YSL: The Complete Vision

Gentle Reader -

Let it be said that Yves Saint Laurent has transformed into a complete body of work. I don't suppose we will see the Givenchy archive anytime soon, though this would be an opportunity not to be overlooked.

Perhaps we must look to that 1983 retrospective/exhibition at the Costume Institute. Then under the direction of the legendary Diana Vreeland, the display of key YSL looks back then set the tone for the current Fondation Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent, where the couture archive is housed.

The result is a enigma and a challenge: how can a dead designer influence fashion like an Old (or Modern) Master?

No, it's not that the YSL archive competes with current fashion. But it is a benchmark of what fashion, what haute coutue once was. It quite rightly belongs to the past, yet has the ability to inspire future designers, like Rembrandt or Matisse.


- AP