Still Yves without the Yves ?
Saint Laurent Paris ; a notorious fashion house that we love to love . Has it lost its crown ? Of course not . We say Saint Laurent Paris is better than ever .
TEXT : HOLLY KNOWLES
The plot , a talented young boy who lived for his love of fashion , ambition succeeded him and he was overcome with the success of his power house , YSL . Yves Saint Laurent was a designer that embodied a series of parodies , enigmas and sheer excellence . Like many of the great creative ’ s that we have seen expose their raw and unwavering talent to the world Saint Laurent had an exceptionally intriguing and awe-inspiring life . Throughout a career span of 45years he achieved what many can only dream of , but this wasn ’ t without struggle and critique . He challenged most , he pushed the boundaries of many and he created a house so rich in history , fashion packs have placed a protective shield around it . Today , we hold tribute to a historic figure and champion a new Creative visionary for Saint Laurent Paris , Hedi Slimane .
Once described as a designer who makes clothes for women who live double lives , Saint Laurent didn ’ t conceive ideas which were run of the mill . His tenacious and contrasting persona didn ’ t stop at himself , he injected the emotion into his work , which ranged from a grunge inspired leather jacket and his youth focused diffusion line - Rive Gauche Pret-aporter - to the intricate detailing of his couture collection . He glorified the masculine suit and the fedora by remaking these garments into womenswear as-well as men ’ s .
The famous Le Smoking , encapsulated what this suit meant to the world of fashion , Helmut Newton captured the feminine yet powerful structure with contrasting light and this turned fashion on its head , giving women the confidence to become equals amongst men . “ He put trousers into a women ’ s wardrobe and made our lives easier ’ a quote from his long-time pal Paloma Picasso once said , Yves loved to provoke both admiration and outrage .
Saint Laurent ’ s dedication to braving the unknown and challenging the norm was part of his emotional journey , his mind was full of brilliance but he had self destructive tendencies and intense emotion . His short run at Dior was an obvious reflection of Saint Laurent himself , although the brilliance in his creations was unwavering the public were not ready for such innovation , resulting in a diminishing yet short lived downfall . The only solace he had was life long partner Pierre Berge who gave Saint Laurent the business head to push forward his creativity . Saint Laurent confessed to Newsweek , “ I ’ ve made a rope to hang myself with . I ’ d love to be able to do fashion when I want to , but I ’ m a prisoner of my own commercial empire .” There ’ s no question that the 60 ’ s and 70 ’ s were eras which embodied change and exquisite taste , rebellious youngsters all wanting to make some form of creative difference .