"Filled with books, photos, fabric swatches, and a wandering French
bulldog, Yves Saint Laurent's studio was a wonderfully chaotic and
creative space. Fashion historian Jéromine Savignon's new book opens the
door into this magical world." -W Magazine
The name of Yves Saint Laurent, one of the great fashion designers of
the twentieth century, evokes the now-iconic looks he helped popularize
as part of the modern woman's wardrobe: the Le Smoking tuxedo jacket,
the pea coat, the Mondrian dress, the jumpsuit. But seven years after
Saint Laurent's death, the man himself remains an enigma and a source of
fascination (two Yves Saint Laurent biopics were released in 2014). In
Yves Saint Laurent's Studio: Mirror and Secrets, the first book to be
published by the Fondation Pierre Bergé with Yves Saint Laurent, fashion
historian Jérômine Savignon invites the reader into the designer's
studio, revealing Saint Laurent's approach to fashion and design.
Illustrated with more than 40 previously unpublished photographs, this
volume offers a fresh, behind-the-scenes glimpse at the work of this
iconic fashion designer.
A precocious talent, Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008) started work at
the venerable fashion house of Christian Dior at the age of 18. He
started his own design house in 1961 with his partner Pierre Bergé.
Saint Laurent was one of the first designers to hire nonwhite models,
and the first to lend his name to a ready-to-wear line while maintaining
his haute couture business. He became the first designer to be honored
with a Costume Institute retrospective at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
during his lifetime, with a 1983 show organized by Diana Vreeland, who
called him the "Pied Piper of fashion," because "whatever he does, women
of all ages, from all over the world, follow."
