City Island
Willi Smith for WilliWear, City Island Spring 1984 Presentation, 1983, from Cooper Hewitt on Vimeo.
Runway video produced by Paul Tschinkel, video art by Nam June Paik.
Courtesy of Paul Tschinkel, Inner-Tube VideoAn audio described version of this video is available for individuals who are blind or have low-vision.
Smith’s Spring 1984 City Island collection presents his “total understanding and involvement in contemporary art and lifestyle.” Smith and Mallet commissioned video artist Nam June Paik to create a runway experience that mixed cutting-edge video graphics with WilliWear’s everyday basics. Paik’s work deconstructed and repurposed the television—the primary structural unit for mass communication—while Smith’s affordable basics and accompanying home-sewing patterns for McCall’s provided a toolkit for consumers to mix, match, accessorize, and even recreate runway looks withtheir own fabric choices, undermining seasonal trends of the fashion system.
