Designers

GM's head of design Harley Earl drove the "Y-job" to and from work for 11 years.

How General Motors Introduced the Idea of a 'Concept Car'

Eighty years ago, the Buick Y-job was billed as the car of the future

Walter Gropius' Dessau Bauhaus building

Five Events to Watch For as Germany Celebrates 100 Years of the Bauhaus Movement

Bauhaus 100 looks back—and forward—to the movement that united formal art and craftsmanship in functional, streamlined designs

Raising a block of buildings on Lake Street, Chicago, in 1857

How Chicago Transformed From a Midwestern Outpost Town to a Towering City

The Windy City spurred its miraculous growth by building canals, laying sewers and jacking up buildings

Cathleen Naundorf’s signature style celebrates the Grand Palais’ dramatic design and the “sculptural” details of two dresses from Chanel’s 2010 collection.

A Vintage Take on High Fashion Showcases the Beauty of a Stitch in Time

Photographer Cathleen Naundorf mined Chanel's archives for a majestic new book

Milwaukee Bucks center Lew Alcindor (13), later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Los Angeles Lakers center Wilt Chamberlain, left, at the L.A. Forum on November 21, 1970.

A Brief History of the One-Size-Fits-All Tube Sock

Originally marketed as sportswear, the tube sock became a stylish accessory thanks to Farrah Fawcett and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

A proposed street of the future could be made of hexagonal blocks containing lights.

Rethinking How We Build City Streets

Sidewalk Labs envisions modular streets that can morph to meet the everyday needs of a neighborhood

A 2017 Ducati motorcycle, a Panigale 1299 Superleggera, as-yet unridden, is on view at the Cooper Hewitt in New York City.

A Sensuous Blending of Style and Speed, This Ducati Is Both Art and Machine

An appreciation for the cognoscenti of motorcycles

What Will It Take to Make Vegan Wool?

A team of Colombian students has created a wool-like material from coconut fibers, hemp and mushroom enzymes

Mary Quant and models at the Quant Afoot footwear collection launch, 1967

The V&A Wants Your Help Locating Vintage Mary Quant Designs

The Welsh fashion designer pioneered high street fashion, popularizing bright patterns, miniskirts and hot pants

Saturated invites visitors to contemplate the essence of color, and the fascinating ways in which different hues interact.

How Newton, Goethe, an Ornithologist and a Board Game Designer Helped Us Understand Color

A new exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum explores the kaleidoscope of figures who shaped color theory

The bloomer costume

Amelia Bloomer Didn’t Mean to Start a Fashion Revolution, But Her Name Became Synonymous With Trousers

In the 1850s, women’s rights activists briefly adopted a new style in an effort to liberate themselves from heavy dresses

When Paper Clothing Was the Perfect Fit

A war-weary world needed a new wardrobe, and this cheap, washable attire seemed to rise to the occasion

The central meditation dome in Auroville, India.

Seven Planned Utopian Towns That You Can Visit Today

These utopic cities—some working, some not—can still be visited today

Silverman's mushroom shoe prototype is sustainable—but will it hold up in the rain?

Are These Baked Mushroom Sandals the Future of Fashion?

As sustainable fashion goes mainstream, multiple designers are turning to fungi for compostable attire

David Korins' striking design—involving a double turntable, a second level catwalk, scaffolding and ropes, calls to mind the ships that brought the Founding Fathers to America.

Hamilton's David Korins Explains What Makes the Smash Hit's Design So Versatile

The renowned designer dishes about the new Hamilton exhibition, precision and metaphor on stage and how the turntables almost didn’t happen

Reebok marketed their slim, pliable Freestyle shoes to aerobics lovers in the 1980s.

A Brief History of America’s Obsession With Sneakers

Invented for athletics, sneakers eventually became status symbols and an integral part of street style

“All ten of this year’s winners present a powerful design perspective and body of work that is at once inclusive and deeply personal,” says the museum's director Caroline Baumann.

America’s Top Designers Are Both Embracing and Breaking With Tradition

Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt announces ten National Design Award winners

“We design the garments around what parents want for their children, what occupational therapists are asking for, what children are saying they’re most comfortable in,” says Sasha Radwan, founder of SpecialKids.Company.

Designing "Adaptive Clothing" For Those With Special Needs

Companies are releasing new inclusive lines that solve some of the dressing challenges that people with physical and mental disabilities face

IBM would like to teach its tool to design entire garments given just a few specifications.

Artificial Intelligence Could Help Generate the Next Big Fashion Trends

With a tool called Cognitive Prints, designers will be able to riff off of past styles and incorporate outside inspiration like never before

A new show at the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt in New York City looks at how design interacts with other senses beyond vision, like this "smell" map of Amsterdam by Kate McLean that reveals the aroma of the city's restaurants, old book stores, laundromats and other neighborhood sites.

Could Our Housewares Keep Us Healthier?

Some designers are harnessing sound, color, smell and touch in products that promote well-being and independence for all

Page 6 of 13