Reading the Streets: Sexualized yarn designs in Soho

NEW YORK – United Colors of Benetton has renovated a garage into a popup on Crosby Street in Soho. The Art of Knit, which opened in September during Fashion Week, specializes in knitwear and extends its chosen theme to the décor and exterior. The wool is demonstrated with yarn-wrapped mannequins displayed in explicit positions and wallpaper papering the outside with images of wool scraps. The sexual positions of the “mannequins’’ have attracted the same outrage the Italian brand has become used to garnering – their advertising campaign has often featured provocative images and social confrontation.

The effect of all the yarn-themed imagery and sculpture is visually exciting and easily differentiates the garage from the rest of the stores on the street, especially with a pair of mannequins in the throes of pleasure perched on the top of the building. The frisky sculptures are part of a collection called Lana Sutra by Erik Ravelo, and the rest of the converted space represents the creative minds of You Nguyen, the Director and FABRICA, Benetton Group’s Communication Research Center. As public art, the result is stimulating and certainly effective at getting people in the store … however, the art far outpaces the creativity of the Fair Isle sweaters and other bulky winter-weather-ware, which are pretty standard and don’t stand up to the outrageous environment.