AN EXHIBITION & POP-UP FEATURING THE WORK OF THE ICONIC DESIGNER
DARYL KERRIGAN
On View Nov 1 - 23
Daryl K I Am My Muse considers aspects of the thirty-year career of Daryl Kerrigan, the founder and creative director of the fashion brand Daryl K. Born in Ireland, Kerrigan immigrated to the United States in the late 1980s, settling in New York City. Her first major job was as a costume designer and wardrobe supervisor for films, including the Oscar winning “My Cousin Vinny” and “Mystery Train” with the acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch. While benefitting from these experiences, Kerrigan dreamed of an independent career where she could use her extensive skills designing and making clothes. Her dream became a reality in 1991 when together with her creative partner Paul Leonard they opened the first Daryl K shop on 6th street in the East Village of Manhattan.
Curated by
From modest beginnings, Daryl K flourished over the next five years eventually moving to a larger location on Bond Street that became a pilgrimage site for women seeking clothes that were cutting edge, practical, innovative, classical, and sexy. Kerrigan set the trends of the 1990s and early 2000s using New York City, especially the edgy Lower East Side as inspiration for her work. Those were the days when the East Village was the home of creators. When a vibrant nightlife with clubs and music halls could be found across downtown. The clothes Kerrigan created were part of that world. They were made to be worn on the subway, walking on city streets, dancing all night, and riding a bicycle. New collections by Daryl K derived from a desire to fuse tailored clothing with active wear, experimentation and a natural inclination for thinking out of the box when constructing clothes. Kerrigan makes clothes for a woman’s body to move in and a woman’s mind to find freedom of expression wearing them.
The Daryl K brand has always had an insider-outside connection to the garment industry and the fashion world. Except for a short-lived licensing deal by a now defunct company in 2000, Daryl K has been a small independent brand whose success derives from Kerrigan’s stalwart adherence to a core set of values based on integrity of materials, production, and retailing. She was committed to repurposing materials and focusing on the functionality of high-end clothes in the 1990s long before these ideas were an imperative in the fashion world.
In the male dominated fashion world of the 1990s, Kerrigan was one of the few women to receive international acclaim. Indicative of her stature and notoriety was receiving the coveted Council of Fashion Designers award in 1996, one of the youngest designers to obtain this honor. Her reputation as the most talented downtown New York designer spread rapidly due in part to the coverage she received from the foremost fashion journalists who respected her individuality and understood the versatility of her talent.
Today Daryl K is best known for the Evergreen leather collection, particularly the pants that are made of a fine quality stretch Lamb leather that conforms to the contours of the body. But as the fashion journalists of the 1990s and early 2000s recognized with each new collection, Kerrigan expanded her repertoire, creating all types of clothing, accessories and shoes.
What makes Kerrigan unique among the many notable designers of clothes for women is the particular emphasis on the beauty and sensuality of a woman’s body as well as on how women think and feel about themselves. That tripartite approach is what makes her the consummate woman’s fashion designer.
Organized in 5 main sections—"I Am My Muse,” “Innovator,” “Woman,” “New York,” and “Rebel” the exhibition features approximately 50 items from Kerrigan’s private collection, some of which she continues to make today. In addition, it includes drawings that are an integral part of an art practice that complements her work as a fashion designer. On the back wall of the gallery is a film comprised of footage from the incomparable Daryl K runway shows that was made especially for the exhibition. The other digital media and photographs on view document key moments in the life of this groundbreaking designer.
Daryl Kerrigan and Paul Leonard collaborated on the design of the exhibition. They conceived of and Leonard hand-made the forms the items are displayed on. Hanging freely in space, each form is an abstract evocation of a woman. They are grouped together as though they were individuals gathered at a party or stepping out for a walk.
Nina Stritzler-Levine
Curator
