May

29

YSL in MTL

Filed Under Art Fart 

YSL Staples

My first encounter with Yves Saint Laurent was in high school. A boy I had a tremendous crush on would wear Jazz to class. (See, even back then I was chasing for a bit of heaven.)

Although the boy never returned my affection (he seemed to know it was a crush more than I did at the time) I just couldn’t help but be hooked. My feelings were just too intense. I just couldn’t stop. Thus began my love affair with all things Yves and YSL.

YSL, to me, is like the left wing of all the traditional fashion houses. To explain. Dior, Chanel, Prada, Armani are like the top-tier of fashion. Their time-honoured, bread-and-butter items–such as bags, flats, skirts and suits respectively–are fairly conservative. Nothing risky about them, but fabulous items no less.

Next to the traditional standbys are McQueen, Gautier, Cavalli, and Westwood; totally fun pieces, courageous, imaginative but a bit too extravagant. I don’t want to say impractical, but perhaps more catwalk than sidewalk. (Although why everyday isn’t an Alexander McQueen day is beyond me.)

And thereafter we can probably have two camps, but I’ll generalize for simplicity’s sake. The more subdued (and incredibly sophisticated) designers like threeAsFour, Doo Ri, and McCartney; and the ones that seem to “scream” such as DSquared2, Moschino, Betsey Johnson, and Heatherette.

In this “fashion matrix” (which seems to be the way my mind operates), where does YSL fit? It doesn’t. It’s simply off the grid.

There’s something vintage-y but not dated in Yves’s designs. He does goth way better than Anna Sui, and I think he paints larger strokes than Valentino (who I also love); right down to the colour, details and drapery of his clothing.

I have yet to see a jewelry collection that surpasses Yves’s work with Loulou de la Falaise (think large cocktail bauble, semiprecious stones, crystals, Japanese influences and big, big, big pieces; nothing delicate in this collabo) and I’m convinced one day, YSL’s Rive Gauche will generate a huge buzz as the newly, rediscovered “indie” line.

Unlike my high school crush, Yves just does it for me. And this summer, he’s doing it in Montreal.

Starting from May 29 to September 28, 2008, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) exhibits Yves Saint Laurent; a forty-year retrospective on the Maison Haute Couture Yves Saint Laurent. Items on display include Yves’s sketches, his singular contributions (for example, feminine touches on men’s suits), colour combinations, and a spotlight on some of the literary influences that helped shape some of his collections.

Pure ecstasy! I’m weak in the knees just thinking about it.

Dear reader, I think this is love. The real stuff. The kind that doesn’t want anything in return. And I don’t want anything in return. How could I? Room after room after room filled with Yves? Paradise found. Who’s in?

And what of the boy? I just don’t know. Our paths haven’t really crossed since junior high. Chalk it up to two very different people, living two very different lives, and all that jazz.

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