Yves Saint Laurent’s Legacy Spreads to Seattle with a Major New Retrospective
As Anthony Vaccarello made clear at his Yves Saint Laurent debut at Paris Fashion Week, when he dangled a giant neon logo above Paris in the shape of the initials YSL, the late designer’s legacy is still very much alive. It’s one an ovular Hedi Slimane has recently eagerly defended, too, and which is now spreading more officially up the west coast with “Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style,” a major retrospective of the designer opening today at the Seattle Art Museum. Starting with the paper dolls Saint Laurent made as a teen in the ’50s, the exhibit covers his 44-year, pioneering career, from pantsuits and ties for women in the ’60s to a 1970 wedding gown boldly embellished with the words “LOVE ME FOREVER.” Take a look back at it all, including vintage photos of the couturier judging toiles in his Parisian studio, here.
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Cocktail dress worn by Susan Moncur, Homage to Piet Mondrian, fall/winter 1965 haute couture collection.
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Yves Saint Laurent at home at 55 rue de Babylone, Paris, 1977.
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Jewelry from the haute couture collections.
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“First” pantsuit, spring/summer 1967 haute couture collection.
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Evening gown, fall/winter 1983 haute couture collection.
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“First” tuxedo worn by Ulla, fall/winter 1966 haute couture collection.
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Yves Saint Laurent judging a toile for his first haute couture collection, Rue Jean-Goujon, Paris, January 1962.
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Short evening dress worn by Sadiya, Homage to Georges Braque, spring/summer 1988 haute couture collection.
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Suzy, “Florence”, and “Ivy” Paper Dolls with outfits from their wardrobe, 1953–1954.
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Yves Saint Laurent at work in his studio at 5 avenue Marceau, Paris, 1976.
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Wedding gown, fall/winter 1970 haute couture collection.
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Collection board for the fall/winter 1965 haute couture collection.
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Yves Saint Laurent in his studio fitting a toile from the fall/winter 1977 haute couture collection on the model Kirat.
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Short evening ensemble, spring/summer 1967 haute couture collection.
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Jumpsuit in the spring/summer 1975 haute couture collection.
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Research sketch, fall/winter 1976 haute couture collection known as Opera-Ballets Russes.
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Evening gown, Homage to Tom Wesselmann, fall/winter 1966 haute couture collection.
