed with New York designer and artist Susan Cianciolo to present “The Women of the Crowd” exhibition, which hosts an opening-night party and performance on Oct. 20 at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition Gallery (LACE).
The multimedia exhibition, sponsored by Woodbury University’s Center for Community Research and Design, includes Cianciolo’s one-ofa- kind pieces made from denim from the Cone archives. Some of the pieces are made from 100- year-old remnants from Cone. Others are made from denim specially developed for Cianciolo by the Greensboro, N.C.–based mill. The artist also used Cone’s greige goods, which she then hand dyed.
“Because of my history with denim, my passion and theirs, we developed this concept,” the artist said.
Cianciolo presented a similar exhibition earlier this year in New York. For the Los Angeles presentation, she created several new pieces. In addition to a fashion performance, the exhibition includes mural work, works on paper and photos, a film created specifically for the L.A. show, and a performance by the band No Age.
“When you go in, it’s very kinetic—there’s a lot happening,” Cianciolo said.
Cianciolo said she decided to bring the exhibition to Los Angeles in part because of the West Coast’s longstanding history with denim and in part because of the city’s distinctive style.
“L.A. is an inspiring place to do an exhibition,” she said. “There’s a lot to feed off of, the architecture, the museums, the style. It’s as powerful as New York but in a whole different aesthetic.”
Cianciolo studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design in New York and Paris. She got her start at Badgley Mischka and then helped open the New York office of Los Angeles–based X-Girl, the collection started by Sonic Youth bassist Kim Gordon.
These days, the designer sells her custom designs from her West Village studio and has created a line called Magic Star, which she sells in New York boutiques Albertine and Claudine.
“Getting to know [Susan] and her work and seeing her aesthetic—there’s a lot of hand sewing and handwork—it seemed to match up with some of our vintage pieces from our Found Collection,” said Kara Nicholas, vice president of new products, development and marketing for Cone.
The Found Collection was started about two years ago when a trove of Cone co-branded apparel mostly was found in a North Carolina consignment shop. Cone bought the pieces and began adding to the collection. According to Nicholas, the Found pieces were likely purchased and worn by tobacco sharecroppers in the early part of the 20th century.
The Found Collection is housed in Cone’s White Oak plant, which dates back to 1905. Cianciolo toured the White Oak plant before bringing the exhibition to Los Angeles.
“The Women of the Crowd” exhibition runs through Nov. 3. For more information, visit www.welcometolace.org or www.susancianciolo.com. —Alison A. Nieder
