After a fantastic solo show in LA’s Copro Gallery, Dangerous Ink managed to grab Laurie for a few minutes to talk about her new range of t-shirts sold through the AllSaints stores.
So Laurie, how did the tee shirt thing come about? Did you approach them?
Over the years I have been approached by many boutiques and shops around the world asking if they could use my imagery on t-shirts. The moment I presented them with a contract, however, they would disappear. I was in the middle of negotiations with a store in Germany when I walked in to one of my favourite shops in London to look around: All Saints. It dawned on me that the imagery on their t-shirts was very similar to mine, and I thought I might as well contact them to ask if they’d be interested in using my work before I signed a deal with anyone else. The quality of their printed tees was far superior to anything else I had seen. I emailed them and to my surprise got a response almost immediately.
How does it feel when you see someone wearing your work?
I was on my way to an exhibition reception in Los Angeles and I saw someone walking towards me wearing one of the Lipton Tees. I shouted, “That’s mine!”. The poor girl thought I was accusing her of stealing and rushed past me nervously. I get a kick out of it. I love it.
So how are the tees going down? I saw Dakota Fanning sporting one in the press. ‘Queen of Bones’ I think.
I was told that the Lipton Tees are the best selling line they’ve ever had. There is a page solely for my work on the All Saints website (http://www.allsaints.com/women/laurieliptoncollaboration) so that it’s easy to find. Thandie Newton, the Suicide Girls and Dakota Fanning are some of the celebs with good taste enough to wear Lipton Tees. I think the whole thing is a hoot. I was given tees as well and that’s all I’m wearing this summer. It’s probably obnoxious to wear my own work, but I get loads of compliments when I do and the cotton is so soft & comfortable & cool that I don’t really want to wear anything else. God… I sound like a bloody commercial.
Nothing wrong with sounding like an ad and plugging your work!
So I see there’s also children’s sizes as well. Corrupt ‘em while they’re young, eh?
Yes. There is an adorable children’s tee called “The Death of Romance”. Never too soon to start purging your child of Disney and Hallmark toxins.
Laurie’s t-shirts are available from AllSaints stores and online, and she also has a book out from beinArt Publishing called ‘The Extraordinary Drawings of Laurie Lipton’ for only $39 USD. See more of her work at her site www.laurielipton.com.
