Kupper Plants His Imagination on T-Shirts

By MELISSA BEAL Palisadian-Post Contributor Oliver Kupper likes tea and cigarettes, French literature, film and language, gypsies, 1960’s motorcycle culture, history, rock and roll, Latin artwork, nostalgia and Russian prison tattoos. He is an artist and a poet, but lately his creative energy, inspired by his disparate interests, has been poured into his clothing company, Solid Gold Rags. Kupper, a 2001 graduate of Palisades Charter High school, founded Solid Gold Rags last year. His line, which is made up mainly of vintage style women’s T-shirts all designed by him, is currently available in eight stores in California, including Green Tea in Pacific Palisades and Planet Blue in Malibu. His summer 2007 line hits stores this May. ‘I’ve always known that I could be a creator, but was always hesitant about it because of the financial aspect of it,’ Kupper said. However, after being cast in a Coke commercial that appeared on television and in movie theaters nearly everywhere for eight months, Kupper had the financial stability to take a chance on a creative endeavor. Kupper, who has lived in Pacific Palisades since he was 10, started designing and printing T-shirts in his Santa Monica Canyon apartment. In order to achieve the vintage look he was going for, he treated the shirts with different enzymes and weathering processes to make the shirts as soft as possible. After creating eight sample designs, Kupper was ready to start production. ‘I was totally blind as to what was going to happen. I just wanted to see if I could do it. It all worked and we’re still growing,’ he said. Kupper’s operation soon moved from his apartment to a warehouse downtown, where everything from design to production is done. ‘It became too overwhelming to produce all my pieces there [his apartment]. When I was finished there would literally be T-shirts everywhere, dying, curing, waiting to be cut and tagged for delivery,’ he said. ‘There were even T-shirts on my bed.’ To design a shirt, Kupper draws inspiration from his eclectic interests. He goes to flea markets and antique markets to find old prints, paintings and lithographs that he can scan, alter and build into collages for his screen prints. He tries to keep it as simple as possible. ‘I want to keep it genuine, down to earth and rock and roll,’ Kupper said. After the printing process, shirts are treated and weathered to achieve a vintage look and soft feel. Then, they are blessed by holy water from the Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes, France. Inspired by Coco Chanel’s use of holy water in her work, Kupper wondered, ‘How can I get my T-shirts blessed by the Pope?’ He soon obtained some vials of holy water from France, which had been blessed by Pope John Paul II, and now before his shirts hit the shelves, they are put through a wash with a few drops of holy water. Planet Blue in Malibu was the first store to purchase Solid Gold Rags. Kupper’s goal was to get his shirts on as many girls as possible, while still maintaining a sense of exclusivity. To do that, he enlisted the help of his girlfriend and her friends who wear the clothes, model the clothes and take samples to stores around Los Angeles. ‘They’re basically hustlers,’ he said. Their hustling worked. After Planet Blue, nine other stores began carrying Solid Gold Rags, including Green Tea in the Palisades, Ladita, Yellow Dog, Blonde L.A. and Rudy’s Barbershop in L.A., two Rouge stores in Northern California, as well as a boutique in Australia. ‘I’ll be in the Palisades, sitting with coffee and a girl will walk by in one of my pieces and it will freak me out and then make me feel proud,’ Kupper said. Coming up is the release of the summer 2007 Solid Gold Rags line, which is Kupper’s favorite line so far. ‘I wanted something that looks cool, but that you’re not forcing to be cool,’ he said. The new line, which exudes a French motorcycle culture vibe, will be available first at Green Tea on Antioch, where Kupper and Solid Gold Rags will hold a small party for its release. Kupper is also planning an upcoming art show to feature his most recent paintings. ‘I want to involve myself as much as possible in art,’ he said, ‘and not let myself become deceived by modern popular culture and become jaded and delusional.’