turn your closet into a gallery wearable art
According to Wikipedia, “Wearable art,” also known as Artwear or ‘art to wear’, refers to individually designed pieces of (usually) handmade clothing or jewelry created as fine or expressive art. While the making of any article of clothing or other wearable objects typically involves aesthetic considerations, the term wearable art implies that the work is intended to be accepted as a serious and unique artistic creation or statement...
The modern idea of wearable art has taken a new form in the guise of Cosmic Unicornz, the brainchild and artistic outlet of illustrator Melissa Thyden. A 2010 graduate of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where she majored in illustration with a minor in art history, Thyden combines her passion for fashion and illustration by creating one-of-a-kind, hand-painted and handmade works of art worthy of hanging in a museum, as well as in your closet.
A Sutton, MA native, Thyden became involved in art festivals when she was younger, including stART on the Street. stART on the Street is central Massachusetts’ largest art, music and performance festival. “I was selling my paintings [there], but then, I started painting on anything I could get my hands on: shirts, bags, shoes, etc.” Thyden said. “The shoes really took off. Before I knew it, everyone wanted to buy a pair of my hand-painted shoes. I ended up making an online store, www.cosmicunicornz.com,” she said.
“My Little Pony and Rainbow Bright are my inspiration”, says Melissa. “Basically, I’m designing original clothing for the over-excited 8 year old in all of us… and it seems to have caught on. In my third year, now people are still interested in my shoes, but the big draw now is custom pieces, especially hand-painted denim jackets… accessories of all kinds. I follow fashion trends… see what is selling and “Cosmic Unicornz” them... fit them into my look and brand. The big difference between when I started out and now is my customers are driving what kind of art I’m creating. I am getting a lot of requests to constantly add new clothing into my line. They are asking for personal, one-of-kind items that help them express their personalities and outlook on life. It’s very satisfying.
“I just had my very first Runway Show, ‘Neon Fringe’ and I loved it. I plan to have many, many more. They give me a chance to receive direct feedback on what my customers want from me. Right now, all my work is created at the Manic Pixie Dream Studio in Boston, MA.
“My art can be bought from my website, www.cosmicunicornz.com, from Studio Z in Providence, at Pirate Girl Designs in Plymouth, MA and every Sunday at South End Open Market at SoWa in the South End of Boston. My future dream is to open up my own store, Cosmic Unicornz, in Rhode Island.”
To find out more about Melissa Thyden or her company Cosmic Unicornz, visit her website, www.cosmicunicornz.com, @cosmic_unicornz on instagram or email Melissa at info@cosmicunicornz.com.
by Joseph Shansky
ShanskyWorks
RICM Writer/Designer