London Kaye Takes Lion Brand to Valentino in Rome!

I was a fan of yarn bomber London Kaye before I ever met her.

My apartment in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City is just a few blocks from an empty lot protected with a chain link fence. I learned about London when she began to utilize this fence for her installations.

As an obsessive consumer of popular culture, fashion and, of course, all things fiber related, I fell in love with London’s witty ability to combine all of the above. I was particularly smitten with her portrait of Anna Wintour and I began to cyber stalk London on Instagram.

Around the time we were beginning to brainstorm ideas for the annual CHA show, I saw London’s interview on Tea with Shira!

On the episode, London explained that she’s a self-taught crocheter who knows just one stitch.  The theme of the Lion Brand booth at CHA was planned to be “Simple Reinvented” and  I thought what better way to present the theme than through London’s work. This led to the amazing opportunity to brainstorm with London on how to translate “Simple Reinvented” into a 20 by 20 foot booth.

The concept we decided upon was to have three spinning wheels on one side of the Lion Brand booth spinning a rainbow of yarn up over the entire space then landing on a 20 foot wide yarn bombed mural of an undersea scene which London would continue to add to for the duration of the show.

The Lion Brand booth was literally a showstopper. People stopped to watch London add mermaids, snorkelers and sea lions to the wall and Lion Brand walked away with the Best Booth Award.

A few months ago, London contacted me to obtain yarn for a top-secret project she was doing – the window for a Valentino Boutique in Rome.  I was so excited for her and for to see the results of the intersection of high fashion and simple outsider art .

Here are some pictures from the opening event. I think that Ms. Wintour would be proud.