Yves Saint Laurent: Why He Still Matters

Yves Saint Laurent with Laetitia Casta, Catherine Deneuve and his models, all wearing tuxedos, at the end of his 40-year retrospective fashion show. Centre Pompidou, Paris, January 22, 2002. © Fondation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. / Photo by Guy Marineau.

First pantsuit, Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936-2008), worn by Ulla. Fall-Winter 1966 haute couture collection. © Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. / Photo by Gérard Pataa.

“Hommage to Piet Mondrian,” Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936-2008), cocktail dress. Fall-Winter 1965 haute couture collection. Wool jersey dress with ivory, black, blue, red and yellow incrustations. © Fondation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. / Photo by Alexandre Guirkinger.

Yves Saint Laurent’s mini moment, which incorporated the influences of modern artists including Piet Mondrian and Tom Wesselmann, shown here at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibit. / Photo by David Stover © VMFA.

Vibrant and colorful, Yves Saint Laurent couture evening wear at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibit. / Photo by David Stover © VMFA.

Short evening ensemble worn by Sonia. Homage to Georges Braque. Spring-Summer 1988 haute couture collection. Hôtel Inter-Continental, Paris. © Fondation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. / Photo by Guy Marineau.

Evening gown, Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936-2008). Fall-Winter 1983 haute couture collection. Strapless gown; draped pink silk satin bodice with large bow on back waist; black silk velvet skirt with short train. © Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. Photo: Alexandre Guirkinger.

“Hommage to Tom Wesselmann,” Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936-2008), evening gown. Fall-Winter 1966 haute couture collection. Straight dress of purple wool jersey, pink wool jersey applique. © Fondation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. / Photo by Alexandre Guirkinger.

Saint Laurent was known for his grab bag of influences, sometimes exotic. Here, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibit. / Photo by David Stover © VMFA.

The exhibit’s deep dive into the Yves Saint Laurent archive includes some of his accessories, known for their exotic flair and, often, heft. Here at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibit. For the deepest divers and professionals, the exhibit also includes “production documents” showing fabric and color swatches. Plus there is a room of “toiles,” the working garments that lead to the finished product. / Photo by David Stover © VMFA.

Eléphant Blanc, Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936-2008), short evening dress. Spring-Summer 1958 Yves Saint Laurent for Christian Dior haute couture collection, known as the Trapeze Collection. Trapeze dress of white tulle embroidered with silver metallic thread and rhinestones. © Fondation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. / Photo by Alexandre Guirkinger.

Evening ensemble, Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936-2008). Spring-Summer 1981 haute couture collection. Blue silk taffeta gown with train and white silk taffeta flounces; trimmed with black braiding. © Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. / Photo by Sophie Carre.

Evening gown, Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936-2008). Spring-Summer 1971 haute couture collection. Blue and black crepe de chine with pattern of ancient Greek figures; short-sleeved bodice with empire waist emphasized by black silk crepe bias tape; skirt with sunburst pleating. © Fondation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. / Photo by Sophie Carre.

Wedding dress, Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936-2008). Fall-Winter 1970 haute couture collection. Multicolored silk velvet coat with appliqué letters forming the words “Love me forever” on front and “Or never” on back; various shapes in multicolored silk. © Fondation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent, Paris.

Beatnik beginnings for YSL, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibit. / Photo by David Stover © VMFA.

Bambara art-inspired evening ensemble, Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936-2008), worn by Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain. Spring-Summer 1967 haute couture collection. Jardin Des Serres d’Auteuil, Bois de Boulogne, Paris. © Fondation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. / Photo by Jean-Paul Cadé.

Examples of paper dolls, assembled by Yves Saint Laurent, circa 1950. Dolls cut from magazines and glued onto cardboard; garments made of paper cutouts, ink, watercolor and gouache. Part of the “Paper Doll Couture House,” which Saint Laurent created as a teenager. © Fondation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent, Paris.

Yves Saint Laurent preparing his first collection with Victoire Doutreleau, December 1961. © Pierre Boulat/Association Pierre and Alexandra Boulat. / Photo by Pierre Boulat.

Yves Saint Laurent preparing his first collection, December 1961. © Pierre Boulat/Association Pierre and Alexandra Boulat. / Photo by Pierre Boulat.

AT THIS POINT in time it’s hard to remember that the iconic designer Yves Saint Laurent shook up the fashion world, putting women in tuxedos and trouser suits at a time when that was terribly subversive. Imagine.

He also continually rocked the world of haute couture back on its well-shod heels with his grab bag of influences—his beloved North Africa (he was French but born in Algeria and famously had a home in Marrakesh), the riot of color that was (and is) India, the slouchy Russian peasant look done up in fabrics and colors surely unknown to slouchy Russian peasants. He recognized street fashion as a genuine manifestation of modern culture and was inspired by it. Saint Laurent was an innovator in business ways as well. Wanting to reach the non-couture crowd, he opened his Rive Gauche boutique in Paris, which then spread around the world.

But rather than natter on, let me suggest that we all get ourselves to Richmond, to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, before August 27, 2017. On view there until that date is a dazzling exhibit, “Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style,” that originated with the Seattle Art Museum and the Fondation Pierre Bergé–Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Bergé being Saint Laurent’s partner in business as in life.

Like Dior, Saint Laurent is a name we all think we “know” (and, in fact, the young Saint Laurent began his career as assistant to Christian Dior). But he was a terrifically complicated man, and many faceted. This exhibit’s stay at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is its only stop on the East Coast, and it pulls from the Foundation’s deep archives as well as private collections. The Virginia museum’s Barry Shifman told the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan that he hopes to attract 100,000 visitors to the show. I (and you) have six weeks more to become one of them.

—Nancy McKeon

“Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style,” on view  through August 27, 2017, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia 23220. Timed tickets are $22 for adults, $18 for seniors and $10 for college students and children ages 7 to 17. They can be reserved by phone at 804-340-1405 or online.