Olivier Saillard

Enfant Terrible, indeed! Yves Saint Laurent shook the French fashion scene to its core with his Spring-Summer 1971 haute couture collection, which harkened back to a period in French history that many would have rather forgotten – the 1940s, and the German occupation – and yet, it is this scandalous collection that made it into exhibition (and print) 40-odd years later. At first glance, I have a hard time disagreeing with the contemporary critics; the fabrics border on obnoxious, many of the cuts aren’t flattering, and giant lapels are so not my thing, but the deep dive provided by this exhibition catalogue gives second thought to the collection. Beginning with three essays, the collection is placed in its proper historical context, with a brief exploration of the unique needs of the 1940s Frenchwoman, a shifting view of reflections on the collection, and an in depth exploration of the ripple effect caused by it over time in the French world of couture and rivé gauche. Each essay was the perfect amount of text to pique the readers’ interest, before we are presented with an outfit by outfit parade to fill out the rest of the book’s pages. Drawing on the archives of the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent fondation, we are treated to a wealth of fashion documents, ranging from collection boards with fabric swatches to rejected sketches and alternate-colour samples for the entire collection, as well as the expected photographic evidence from the show itself, contemporary ads, and perfectly-preserved manequinned ensembles. The archivist in me is obviously obsessed with this level of documentary history, but the part of me that will always be a fashion girl and artist was also absolutely blown away by the plethora of Yves’ sketches that were included. I may continue to dislike the fabrics chosen for the physical outfits, but the sketches are surprisingly lovely in their imagination and they clearly show the artistry behind the collection itself. While we may not get an exact representation of the fashion show that shook the fashion world (some physical samples seem to have been lost to time and video evidence is obviously not available in print form), this book is as close to perfect as a couture exhibition catalogue can be.… (more)

The goal of this book (purportedly) is to be a sort of chronicle of fashion history, and it kind of is. La Croix uses his extensive knowledge and love of archival material to amass a unique collection that shows his perspective on the development of fashion. The book is organized into sections based on different patterns, styles, and inspirations that pairs La Croix's couture creations with a variety of other designers' pieces from various historical periods. La Croix's vision of fashion history may be more personal than objective, but this kind of account of what makes history so interesting.… (more)