Yves Saint Laurent at the Petit Palais
along the Seine River...my heart just melts as I think of it.
**Please note: not all of these photos are the best, I was shooting from the hip...literally... as I was trying to discreetly capture the ambience of the exhibition for you guys without getting caught.**
At 17, Yves Saint Laurent started his career as an assistant to Christian Dior in 1953. Dior gradually accepted more and more of his sketch submissions and named him his successor to the House of Dior. In the Fall of 1957 Dior died unexpectedly of a heart attack and suddenly at 21 Yves Saint Laurent was to direct his first runway line.
Here are the stats that any true fashionista should know about YSL:
1. Fused Art and Culture with Fashion
In his premier line for the Christian Dior label, he set the world on fire by creating Dior's signature "New Look" with trapeze dresses.
{merci Girl's Guide to Paris}
{merci fashion freax}
2. Founded Ready to Wear
As many designers in the mid sixties meddled with a few pret-a-porter pieces, Yves Saint Laurent was the first to launch a full ready to wear collection in the Fall of 1966. In addition that Fall, he opened the first of his ready to wear stores which he called his Rive Gauche stores, in Paris. Catherine Deneuve was his first customer.
Fashion fades, style is eternal ~Yves Saint Laurent
3. Uncovered the lost art of Couture
The sixties and seventies were a time where the golden age of decadent couture had long been forgotten, ahem... polyester suits. But as a couturier himself, Yves Saint Laurent's creations brought back haute couture into the spotlight it deserved.
Haute couture consists of secrets whispered from generation to generation...If in ready to wear, a garment is manufactured according to standard sizes, the haute couture garmet adapts to any imperfection in order to eliminate it. ~Yves Saint Laurent
4. The women's tuxedo suit
YSL's partner and longtime companion Pierre Berge once said, "We often say Chanel has liberated the woman, which is true, but we can also say that YSL gave them the power." No truer words could be spoken. Yves Saint Laurent's designs were specific to empower the woman and pull out her beauty at the same time. In his Fall 1965 collection, YSL introduced Le Smoking, his women's tuxedo pantsuit that changed to female corporate look forever. YSL is also credited with other trends such as safari jackets, thigh high boots, and his coined beatnik look.
Yves Saint Laurent was a vital piece of the ever evolving landscape of fashion, and experiencing this exhibit was truly breath taking. In the Centre Pompidou on January 22, 2002 YSL showed his last collection before retiring, showcasing 30 new looks and a collection of 300 models emphasizing the highlights over his career. He died of brain cancer on June 1, 2008 in his Paris residence.
I want to thank all the women who have worn my clothes, the famous and the unknown, who have been so faithful to me and given me so much joy. ~Yves Saint Laurent
{merci yoox.com}
Thank you Wikipedia and the Petit Palais for your wisdom.
9 comments:
What a fantastic post about Yves Saint Laurent and those four points are very true! I cant wait to read your post about Alexander McQueen Exhibition now:) Happy Monday, my dear
Kisses
Amazing and comprehensive post, darling!
Really enjoyed this one!
xoxox,
CC
but thank YOU for sharing and writing this all. great post
Yves Saint Laurent a slice of heaven & a must interesting & lovely post
~Thank you~
What a fantastic feature about YSL, Jessica; j'adore that quote! :)
Great post! Also, thanks for sharing the info. I always love learning about fashion designers!
YSL is fantastic, thanks so much for sharing! I wish I lived in New York, I'm dying to see the McQueen exhibit, I can't wait for your post!
http://www.fashionhacks.blogspot.com/
I am heading over to the MET Too. I can not wait to see it in person. I love when fashion met the fine art world! Loving the fashion lesson too
I'm so glad you guys liked it! I really love fashion history so I enjoy researching it and sharing it with you guys too :)
A fashionista must know her stuff!
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