Pattern is the Fashion @ American Fine Craft Show Brooklyn Museum

Pattern enhances many of the tunics, T-shirts, jackets, coats, hats and luxury accessories at the fifth American Fine Craft Show Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Museum November 18-19, 2017. Fashion and accessories designers join jewelers and other artisans in the museum’s handsome Beaux-Arts Court the weekend before Thanksgiving, in time for holiday shopping.

Here are some examples:

• “When I was first introduced to weaving in the early 80s,” said Marsha Fleisher, Loominus, Woodstock, N.Y., “I was drawn to the meditative quality of the rhythm, repetition, manifestation and creation of something out of nothing, line by line. I am still awed by the physicality of the weaving process, and the mystery.” Fleisher designs and weaves scarves, chenille jackets, baby and toddler fashion.
• Kate Beck uses Shibori dying, felting, and printmaking for her one-of-a-kind ponchos, shawls, scarves, blouses, dresses, tunics and t-shirts. The New Orleans-based designer “uses nature to inspire unusual and exotic surfaces that evoke vitality and life.”
• Catherine Joseph, CJoseph NY, designs luxury menswear in fine wools, tweeds and cashmere in casual modern styles. Unique details and plaid matching are hallmarks of the scarves, shirts and jackets that are hand tailored in New York.
• Mary Lynn O'Shea focuses on color and detail to achieve visual impact with her jackets, coats, vests and accessories. She artfully combines her own jacquards in unusual color and pattern combinations, the culmination of 40 years of experience working with fiber and color. In her Weybridge, Vt. studio she also designs a furniture line which takes advantage of her pattern and color-combining skills.
• “I love the layering of fabrics,” said Jeanine Guncheon, Forest Park, Il. who designs coats. “I create new designs daily—my goal is to achieve fresh looks that appeal equally to 20 year olds and 70 year olds and are easy to wear. They represent a deconstructed fashion style.” Many are enhanced with patches and other decorative elements.
• To her distinctive scarves Elizabeth Rubidge adds felt florals, leaves, textures and patterns of an organic nature that she makes from wool and water for the Felted Garden, Westport, Conn. These decorative elements add dimension and flair to this essential fashion accessory.
• Hat designers include milliner Karen Morris whose hats have appeared in fashion magazines such as Elle and Vogue, and on runways around the globe. Born in Hong Kong, trained by top milliners in Britain, Australia and the U.S., she is currently based in Minneapolis, Minn. Each of her haute couture creations is handmade of exotic materials sourced from around the world. Fedora style hats sport classic motifs and imaginative pattern mixes by Dede Lifgren at Capuchinz Hats and Accessories Brewster, NY.

For more information about the American Fine Craft Show at the Brooklyn Museum, visit www.brooklyncraftshow.com. Hours November 18 & 19, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Directions: Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/directions.php.