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Thursday, May 24, 2012

FASHION

YSL Retrospective at the Petit Palais

Models are displayed during an exhibition dedicated to Yves Saint-Laurent on March 8, 2010 at the Petit Palais (Photo credit should read PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images)

In August, Parisians leave the city en masse for summer vacation, which means museum lines and café crowds thin out. What better time to hit the Yves Saint Laurent retrospective at the Petit Palais to view the expansive, rare collections by one of the greatest designers of the 20th century, whose silhouettes revolutionized womenswear as we know it today? The exhibition, the largest to date and spanning the designer’s 40-year career, opened this past March and runs through August 29. 

The exposition showcases YSL’s greatest successes, including the Trapeze collection, his first after succeeding Christian Dior, and his highly praised Mondrian collection, based on the Dutch artist’s paintings, as well as minor movements that illuminate the beginning stages of his classic designs. All told, 300 couture creations plus intimate portraits, sketches and film follow the creative journey of one of the most influential couturiers of the second half of the 20th century.

On a recent visit to the exposition, Paris-based knitwear designer Reba Baggett discovered a lighter side to the legendary designer. “I was charmed by Lulu, a short, round devilish little character he developed that is quite a contrast to the long, thin-limbed figures he typically illustrates,” says Baggett, who blogs for The Paris Market, a home and lifestyle boutique in Savannah, Georgia. “Lulu offered a sense of lightness and humor to his personality and as I watched the clip it was refreshing to come to the realization that his thoughts were not FASHION, FASHION, FASHION alone but streams of quirk and laughter.”

The Paris retrospective, considered by many YSL’s apotheosis, is a fitting salute to the Algerian-born designer, who not only rejuvenated French fashion but also sat at the throne of haute couture until his death in June of 2008.

If you don’t have designs on visiting Paris in the next month, eBay offers a treasure of YSL-themed biographies and designs, including great examples of some of his most significant contributions like “le smoking” tuxedo jacket.

 

A look at YSL offerings currently on eBay:

1. NEW Sandals with Money Heels (buy it now price, $499)

2. Roady Flap Pebbled Black Leather Bag (starting bid, $749)

3. Fashion Book (buy it now price, $199.99)

4. Love Collection Red Desire Lipstick (buy it now price, $14.99)

5. Vintage 70s Tuxedo Jacket (buy it now price, $500)

6. Red Enamel Heart Pendant Pin (buy it now price, $150)

7. Haute Couture Le Smoking Pant Suit (buy it now price, $1,500)

8. NEW Silver Cage Collector's Shoes (buy it now price, $1,999)

9. Vintage Couture Runway Necklace (buy it now price, $795)

10. Andy Warhol Yves St. Laurent Original Signed (starting bid, $199)

11. NEW Black Patent Wallet (buy it now price, $325)

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