au revoir yves
June 2, 2008
Today I mourn the death of an incredible man, visionary, and creative spirit. Though I didn’t personally know him, I admired his work from afar for many years. Yves Saint Laurent passed away Sunday, June 1, 2008 in Paris, at the age of 71. A great article chronicling his life and accomplishments can be found in the New York Times Sunday Style section.
Probably most famous for his “le smoking” the women’s version of a man’s dress jacket as well as a women’s tuxedo pantsuit, what one might not know is how he modernized and evolved the way women dress today- let them wear pants!
Thank god someone had some sense. And to this, I say, was his biggest strength: the ability to know what women wanted to wear and how they wanted to be perceived. His designs exude a relaxed elegance, taking much of his inspiration from the street. He was also known for his beatnik and safari inspired creations, all which seem to be prevalent in this season’s landscape of designs. 
I’m lucky enough to have in my possession the book from his 1983 retrospective at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here are some iconic images I wanted to share with all of you.
(some of these illustrations were reproduced as post cards in France about 10 years ago. I need to find mine)
Mr. Saint Laurent disliked the fact that Tom Ford was his successor when he retired in 2002, and was very vocal about it. I understand why. While one worked a life time to make elegant, modest clothing that subtly accentuated a women’s sex appeal, the other was flashy and flaunty. It was a short-lived era for Ford. The line is currently designed by Stefano Pilati who was one of Ford’s assistants.
Mr. Saint Laurent once said he had wished ‘he had invented jeans’ because of their understated chicness and elegance and ’simplicity’. But what he had invented was a way for women to dress that was as ownable as a pair of favorite jeans.
One might say this is an end of an era. An era where couture houses were named for real, living people and family owned and run. Where visionaries blossomed from humble beginnings and made lasting impressions in the fashion world and pop culture. The last man standing might very well be Valentino Garavani, who retired in September 2007.
People that Andy Warhol made portraits of are slowly fading out of existence.
“Fashion fades, style is eternal”
Yves Saint Laurent
That truly sums up his life’s achievments and the timelessness of his creations.
all images from the following two books:
Universe of Fashion: Yves Saint Laurent
by Pierre Berge and Foreword by Grace Mirabella
Yves Saint Laurent
by Yves Saint Laurent and Diana Vreeland
Today I mourn the death of an incredible man, visionary, and creative spirit. Though I didn’t personally know him, I admired his work from afar for many years. Yves Saint Laurent passed away Sunday, June 1, 2008 in Paris, at the age of 71. A great article chronicling his life and accomplishments can be found in the New York Times Sunday Style section.
Probably most famous for his “le smoking” the women’s version of a man’s dress jacket as well as a women’s tuxedo pantsuit, what one might not know is how he modernized and evolved the way women dress today- let them wear pants!
Thank god someone had some sense. And to this, I say, was his biggest strength: the ability to know what women wanted to wear and how they wanted to be perceived. His designs exude a relaxed elegance, taking much of his inspiration from the street. He was also known for his beatnik and safari inspired creations, all which seem to be prevalent in this season’s landscape of designs.
I’m lucky enough to have in my possession the book from his 1983 retrospective at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here are some iconic images I wanted to share with all of you.
(some of these illustrations were reproduced as post cards in France about 10 years ago. I need to find mine)
Mr. Saint Laurent disliked the fact that Tom Ford was his successor when he retired in 2002, and was very vocal about it. I understand why. While one worked a life time to make elegant, modest clothing that subtly accentuated a women’s sex appeal, the other was flashy and flaunty. It was a short-lived era for Ford. The line is currently designed by Stefano Pilati who was one of Ford’s assistants.
Mr. Saint Laurent once said he had wished ‘he had invented jeans’ because of their understated chicness and elegance and ’simplicity’. But what he had invented was a way for women to dress that was as ownable as a pair of favorite jeans.
One might say this is an end of an era. An era where couture houses were named for real, living people and family owned and run. Where visionaries blossomed from humble beginnings and made lasting impressions in the fashion world and pop culture. The last man standing might very well be Valentino Garavani, who retired in September 2007.
People that Andy Warhol made portraits of are slowly fading out of existence.
“Fashion fades, style is eternal”
Yves Saint Laurent
That truly sums up his life’s achievments and the timelessness of his creations.
all images from the following two books:
Universe of Fashion: Yves Saint Laurent
by Pierre Berge and Foreword by Grace Mirabella
Yves Saint Laurent
by Yves Saint Laurent and Diana Vreeland
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