Paul Smith holds a fashion exhibition at the Melrose Avenue store in Los Angeles

Paul Smith is in town. The British fashion designer landed in Los Angeles for a short stay, and for good reason. His Melrose Avenue boutique hosted a celebration of Smith’s tailoring titled Frame Around the Picture: Dressing the Greats. The aim of this activation is to transform the iconic store – lovingly referred to by Smith as “the big pink shoe box” as it has become a social media phenomenon – into a gallery space of sorts, showcasing looks worn by celebrity customers.

The collection on display in West Hollywood includes a two-piece brown wool suit worn with: Oppenheimer star (and eventual Oscar winner) Cillian Murphy to the nominees’ luncheon, a tailored checkered ensemble that David Bowie wore on GQ photo shoot and spread (featuring Smith) and other items worn by Harrison Ford, Matt Smith, Gary Oldman, John Legend, Jenna Ortega, Shawn Mendes, Niall Horan and others. The exhibition, which runs until October 21, will feature selected archival works from Luke’s founder, Luke Fracher, for sale.

“I always see and interpret things from the side, not literally. The frame around the photo is how I see the suit, it’s like a picture frame and the person is the work of art that’s inside,” Smith said Hollywood reporter via email about how he determined the title of the exhibition.

After decades of dressing so many famous names, Smith found that the works for the exhibition more or less presented themselves. “Honestly, the exhibition has narrowed down because many of the beautiful clothes we have dressed and sold over the centuries have disappeared, so getting to them was a challenge,” he explained. “But I have fond memories of working with artists like David Bowie, Gary Oldman, John Legend – oh, there are so many of them – all who love our clothes and we love them.”

Bowie was more than just a customer. He was one of Smith’s closest friends for many decades until the rock icon’s death on January 10, 2016. Following his death, Smith opened up about THR about what made Bowie so special. “As you know, he was someone who reinvented himself, so his stage clothes and music were very much part of his public image. However, I was interested in his approach to his own style. As a designer, I’ve never really given people anything; I like it when people wear my clothes because they like them, not because they were given to me. And David literally came to the store himself. No bodyguard, no stylist. One time he went into a store on Fifth Avenue and bought every shirt in his size. It was stunning. Thrilling.”

Smith no doubt has a busy schedule while in Los Angeles after flying in from Tokyo, where another sartorial exhibition is taking place. He revealed he might “poke his head out” of the Melrose Avenue store to check out the madness that will likely take place against a pink backdrop. “The problem is I may not be able to get in because I was told several hundred people come in every day,” he said.

Smith made an extended appearance at the Chateau Marmont’s gala dinner and celebration on Thursday night, which included a long list of boldfaced names, including Rob Lowe, John Owen Lowe, Giancarlo Esposito, Leslie Odom Jr., Jesse Tyler Ferguson, John Cho, Manny Jacinto , Sir Patrick Stewart, JD Pardo, Chace Crawford, Alex Edelman, Brandon Perea, D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai, Anders Keith, Chevy Wolf, Mark Mahoney, Lamorne Morris, James Morosini, Rome Flynn, Cristo Fernández and others. Below are more photos from the A Frame Around a Picture: Dressing the Greats and Fashion Celebrations exhibition.