The District on Wednesday rolled out a major public art exhibition at the Walter Washington Convention Center that D.C. leaders say will spur interest in the city’s burgeoning fashion industry.
The exhibit includes six windows along M Street that display original clothing works representing six District neighborhoods. The works include:
- A dress created with chinaware to represent Chinatown
- For the Capitol Hill display, a dress and tuxedo shirt
- Representing Georgetown, garments made with paper shopping bags from Georgetown boutiques and tissue paper
- A piano-inspired dress created with wooden slats and glass mosaic tiles to represent Shaw and U Street
- A sculpture of a skateboarder dressed in garments that include wood, moss and tree bark represents Anacostia
- For H Street, a dress inspired by a chandelier is included in the exhibit
“We really chose six neighborhoods in this community that are prominent, and we showed the fashion identities of those neighborhoods through the eyes of the artists and the designers,” said Christine Brooks-Cropper, the president of the Greater Washington Fashion Chamber of Commerce.
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said the exhibition would help to raise the city’s profile as a fashion hub.
“The exhibit demonstrates what can be done and the kind of talented people that we have in this city,” Gray said. “In and of itself, it’s not going to move the ball that far down the field, but it will support efforts that are going on, and it will support people knowing more about the fashion industry in the city.”
