Another great YSL shoot from yesteryear. This one was for the OPIUM perfume brand of a couple of years ago. It was shot by Solve Sundsbo and features Kate Moss.

The Toronto Star has an article today on Yves Saint Laurent entitled The Henry Ford of Fashion. While this was not to intimate that Laurent made a one size fits all approach to fashion, it does look at how Laurent’s DNA is now in the garment of almost every high end item to this very day. From the ubiquitous pant suit with bow front blouses, to the powerful blazer, Saint Laurent went above and beyond the call of duty to make women feel relevant in business through fashion. Here’s an excerpted quote from the article:

“His collections always had a spectacular theme. It was over the top but wearable. You couldn’t be shy to wear his clothing. The jewels were big and brilliant. Capes had huge, dramatic collars. It was drop dead clothing. I had three peasant skirts in silk moiré. I still have a tuxedo and an embroidered Russian-theme velvet suit. Over the years I’ve parted with things, much to my chagrin.”

Read the entire article here.

With the news of Yves Saint Laurent’s death yesterday I wanted to take a look at some of his more memorable advertisements over the years. Today we look at the Rive Gauche ad from 2003. See the ad in full below:

Yesterday Yves Saint Laurent was released from the hospital. Today, the couture du jour designer has been awarded the title Grand Officier by the French Legion of Honor, the second highest rank in France’s merit system. The honor was given by French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. The award was given as a homage to the designers’ remarkable services to the fashion industry. The French Legion of Honour was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 as a means of honoring those who’ve done great services to France (for ya’ll that don’t know.)


(for more visit wwd.com)

YSL hasn’t had a profitable year since the Gucci Group purchased it in 1999. Hell, even Bottega Veneta is doing way better in the numbers than Yves. Which isn’t a surprise really, their collections have just been “dead on” lately.

However, don’t fear YSL devotees, Stefano Pilati is supposedly trying to introduce a hipness, an energy to the brand via an innovative project with Showstudio (Nick Knight’s brainchild). Over 200 submissions of script ideas have been received by Showstudio for a fashion shoot being shot this Sunday, according to WWD. The shoot is to feature the new Edition 24 collection of YSL basics. The interactive project will be posted on the YSL website this fall, with user-generated content to go along. Hopefully this will work, or YSL may end up (possibly) being S.O.L.