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Daily Archives: July 25, 2009

ysl_dvdAs I said before, I will go on musing all things Saint Laurent, as the original house of Yves Saint Laurent was always fascinating, and still is. Ever since his death, tributes flood in: a musical was born dedicating to him, designers paying hommage through various look in their collections, and of course, the controversial auction with Christie’s that lingered with the fight with the China government.

Now, a documentary DVD and an exhibition, as Pierre Bergé has promised (which some say has been planning in the back of his mind since 1962) are to be unveiled. The Petit Palais will host from 11 March to 29 August 2010, a major retrospective of Monsieur Saint Laurent’s work. Organized by the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, 250 garments created between 1962 and 2002 will be exposed, as well as photos and sketches. Probably the last chance to look into the world of Yves Saint Laurent fashion- a final encounter.

AT HOME WITH YVES: In spring 1968, before the stirrings of student revolt, a power shift of another kind took place in the French fashion world. On “Dim Dam Dom,” a Sunday night TV show targeting French women, Coco Chanel named Yves Saint Laurent as her successor, while simultaneously accusing him of copying her. Saint Laurent’s shy but categorical riposte, on the following month’s show and since stored in the National Audiovisual Institute’s archives, is set to get another airing via DVD release, along with “Tout Terriblement,” a documentary about Saint Laurent screened by Arte Editions in 1994. “First of all, I’m very flattered that Mademoiselle Chanel deigned to take an interest in what I’m doing and that she designated me her successor,” he told “Dim Dam Dom.” “But I am not at all in agreement when she says I copy her.” If he copied her, Saint Laurent declared, he wouldn’t be successful: “I think also the big difference between me and Mademoiselle Chanel is that I try to bring women a style that allows them to adapt their style to my dresses and allows them to develop their personalities. While a woman who wears Chanel resembles Mademoiselle Chanel.” Equally enthralling, the accompanying 48-minute film by documentary maker Jérôme de Missolz, narrated by the late Saint Laurent and Jeanne Moreau, promises a frank portrait of the designer recounting the ups — “I love glory. Glory is a feast” — and downs: “Pierre Bergé is surely right when he claims I was born with a nervous breakdown.” Had Saint Laurent ever married, he would have married Victoire, he declared of the model and muse. And his one regret? “Not to have invented the jean.” The DVD, which will be released in November, comes with an endorsement from Saint Laurent himself. “You have, with a rare sensitivity, captured and understood everything I have tried to express for many years,” he wrote to de Missolz when he first saw the film. (*original source: WWD)

Like many great legends, this man will never really die.

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