Ralph Lauren to restore parisian art school

OHMYGOSSIP — Ralph Lauren will stage a Paris fashion show in October as part of a two-year plan to renovate the iconic Ecole National Supérieure des Beaux-Arts.

Ralph Lauren is restoring Paris’ Ecole National Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. The American designer is spearheading a two-year campaign to renovate the world famous art institute in the French capital, which will kick off with a catwalk show in the school’s grounds on October 8.

WWD are reporting the event will showcase Ralph’s autumn/winter 2013-14 womenswear collection, and is due to be accompanied by a lavish gala dinner held in the college’s courtyard.

The highly-anticipated event will be the brand’s first ever European show, but won’t affect their spring/summer 2014 collection being debuted on the runway at New York Fashion Week in September as usual.

The project will help fund the renovation of the Ecole National Supérieure des Beaux-Arts’ lecture theatres, updating them with the latest technology while maintaining the classical architecture. The school’s website will also get a radical overhaul.

According to WWD, most of the funds are “designated to restore the semicircular lecture theatre at the heart of the school with its 90-foot Raphael-esque mural by Paul Delaroche.”

Ralph has been vocal about his love of Paris in the past, saying: “It’s exciting to come here and bring my style and my flair. Paris has been very receptive. I feel I’m an international brand today. It’s been our goal to build an international business, with Paris and Europe. I have three stores in Paris now, and that won’t be the last.”