New York-based artist fashion impresario CHRISTOPHER LEE SAUVÉ is a momma’s boy. Whether he’s drawing inspiration from punk nuevo Brooklyn street kids, or his idol Andy Warhol, this Canadian-born designer always looks back to his mother for inspiration. “When I was a child, in the early 80’s, she would create her own over-sized, silk-screened, bold-graphic t-shirts,” recalls the artist from his Brooklyn studio, “she would cut and rip the neck and wear them as elegant evening dresses. It was revolutionary.”
Not content to wallow in her shadow, SAUVÉ recently burst onto the cultural landscape with his own line of t-shirts that have become controversial collector’s items after being embraced by THE NEW YORK TIMES, NEW YORK MAGAZINE, VOGUE, ELLE, PAPER MAGAZINE and PEREZ HILTON.
His current popularity began when rumors began to circulate the bloggosphere that ANNA WINTOUR was being replaced as editor of VOGUE. The now iconic t-shirt he created simply read: SAVE ANNA.
But it would be a less-likely, Bravo reality show vixen that would usher SAUVÉ into the mainstream, “She would always say, I DIE. BANANAS. over and over again,” says the artist in regards to celebrity stylist RACHEL ZOE. “After I produced the shirt I received a letter from Zoe’s attorney saying that she trademarked the words ‘I Die.’ And ‘Bananas.’ I sent this letter to the press and a media sensation was born. How can someone trademark a fruit?” As a response to the cease and desist letter, SAUVÉ created the FREE THE FRUIT campaign which garnered support from around the globe. It was from this line that the ART (TM) BANANAS t-shirt, which is currently in production, was born.
Currently, he is busy on a collection of hand painted t-shirts for his label CHRISTOPHER LEE SAUVÉ and his t-shirt collection is available at select retail stores in New York, Tokyo, London, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, and Seoul.
