This week Parisian fashion house Yves Saint Laurent released their latest #YSL23 all denim campaign. Under the art direction of Anthony Vaccarello, the campaign features a tribe of models sporting rock and roll inspired looks decked in sequinned bikini tops, frayed jean shorts, denim shirts and jackets with leopard print patchwork, waistcoats and other edgy YSL pieces. With a cast of models that includes Kaia Gerber, Simona Kust, Martina Boaretto, Mads, Mullin, Rebecca Leigh Longendke, Dakota Lindvall, Najib, Rai Langlois and Dylan Christensen, photographer Gary Sorrenti captures the eclectic voices of the fashion house’s denim collection while honing Vacarello’s signature punk aesthetic. Discover more at YSL.
This week The Denver Art Museum (DAM) opens its doors to one of it’s most recent exhibitions entitled Dior: From Paris to the World. The exhibition is in celebration of the legacy of French fashion house Christian Dior and it’s influence on the industry since its inception over 70 years ago. It includes a collection of over 200 haute couture dresses, accessories, photographs, original sketches and runway videos which showcases the visual evolution of the house throughout decades. The exhibition not only highlights the founding father Christian Dior, but also profiles the work of artistic directors Yves-Saint Laurent (1958–1960), Marc Bohan (1961–1989), Gianfranco Ferré (1989–1996), John Galliano (1997–2011), Raf Simons (2012–2015) and Maria Grazia Chiuri (2016–present). “Dior: From Paris to the World will give our visitors insight into the House of Dior’s creative process and inspirations that contributed to its unparalleled impact on the fashion world, which continues to reverberate today,” said Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the DAM. “This exhibition encourages audiences to think differently about the boundaries of fashion as art, and advance the museum’s commitment to taking viewers behind the scenes to reveal Dior’s imaginative and innovative endeavours.” Curated by Florence Müller, DAM Avenir Foundation Curator of Textile Art and Fashion, the exhibition will be open from Nov 19, to March 3, 2019.
Having taken over YSL from Hedi Slimane this year, Anthony Vaccarello used his first collection to offer a re-interpretation of the language of the house. The monogram earring, a signature accessory of Spring/Summer 2017, is designed to be deconstructed and put back together again – the perfect emblem of a new creative voice in the house.
For Issue 15 it’s all about the pursuit of the personal, and deconstructing the concept of perfection. Photographer Thomas Giddings turns his lens on the kids of Amsterdam in homage to the Dutch Masters, while fearless artist Rachel Maclean presents the unashamed power of pink. We see Dree Hemingway cavorting with Chanel’s Cruise 2017 collection in Upstate New York, and explore the fluidity of gender in modern-day Tel Aviv. Yves Saint Laurent presents a study in beauty through the ages, artfully reworked to be the very definition of now, and we meet LA-based model-turned-musician Kacy Hill, who has recently caught the eye of Kanye West. In addition to this, Francesca Gavin takes us on a visceral MDMA trip with artist Geoffrey Farmer, and we sit down with Jane Moseley, the sex-boot wearing model who piqued Demna Gvasalia’s interest.
Yves Saint Laurent will be celebrated in a photography tome set for release in October. The latest photography book, published by Thames & Hudson, paints a dazzling portrait of the famed designer and his world of fashion, captured by legendary backstage fashion photographer Roxanne Lowit.
As the pioneer of ready-to-wear and ‘Le Smoking’, Saint Laurent was, and still remains, one of the most influential designers of all time. Some of his haute couture collections won raves, while others sparked controversy, but they never failed to stir conversation, inspire trends, and point to the future. This publication gives us a look into the backstage world of YSL with contributions from his muses and admirers, including Catherine Deneuve, Lucie de la Falaise, Betty Catroux, Jacqueline de Ribes, André Leon Talley and Valerie Steele, as well as an introduction from Pierre Bergé.
Pierre Thoretton’s film L’Amour Fou is a love letter to memory, art and life reflected through the 50 year relationship between Yves Saint-Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé. Filmed a year after Yves Saint-Laurent’s death in 2008, Thoretton followed Bergé during the breaking up of their art collection. Works by Matisse, Goya, Mondrian, all sold at Christies. The dismantling of their collection is the point of departure for an exploration of their relationship and their shared aesthetic world. While Saint-Laurent’s absence dominates the film, Thoretton’s unrivalled access to his archive means his image is renewed through unseen personal photographs by friends such as William Klein and Helmut Newton. L’Amour Fou is also a farewell letter from Bergé to the love of his life and a melancholic ode to a Twentieth Century icon.
L’Amour Fou is at the ICA until 17 November and out on DVD on 21 November.
To tell the story of the last forty years of fashion is no mean feat. And yet, in Histoire Idéale de la Mode Contempraine at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris, curator Olivier Salliard has done just that, conveying fashion’s changing moods, trends and attitudes with ease. Now in its second instalment, Les Années 1990-2000, the show is a master class in display. Mirrors guide the eye from collar to cuff, and onto the next collection, garments float on mid-air mannequins and captions take the form of labelled leaves of translucent paper artfully strewn across the museum floor.
Arranged via aesthetic rather than chronology, viewers move from Belgian deconstruction and Japanese minimalism, to Martine Sitbon’s grunge. The first instalment of the exhibition (which is now closed) kicked off with Yves Saint Laurent’s 1971 collection ‘Liberation’, commemorating the birth of pret-a-porter. Les Années 1990-2000 goes on to explore the rise – and delightful abandonment – of function in fashion. Exit through the gift shop via the drama of Alexander McQueen and Viktor & Rolf.
Histoire Idéale de la Mode Contempraine, vol. II: Les Années 1990-2000 is at Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris until 8th May 2011 lesartsdecoratifs.fr
Images courtesy of Guy Marineau and Philippe Brazil. Words by Sarah Smith
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