COUNTER COUTURE: HANDMADE FASHION IN AN AMERICAN COUNTERCULTURE

Daily Outfit ('72) made of stitched doilies by Scrumbly Koldewyn / [R] Background panels by Marian Clayden / #Countercouture @MADMuseum

Channeling a counter-conformist sub-culture, 'style' converges on self-expressionist craft through creative conceptualizations of clothing and accessories.The first in a triumvirate of spring exhibits focused on fashion, Counter-Couture: Handmade Fashion in an America Counterculture at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD Museum) exposes the experimental pursuit of personal style in the 60s and 70s. Originating at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Seattle in 2015, the exhibit boasts a culmination of 15 years of research by guest curator Michael Cepress. Keep reading to see how the hippie movement presents a fundamental shift in fashion from consumerism into hand-crafted couture...

OLEK: THE END IS FAR at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Being Beautiful by OLEK, Image credit: Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Crocheted cynicism and yarn-covered confections by renowned street artist Olek have found temporary asylum at Chelsea's Jonathan LeVine Gallery. From Feb. 23 to March 23, bright panels referencing riddled romance cover a majority of the gallery walls and stylish skeletons draped in metallic skeins eagerly await visitors. Saturday night's opening of Olek: The End is Far, is a break from the largely anonymous yet notoriously recognizable outdoor yarn-infused "interventions." Keep reading for highlights, but please be forewarned of the adult content (partial nudity) in the photographs to follow.