Ohio's Fashion Statement
Knit shop on Smith Street sells virgin vintage
by Catherine New / metro new york
Feb. 16, 2007
PROFILE. American factoid: Cleveland, Ohio, was once the second largest garment manufacturing city next to New York. Department stores such as Sears and mid-century designers such as Carol Horn were customers at the city’s Ohio Knitting Mill. The mill is closed today, but the vintage knits, from original ’50s Sears Kennybrooke cardigans and bizarre foliage color-inspired '70s rompers, are available to you at Ohio Knitting Mills in Brooklyn, which opened in October.
The Smith Street storefront for the defunct mill is the creation of Ohio sculptor Steven Tatar and is akin to installation shopping. The original time clock whirs in the corner, and all the furniture — and knits, of course — are straight from the factory. History aside, the pieces suggest a Midwestern Missoni meets Marc Jacobs’ extended family. Sometimes the wild patterns and textures work, and sometimes they don’t. |