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The Collector’s Guide to Yves Saint Laurent
The Parisian atelier Yves Saint Laurent has a history worth knowing – and icons worth collecting.
S ome fashion houses are such an ingrained part of the global fashion consciousness season after season that it feels as though they have simply always existed. Yves Saint Laurent, aka YSL, aka SAINT LAURENT, is one of those brands. Founded in 1961, the French maison is both an elder statesman of style and yet relatively young in age (by comparison both Louis Vuitton and Hermès came to life in the mid-1800s while Chanel is 50 years YSL’s senior).
Like any other fashion house that has survived decades of trend and culture shifts, the DNA of Yves Saint Laurent is strong, rooted in the legacy of its eponymous founder and, of course, the beautiful people who have collected and showcased it over the years.
If you love fashion – or are just now falling in love with it – you need to know Yves Saint Laurent. Here is the definitive guide.
Yves Saint Laurent: The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Yves Saint Laurent was born in Algeria to French parents and spent much of his childhood in the coastal city of Oran. At 18, when he moved to Paris to enrol in the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, Saint Laurent’s signature personal style of a slim fit suit and thick framed glasses was already beginning to crystallise. After his sketches impressed a senior French Vogue editor, Saint Laurent began working as an assistant for the legendary couturier Christian Dior, quickly rising to become his right-hand man.
Shortly before his sudden death in 1957, Monsieur Dior had already named Saint Laurent as his successor – who was then only 21 years old. It was a swift and proverbially meteoric rise for the young designer, a rapid ascension which foretold his future as an icon in the industry. His clear talent for design helped to resurrect the faltering Dior brand, with the Trapeze line silhouettes Saint Laurent showed in his first solo collection for the maison in 1958 receiving popular and critical acclaim. By the time Saint Laurent launched his own collection in 1962, he was a bona fide star in the French fashion world.
The House of Yves Saint Laurent
The Yves Saint Laurent maison was founded in 1961 with the help of his partner (both business and romantic) Pierre Bergé. Like other dressmakers at the time, Yves Saint Laurent was initially a house of couture, designing one-of-a-kind pieces for an exclusive clientèle. Saint Laurent showed his first collection in January 1962 to high praise. The standout look – one that has been referenced time and time again – was simple: an oversized wool pea coat paired with white trousers, inspired by sailors’ menswear.
What followed was years of trendsetting and innovation. Styles that we take for granted today, like thigh-high boots, were initiated at YSL in these early years. Five years after founding his maison, Saint Laurent introduced two of his most iconic innovations: YSL Rive Gauche and the Le Smoking jacket.
YSL Rive Gauche was one of (if not the) first ready-to-wear collections produced by a couturier and was reportedly part of Saint Laurent’s attempt to make fashion more accessible. The name “Rive Gauche” nodded to Paris’s Left Bank neighbourhoods, home to many of the city’s artists and bohemians. With Rive Gauche, Saint Laurent intended to experiment with the maison’s styles and silhouettes. The Le Smoking jacket – a traditional man’s tuxedo jacket cut with a sleeker collar and nipped in waist for women – and the Safari jacket – inspired by the uniforms worn by the Afrika Korps and Western men in Africa – were early hits from the collection, embodying the freedom of the 1960s and a new spirit of seduction.
The Icons of YSL
Following the establishment of Rive Gauche, Saint Laurent could claim the gilt and glamour of couture as well as the artistic bona fides of intellectual circles. As time went on, however, he began to lean more towards the ready-to-wear side of his business, preferring the freedom of this side of the industry to the strict rules of couture. With Rive Gauche, he played with high and low, mixing materials and pieces to create looks that were both eclectic and playful. His world travels with Bergé resulted in collections that museums clamour to add to their archives today.
In the 1970s, collections inspired by Russian and Chinese styles were magnificent successes. As were his “separates” – pieces that were designed to be mixed and matched, not worn together as a full look. The idea of separates or wardrobe essentials departed from the head-to-toe styles that fashion had favoured for years, a revolution that would define the decades to come.
Other standout looks from the 1960s and 1970s include the Piet Mondrian-inspired Autumn/Winter 1965 couture collection and, notably, Saint Laurent’s collaboration with the artist and sculptor Claude Lalanne in 1969. Lalanne crafted anatomical gold sculptures that fitted snugly over flowing chiffon evening dresses of black and Mediterranean blue. Golden belly buttons and bare breasts were “revealed” to the gasps of showgoers in this risky and sublime collection.
Designers Who Shaped the Brand
In 1999, after 38 years at the helm, Saint Laurent handed over control of his brand to the young designer Tom Ford. Ford had been at Gucci since 1990, famously reversing the ailing brand’s fortunes and making it into the powerhouse that it is today. When the Gucci Group (now Kering) acquired YSL in 1999, Ford took over creative direction of Rive Gauche ready-to-wear while Saint Laurent continued to design couture, which shuttered in 2002 when Saint Laurent retired from the business altogether.
The partnership was strained. Saint Laurent famously disliked the direction in which Ford took the brand and Ford was made so unhappy by the internal criticism that he left in 2004. Despite Saint Laurent’s disdain, Ford’s brief tenure included beautiful collections beloved by both fans and critics alike. Jewel-toned chiffon dresses with exposed lace bras, velvet blazers, and corseted gowns were standouts and became the favourites of Hollywood stalwarts such as Nicole Kidman and Demi Moore. Ford’s final collection included a sparkling yellow chinoiserie gown which featured prominently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2015 exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass in New York.
The Italian designer Stefano Pilati succeeded Ford as creative director after cutting his teeth at Armani and Prada. Pilati is perhaps best remembered for some of the ultra-successful accessories that were introduced during his tenure, including the Muse handbag (considered by many to be the house’s first It-Bag) and the striking Tribute heels.
When Pilati left in 2012, in swooped fashion darling Hedi Slimane who remade the brand in his distinctive image. Moving the maison’s creative studio from Paris to Los Angeles, Slimane dropped the “Yves” and rebranded it simply as “SAINT LAURENT”. The Slimane years were marked by a turn towards rock ‘n’ roll. Skinny trousers, sheer blouses and breast-baring dresses became frequent features on his runway. Asymmetric mini dresses and a playful kiss motif also became SAINT LAURENT signatures during Slimane’s tenure.
In 2016 Slimane departed and Kering appointed the Belgian-Italian designer Anthony Vaccarello as creative director. The Vaccarello years have put a new spin on the bold sex appeal introduced by Slimane, whilst decidedly leaning towards the more mature and feminine, frequently paying homage to the designs of the 1980s and 1990s.
Yves Saint Laurent at Sotheby’s
Ready to start? Catch up on some of the incredible pieces Sotheby’s has sold in the past below and discover coveted creations in Fashion Icons closing 17 December 2024.
