Thread & Bone installation infuses art and fashion in downtown LA's fashion district

Thread & Bone is an art and fashion infused installation within the Cooper Design Building in the fashion district of downtown Los Angeles. The exhibit was initially intended to close this Thursday but has now been extended until May 30th. The installation demonstrates the inner workings of creative artist Kimberly Brooks and her perception on fashion.

Brooks, who created a riff in L.A. previously with The Stylist Project art series five years ago, has moved on to this bigger project. Brooks was commissioned by the Cooper Building to transform their introductory gallery space. “I sought to ignite both grandeur and spectacle in the minds of the people who would see it everyday on their way to work,” said Brooks. The installation put on by Sage Projects and the DoArt Foundation demonstrates the inner workings of creative artist Kimberly Brooks and her perception on fashion.

Kimberly Brooks creates art installation for Cooper Design Building in L.A.’s fashion district

The art installation includes masses of fashion pieces that draw the connection between the industry and art. In the three-dimensional gallery, there are large collages of dress forms with scraps of painted fabric draped around, a video projecting the sewing process, paintings revolving around fashion, and many displays of textiles and costumes. “I think of fashion as not just another art form, but a skin that both binds us and sets us free,” said Brooks.

One of Brooks’s first ever exhibitions was called “Mom’s Friends” that including a painting show centered on her mother’s former ‘70s glory and fabulousness. While researching fashion and costume from that era, Brooks ended up attending a lecture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) at the costume institute. Upon learning about Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel through Matisse, Brooks became inspired. “I had never attended a costume event before and was struck by the women around me, elaborately dresses in finery that rivaled what I imagined a Parisian turn of the century opera,” said Brooks. From this idea, she began to fill the gap between contemporary art and modern fashion through her Los Angeles Exhibition for “The Stylist Project.” She’s currently working on the New York exhibit of this project.

As for the location of exhibit, Brooks believes that the downtown area is in an uprising. “Downtown has undergone a huge transformation in the last decade,” said Brooks. Through her use of space and design, Brooks has created a way for her art to connect to the architecture of the building as well. “Public art tilts perception and allows us to feel differently about the spaces around them,” said Brooks.

On May 3rd Brooks will join in an Art Talk with Shana Nys Dambrot, art critic and curator, to discuss the project in more depth. The exhibit at the Cooper Design Building will stay open until May 30th.