(See what we did there? Like the love child of ‘Got milk’ and ‘You’ve been tangoed’)
Laura Reynolds looks at the hype surrounding the collaboration.
Just a week to go until the man in red arrives...
Saint Laurent was born on 1st August 1936 in France and adopted his mother’s keen interest in fashion as he grew up. Saint Laurent found that fashion college, however, was not to his taste and instead he left to work for French designer Christian Dior at the young age of 17.
Not only did Saint Laurent work for Dior until his death in 1957 (when Saint Laurent was 21 years old), but he was entrusted with the job of saving the house of Dior from financial ruin. About 5 years later Saint Laurent had a nervous breakdown and was released from his position with Dior.
This was only the beginning however; Saint Laurent started his own label, YSL, in partnership with his lover at the time, Pierre Bergé in 1962.
The YSL brand is famous for presenting catwalks worldwide with innovative ideas. YSL identified that in an era where more women were moving into male-stream jobs, suits and tailored garments for women would become increasingly popular. YSL tamed the blazer, leather jacket among many other predominantly masculine pieces for the female silhouette.
What is often referred to as the ‘beatnik’ look was portrayed by YSL in the 1960s and 1970s. Arguably it was more a state of mind rather than a set of distinguishable cultural or fashion trends, it included turtleneck sweaters, berets and dark sunglasses.
In 1966 YSL created the legendary and probably most famous classic tuxedo suit for women; ‘Le Smoking’ suit. This suit provided an edge of androgynous sophistication; models dressed in masculine three-piece ensembles and often with their hair slicked back: a power suit if ever there was one.
The Yves Saint Laurent pop art collections during 1965-7 were bold and inviting to the rising 1960s popular and emerging youth culture.
Since the 1960s YSL has also produced a number of notable collections including those inspired by Chinese dresses, Ballet Russes and Picasso. These have included some of the first black models on the fashion scene.
Yves Saint Laurent have taken a number steps outside of the fashion world and into the realms of ‘Beauty and fragrances’, as suggests the category on the YSL website.
I am all too familiar with the shiny blue bottle with black and silver stripes that held the YSL perfume my mother wore when I was younger, and yearned for that air of ladylike sophistication I was aware it provided. Today there is a variety of both women’s and men’s fragrances under the prestigious name of Yves Saint Laurent, as well as a makeup and skin care range.
‘Ready to wear’ has been an ongoing section of YSL’s fashion since the 1960s. Today, it incorporates the more traditionally tailored pieces incorporating ‘couture’ techniques into modern styles.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell less than 24 hours after Yves Saint Laurent’s death was made the new face of YSL. Naomi broke down into floods of tears after hearing the news that the "king of haute couture" of whom she was very fond had passed away.
It is obvious that there will never be another man with the fashion mind of Saint Laurent, yet YSL is to continue to shock, surprise and treat the fashion world to quality high fashion. Today most of us already carry a bit of Yves Saint Laurent in our heart, so now it’s time to hold on tight for the future and see what there is to come!
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