The World According to Yves Saint Laurent by Jean-Christophe Napias and Patrick Mauriès
A stylish collection of legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent’s maxims on fashion, craft, women and inspiration, presented in an attractive gift format. Founded by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1962, shortly after the young couturier left his post at the helm of Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent would soon become one of the most successful and influential haute couture houses in Paris. Introducing Le Smoking, the first tuxedo suit for women, in 1966, Saint Laurent also presented iconic art-inspired creations, from Mondrian dresses to precious Van Gogh embroidery and the famous Ballets Russes collection. The designer put the women who wore his clothes first (‘What’s most important in couture is the body we dress, the woman we dress, more so than the ideas we might have’) and was determined to change attitudes of the era (‘Fashion’s purpose was not only to make a woman look beautiful, but also to reassure them and to give them confidence’). He could be critical of the fashion industry (‘I adore clothes but I hate fashion’) and saw himself as a craftsman who perfectly understood his customer (‘I think there are three kinds of designers. The big ones, the real ones, and those who know how to strike a chord with a woman just by making a very simple dress, or a very simple suit’).Presented in a beautiful package and accessible format, The World According to Yves Saint Laurent is the perfect gift for fashion fans, capturing the essence of a true visionary.
Sheer: Yves Saint Laurent: The Diaphanous Creations of Yves Saint Laurent by Émilile Hammen and Shazia Boucher
Showcasing more than sixty pieces from the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and the Museum for Lace and Fashion collections, Sheer highlights the designer’s mastery over transparent fabrics. Through archival drawings and photographs, and newly shot sheer silhouettes designed by Yves Saint Laurent from the collections of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris and the Museum for Lace and Fashion, Calais, Sheer: The Diaphanous Creations of Yves Saint Laurent highlights the couturier’s pioneering work in lace and other sheer fabrics, uncovering how he was able to overturn codes of unveiling the body to present a new, powerful and sensual feminine figure. The book shows how he worked to ‘reveal’ the body of the woman wearing his clothes with both elegance and audacity: the Nude Dress of 1968, for example, made entirely of transparent chiffon, provided ‘modesty’ in the form of ostrich feathers. Original outfits, sketches, collection boards and fabric swatches give an intimate window into the designs, while photographs of models and clients such as Catherine Deneuve and Naomi Campbell bring to life the designer’s creations in a way that still shocks even now. Sheer is an essential read for fashion fans, and a fascinating and unique look at the work of one of the great designers.
The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent by Madison Cox and Elsa Janssen
The marriage between flowers and fashion has never been more pronounced than when seen in the work of Yves Saint Laurent. This retrospective examines Yves Saint Laurent’s use of flowers from their symbolism to their fruition on the runway. Flowers in every form inspired fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, serving as a leitmotif in his work. His passion for plants manifested itself in countless patterns and techniques, and he adorned women in floral appliqués, prints, and embroideries. From a thousand and one rose buds to sprigs of lily of the valley, from an avalanche of bougainvillea to delicate poppy touches, and from sheaves of wheat to majestic lilies, nature was an essential part of his visual palette. Through the discerning eyes of Olivier Saillard, this veritable garden of Yves Saint Laurent’s designs—culled from a broad range of styles—metamorphoses into a bouquet of flowering silhouettes. Under the direction of Elsa Janssen and Alexis Sornin, essays from Emanuele Coccia, Marc Jeanson, and Serena Bucalo Mussely explore, respectively, the symbolism of flowers, characteristics of his recurring prints, and the designer’s signature use of flora in accessories. ‘A photographic encyclopaedia of one of the 20th century’s greatest creators’ The Business of Fashion.
Yves Saint Laurent Catwalk: The Complete Haute Couture Collections 1962-2002 by Suzy Menkes and Olivier Flaviano
Founded by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1961, shortly after the young couturier left his post at the helm of Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent would soon become one of the most successful and influential haute couture houses in Paris. Introducing Le Smoking, the first tuxedo suit for women, in 1966, Saint Laurent also presented iconic art-inspired creations, from Mondrian dresses to precious Van Gogh embroidery and the famous Ballets Russes collection. This definitive publication opens with a concise history of the house, followed by a brief biographical profile of Yves Saint Laurent, before exploring the collections themselves, organized chronologically. Each collection is introduced by a short text unveiling its influences and highlights, and illustrated with a gallery of carefully curated catwalk images. These showcase hundreds of spectacular clothes, details, accessories, beauty looks and set designs – and, of course, the top fashion models who wore them on the runway. A rich reference section concludes the book.
