The fashion world is in a kerfuffle* over the debut of Hedi Slimane's Saint Laurent Paris collection. Some love it, some hate it. I feel that it boils down to the very simple — the current discourse will eventually pass and Hedi will succeed or he will fail.** The sales will tell the truth. It just is what it is and the fate of every designer who steps into the ring.
In the meantime, whether Hedi can make it a go or not, it is still the original pieces designed by Yves himself will always hold magic for me. Even when a designer steps into the shoes of another and does it well — think Sarah Burton here or Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel who has stepped up to the plate so remarkably that people sometimes forgot that the collection was at one time actually done by Ms Chanel herself — even when that happens it's still hard to beat the allure and vision of the person who started the vision.
As a dealer of originals I strive to find the best examples of a designers work and to unearth little hidden gems. Much has been said this past week about the bows and Bohemia that Yves favored in his work but under that frill and chiffon are highly structured masterfully cut jackets, pants and skirts. Like this Spring/Summer 1970 Saint Laurent Rive Gauche suit. The flared skirt that is cut wide and long epitomizes the mark of a new decade and the then, soon to trend midi skirt. In fact Yves would have been a bit ahead of his time on that one. The jacket illustrates the frivolity of the argument that designers rely too heavily on that past and should not reference it. When the reference is done right it is enchanting. This suit would have actually been designed in 1968-69 to debut for SS1970 and yet that cut is all Victorian splendor that has been masterfully reworked into a cutting edge silhouette for 1970. Again a look that Yves was ahead on and that we will see repeated endlessly during this decade.
The suit was featured in the February issue of Paris Vogue at the time. I love the photograph with its giant hula hoop whose circular shape contrasts sharply with the triangular shape of the skirt. Despite the 1970s hairdo you can easily imagine wearing this suit now as a girl in 2012 and styling it the same way — jacket done all the way up, hair swept off the shoulders so the neck can be seen, glossy black boots and minimal jewelery.
I had acquired the suit a couple of weeks ago and sent it off to the cleaners as usual. While it was there I happened to buy the book Saint Laurent, Rive Gauche — Fashion Revolution. It was pure happenstance and as fantastical as it sounds, I am not lying when I tell you that I was literally in the car riding back from a short trip and planned on stopping at the dry cleaners to actually pick the suit up, when I flipped through the book and saw it there on page 105.
It's a wonder My Guy did not crash us after I scared the poop out of him when I let out a scream!
My suit is minty mint and the absolute twin of and perhaps, who knows, it may even be the same one — clothes have strange and wonderful lives sometimes you know!
Have a fantastic, vintage filled day!xxx cherie
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*can we not all just behave like adult with class and manners. It's really about the clothes and the talent. Put egos into the design.
**personally I think that the clothes looked a lot like the Yves Saint Laurent I find and post on the site whenever I can. So I liked them because they looked like pieces from the archives. That also made me sad because I don't want to see redone pieces — I have the originals. I want to see the new rising from the old. See above comments re: Sarah Burton and Lagerfeld. As a consumer I think you would be well served to buy the original and save several thousand dollars a shot. Until I see these new pieces for myself and have them in my hands and compare the workmanship against the ones I know are beautifully made and have the details I expect a Yves Saint Laurent piece to have, then I am casting my vote (and wallet) to the past. That being said I also think Hedi is a talented man and if he would just stop this nonsense on the press and on social media and stop making himself look a like public diva and focus on the clothes we would all fall in love with him (again).
***apparently if you write anything negative about YSL or call it the wrong thing you get banned from the shows. I was not invited in the first place so I feel I will come up even so shall say what I like.
Whatever happens I want the YSL brand to be around forever!!
Shop the suit here