Each month, City Gallery features unique place-based artwork that celebrates Indianapolis’ vibrant and diverse culture. During March, Emily Gartner continues this tradition with the display of her one-of-a-kind and limited edition wearable art pieces. Each design is thoughtfully crafted using organic cotton and eco-friendly dyes. This empowering and captivating collection is inspired by Indiana landmarks and female subjects. Through Wild Women’s Wearables, Gartner encourages viewers to consider investing in sustainable regional fashion that is transparently designed, cut, sewn, marketed, and sold by the artist herself.

Gartner’s impressive artistic background spans decades. She is originally from Evansville and began sewing when she was just twelve. Gartner later found professional footing working for a fabric house as a textile designer in 1980s New York City. The artist now owns her own company, Emily Gartner Designs, and aims to empower individuals to make intentional non-fast fashion purchases through her environmentally conscious designs.

Emily Gartner, *Art Deco Bottleworks*, kimono jacket

In 2014, Gartner put on a solo show at Indiana Landmarks Center. The exhibition focused on two-dimensional representations of architecture and community landmarks. For Wild Women’s Wearables, the artist took inspiration from her own archive of work to translate her previously-captured landmark photography into wearable art. This sentiment is clearly illuminated through Gartner’s Art Deco Bottleworks kimono jacket.

The kimono features large patches of Art Deco inspired designs that reference Indianapolis’ Bottleworks District at the far end of Mass Ave. The Bottleworks Hotel, the anchor of the district, was once Coca-Cola’s United States flagship location. The landmark still features mosaic-tiled floors and a geometrically ornamented façade - both characteristics that are reflected in Gartner’s design.

Of the designs, Gartner cites the opera coat titled The Legacy of Madam Walker to be of particular significance. The work –made of cotton velour, organic cotton, and eco-friendly dyes– takes inspiration from Madam C.J. Walker’s impact. Madam Walker was a trailblazing African American hair care and cosmetics entrepreneur. The inclusion of this piece in the show is of extra importance to Gartner, who was able to collaborate with Madam Walker’s great, great granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles (@aleliabundles) in the process of creating the fabric print. The graphic art on the pocket directly references Madam Walker through recognizable motifs: her Model T Ford, her silhouette, and of course, illustrations pointing to her hair care and cosmetics empire. The rich golden lining of the coat features a two-dimensional representation of the Art Deco lighting fixtures that are still affixed to the ceilings of the Madam Walker Legacy Center today.

Gartner’s designs culminate to reflect the artist’s vision of Indianapolis (and a few other locations in Indiana!). These unique place-based works are a must-see. Wild Women’s Wearables pays homage to such mainstays as Ann Dancing, The Vogue, West Baden, and more. Gartner’s wearable designs will be on display in the City Gallery during the month of March. All works are available for purchase in-person and online through the Harrison Center’s virtual gallery.

Wild Women's Wearables