Yves Saint Laurent at Petit Palais

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By chance and extraordinary instinct, I'm one of the last to hold the secrets of haute couture and perhaps complete the circle of its history.
Yves Saint Laurent

One of the most impressive sites I visited in Paris this time was Yves Saint Laurent exhibition in Petit Palais.

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Photo by Arek

The legacy of Yves Saint Laurent gets a deep exploration in this exhibition. The show is the first in Paris since the designer's death in 2008 and it analyzes the full measure of Saint Laurent's considerable influence on fashion.

At the most luxurious level of dressmaking - the 'Haute Couture' YSL created clothes that were pure perfection in their construction, perfectly sublime in their proportion, ravishingly dazzling in their pure color and imaginative in the mix of texture and colour.


Photo via Google

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Photo by Arek

Today much of what he achieved is taken for granted, but forty-fifty years ago, when he had his first collections, it shocked and rocked the establishment. He understood the path to the future even though the general public was not always receptive, and reassured with interviews, magazine and television ads to explain his collections.





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The total of all his work is shown in about 307 models of high-fashion and ready to wear clothes. Also various photographs and films spanning over 40 years tracing the story and the evolution of Yves Saint Laurent, the man and the fashion institution. You can also see his real and 'mental' studios.




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The exhibition takes place from March to August and is open to the public every day from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 AM- 06:00 PM. The grand entrance of the Palais is breathtaking, and I, like everyone else, stopped in my tracks, lingered, wandered around, and enjoyed the marvels of the inner garden with its beautiful quiet café and a book shop with its extensive collection of books on fashion.

Those who can't make it to Paris this summer can still enjoy the beauties of all the 15 exhibition halls virtually on YSL Retrospective (in French only), there is also a video about the exhibition and various other videos of his Haute Couture collections:


Video via You Tube

3 comments:

Ioanna said...

Hello Olga :)
Pleased to meet you! I like your blog! It is fantastic and inspired!
Great job!
Yvs Saint Lauren was a very intellectual designer and the favourite of Odrey Herborn if I recall! He was unique! I love fashion and art! If you want check out my blog.

Have a nice weekend! Greetings from Greece! Ioanna*

Olga said...

Thanks Ioanna, so nice to meet you! :)

Unknown said...

hi Olga! Greetings from Amman. Saw your comment on Elisa's blog and thought i'd come and have a look. I used to live in Paris and when I see the pics I actually miss it! It's such a unique city. I worked at the Intercontinental (now Westin) and we had lots of fashion shows, inc YSL - if I am not mistaken, hey it was a long time ago. Busy busy times...