Where to Find Denim Inspiration in New York City
Europe tends to be the go-to for denim inspiration, but there’s lots to kindle creativity right in the United States—New York City in particular.
First, turn to the museums, where fashion meets art.
At the city’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), an exhibit dubbed “Items: Is Fashion Modern?” is looking at 111 items of clothing and accompanying accessories and examining how they’ve impacted the past, the present, and how they might impact the future.
“Driven first and foremost by objects, not designers, the exhibition considers the many relationships between fashion and functionality, culture, aesthetics, politics, labor, identity, economy and technology,” MoMA writes on its website.
Key pieces in the collection include Levi’s 501s, the Breton shirt, saris and the Little Black Dress. The exhibit runs through Jan. 28.
From there, The Jewish Museum has an exhibit called “Veiled Meanings: Fashioning Jewish Dress, from the Collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem,” on until March 18.
The exhibit looks at more than 100 pieces of clothing from the 18th to the 20th centuries, which display the range of textile designs inspired by global cultures that have inspired each other.
At the Museum of the City of New York, it’s all about mod.
The Mod New York exhibit, which runs through April 1, looks at all things mod as they were in their 1960s heyday. From what Jackie O wore through the arc of the period’s styles, the exhibit follows 70 garments and the “dramatic transformation” of clothing between the 60s and 70s, with shifting lengths and silhouettes, plus different materials and textile manufacturing methods.
From shapes and silhouettes in clothing, the Fashion Institute of Technology’s, “The Body: Fashion and Physique,” focuses on the body itself and the impact fashion has had on “how people have viewed and treated their bodies throughout history,” according to the F.I.T. website. The exhibit begins on Dec. 5 and runs until May 5.
At Louis Vuitton’s “Volez, Voguez, Voyagez – Louis Vuitton,” on now and until Jan. 7,
The exhibition retraces the story of the fashion house from 1854 to today, with portraits of its founders, a look at the luggage trunk that started it all and a display dedicated to the savoir-faire of the artisans crafting the classic products.
With all of that museum inspiration, it’ll be an ideal time to get some inspiration from shopping itself—and American Eagle Outfitter’s AE Studio in Union Square has it.
American Eagle celebrates its 40th anniversary this fall and has remodeled its premiere NYC location, called AE Studio, which opens Nov. 10. Jeans will be at the forefront of the studio’s Jeans Gallery on the first floor. There, shoppers can peruse an exclusive collaboration with Atelier & Repairs, featuring customized denim that’s been repurposed from previous collections, and they can also create their own one-of-a-kind pieces. Because the store is meant to serve as an experience, students are welcome to wash their clothes at the Laundry Wall, and iPads in fitting rooms let the shopper connect with the brand at the tap of a screen.
“AE Studio is a perfect example of our evolution where we invite customers to enjoy a unique brand experience, feel at home, and curate their distinct individual style,” said Chad Kessler, American Eagle Outfitters global brand president.
Beyond AE, there’s a host of new shops in NYC, from Japanese denim brand Moussy to Jason Wu’s first physical store inside Saks Fifth Avenue and 80s vintage finds at Spark Pretty.
Holiday markets in the city are not to be missed either. There’s the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the Winter Village at Bryant Park with more than 150 pop-up kiosks and the Union Square Holiday Market—if you’re already down at AE Studio—just to name a few.