
We had the pleasure of being invited to artist Greg Lauren’s “Alteration exhibition” in West Hollywood by our lovely friend Robyn Berkley from People’s Revolution. When we walked in we were greeted with champagne and immediatley in awe of the beautiful 40 paper sculptures which Lauren hand-sewed into replica to-scale clothing. The clothes are re-created into iconic pieces he says defined him as he grew up, such as Cub Scout shirts, Superman uniforms, tuxedos and white shirts with a rack of ties. They each represent dominant male archetypes Lauren felt he had aspired to be as he developed into the man he is today.

When you make the connection between Lauren, a 40-year-old artist with a degree from Princeton in art history, and his uncle Ralph, everything starts to take on a new meaning that would not be possible for someone outside of such an iconic family. Lauren, an L.A. resident for the last ten plus years, was born and raised in New York City, where the first version of this show opened in September 2009, the Angeleno version has a few new items including 10 white paper suits, against a film loop of Cary Grant in “To Catch a Thief”.
All pieces are made from paper, none are wearable, but guests at the event certainly wished they had been, Lauren hopes to create a different type of atrifact with this unique art. “When people do make the association [with Ralph Lauren], what they don’t understand is that the world in those ads is this imaginary, aspirational place that we grew up with as kids — a place where movie stars, athletes, superheroes and high-society types mingled and hung out together. And you could be a part of it, if you wore the right things.””Growing up learning how to dress like Cary Grant, JFK and Gary Cooper but feeling inside like I was Oliver Twist.” was one of the statements Lauren made while explaining that each work in the exhibit was based on an actual vintage garment, using pieces cut by his pattern maker (costume designer Marilyn Madsen). Then he completed each piece himself, most of them using the sewing machine given to him by his mother before she died a year and a half ago.

Our friend Style Expert Rachel Zalis joined us and happened to wear a white blazer, which we had to snap the shot of her with the display, even women can appreciate menswear.
Every jacket has a real meaning behind it behind it, almost like a diary that of memories of these men that effected him and then sprung to life, similar to how Superman went from a comic book onto the silverscreen for us to all feel a real connection to. The exhibtion perfectly marries Fashion Style with Art.