Yves Saint Laurent (The Universe of Fashion) - Hardcover

Pierre Bergé

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0789300672 ISBN 13: 9780789300676

Publisher: Universe, 1997

Synopsis

St. Laurent was hip and modern, he was inspired by Mondrian, Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Warhol, Wesselman and even Goya and Velazquez. Berge and St. Laurent understood that haute couture was a dying art and in 1966 started their own ready-to-wear line, a revolutionary move at the time. Their Rive Gauche boutiques sprung up like delicious mushrooms on the world's fashionable shopping streets, bringing the glamour of the happy few to a far larger public. YSL pants suits, safari jackets and the "smoking," a man's dinner jacket adapted for slim, with-it ladies, were the ultimate fashion statement, much as Chanel's simple black dress had been in the 1930s. But St. Laurent also admired Schiaparelli's daring wit and executed workmen's smocks in satins and velvet, and designed bomber jackets to be worn over chiffon evening dresses. Quite justly, he was honored as the first living designer to merit a one-man show at the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute in 1983.

About this title

From Library Journal:

These small (61/4 " x 81/4") books, the first in a new series, offer capsule introductions to the achievements of three of the most important designers of this century. Berge, Saint Laurent's partner since the couturier's sensational 1962 debut, writes a brief seven-page homage to Saint Laurent's artistry, followed by 52 photographs of his most significant designs, which changed women's fashions. Carefully selected, the illustrations also show the artworks and the environment that inspired Saint Laurent. Martin, curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute, offers an insightful analysis of recently deceased Italian designer Versace's eye-opening fashions, which juxtapose silk with leather, street style with couture, in an unmistakable signature. Forty-nine photographs illustrate representative works of the last 15 years. Tretiack manages to summarize the house of Cartier's 150-year history into a succinct 16-page essay. While Cartier designed fancy clocks and desk accessories as well, it is the fabulous jewels that are featured here and that the reader will recognize. Certainly, these books do not approach some of the serious, in-depth publications of recent years (e.g., Yves Saint Laurent: Images of Design, 1958-1988, 1988. o.p.) or the weighty and expensive coffee-table tomes (e.g., Versace's Men Without Ties, Abbeville, 1996), but for libraries with small budgets, these quality publications can provide economical introductions to designers with whom most readers should be acquainted.?Therese Duzinkiewicz Baker, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Universe
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0789300672
• ISBN 13: 9780789300676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 78