June 1, 2008

The drama of Yves Saint Laurent, 1936-2008

I'll be wearing black sweats for a year—Yves Saint Laurent, the legendary French couturier, died Sunday of a brain tumor, aged 71. Yves Saint-Laurent, who famously quipped "Fashions fade, style is eternal", was perhaps as drawn to the possibilities of fashion on film as he was to the drama of the catwalk. I mean, who can forget that white-collared, black dress as worn by his muse Catherine Deneuve, playing a wealthy housewife-turned-prostitute in "Belle de Jour", or her black leather get-up in in "The Hunger"? Or Sofia Loren as the stylish YSL-clad mod spy in "Arabesque"? And what about the strapless ready-to-wear YSL number worn by a young Isabelle Adjani in "Subway"?
Yves was drawn to fashion design aged just 11 after watching a stage production of Moliere's "L'École des Femmes". Afterwards, he painstakingly recreated the costumes in miniature.
He went on to become Christian Dior's assistant and upon his mentor's sudden death in 1957, took over as creative head of the House of Dior, aged just 21.
In 1958, he met Pierre Bergé, a theatre director and stage producer, who became his lover and manager, and together they founded his haute couture house. As well as championing the concept of ready-to-wear fashion, Saint Laurent designed costumes and sets for the stage and ballet, including ''Notre Dame de Paris'' performed at the Paris opera Ballet in 1965. On screen, he brought us pure sixties mod in "The Pink Panther" (1963) and elegant evening gowns in "Stavisky" (1974). He collaborated with French pop star Johnny Halliday in the Seventies and had a number of famous muses, including Catherine Deneuve, US-French socialite Betty Catroux and Loulou de la Falaise.
Saint Laurent will be remembered for his earlier, revolutionary "Trapeze" and "Mondrian" collections, for creating peasant-inspired chic, and for doing the unthinkable—bringing androgynous men's tailoring into women's wardrobes, most memorably with his "Le Smoking", a tux jacket for women.
YSL haute couture ceased production upon Saint Laurent's retirement from the world stage in 2002. YSL ready-to-wear is now designed by Stefano Pilati, a former tutee of Tom Ford, who headed YSL's ready-to-wear division from 2000-2004.
You should rent "Yves Saint Laurent: His Life and Times", 2002 documentary, to learn more about this tragic genius. Don't forget the Kleenex.
(Photos: Yves Saint Laurent, Yves saint Laurent with Catherine Deneuve. WireImage.)

June 1, 2008 in FASHION | Permalink