The Artist's coat.....Greg Lauren, Rue D'Alger, Paris
Monday, August 20, 2012
The artist’s coat.........
Paris isn’t a traditional port city, but it certainly is a centre for
social encounters and chance meetings. And nowhere could be more famous for
this than the legendary Café de Flore. Situated somewhere between art history
and contemporary fashion, the café became my hub during fashion week.
Wherever you sit at Flore, you will find that you and your coffee are
surrounded by celestial-stars, whether fashion creators or consumers. And it was in this mix that I took my place and enjoyed breakfast before the shows.
Dining alone has its low points but frankly I enjoy the space, and as I
discovered, can allow for unexpected meetings. Such as the unplanned breakfast
with artists Greg Lauren and his wife Elizabeth, two young Americans who call
both LA and New York City home.
They had made their way to Paris for fashion week and were presenting a
collection of clothing from Greg’s experimental line. Extending his art
practice into the world of dressing, Greg presented jackets that made luxury of
recycled and found fabrics.
On invitation to the showroom I sought to illustrate the collection that
played on the ever-present use of military iconography in our wardrobe. These
casual jackets stitched with the history of battle became as potent as the
costumes of superheroes. But like in Greg’s artwork the jackets subvert the violence
and give the wearer those protective layers we still need.
As winter hits hard here in Melbourne I thought it was time to post
these jackets finally illustrated. Like a flash back to a café encounter or a
scene from a fading film, the collection by Greg Lauren appear like Rorschach tests here, and hopefully
does justice to this artist’s work.
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LG