A Family Affair

(NEW YORK) "Image is powerful and potent, but it's also paper thin," said artist Greg Lauren Thursday night as he introduced his latest art exhibition, "Alteration," to the masses. An interesting concept for someone who comes from the iconic Ralph Lauren family (Ralph is Greg's uncle, and Greg's father serves as head of men's design for the house), Lauren showed an impressive display: jackets, suits, shirts, impeccable to the tiniest detail--but all constructed out of paper. Of course, the whole clan--Lauren's wife, Elizabeth Berkeley Lauren, Dylan Lauren, David Lauren and Lauren Bush--a dose of Hollywood star power in Gerard Butler and Parker Posey, and several interested Christie's execs came out to support and browse the SoHo exhibition. (Another fun "family reunion:" Mark Paul Gosselaar dropped by, reuniting with Berkely Lauren, the Jesse Spano to his Zack Morris.)

"I wanted to do a complete exploration of image and identity, starting with my own," he explained. "I wanted to take a look at things that were really personal to me, that made me and shaped my childhood and the development of my own image--who I thought I wanted to be and who I thought I needed to be in terms of male archetypes and heroes. I love all the characters that these pieces of clothing embody." There were "leather" motorcycle jackets, plaid woodsmen coats, fringed cowboy jackets and denim western shirts, all artfully constructed by Lauren, who learned to sew a year and a half ago on his mother's old machine. "Each one of these is made true to a real garment," he explained. "I needed to do that."

In the process, Lauren dabbled with the construction of real garments, and his one-of-a-kind jackets were also on display in the space. His fashionable family must have rubbed off a bit, The Daily assumed; would Lauren ever join the family business and start his own line now that he's capable? He laughed: "Not to join the family business, because my dad years ago encouraged me to pursue my art. But there's been a great response to the one-of-a-kind real jackets, and I'd like to see that develop into something-a high end collection, maybe. I would entertain that idea."
EMILY GYBEN