Yves Saint Laurent Mens F/W 09.10 Paris

[j'adorekapusta]

www.iht.com

YSL's stamp of style


By Suzy Menkes
Published: January 22, 2009


The female voice purred over gray flannel as though it were sensually stroking bare flesh. She made a description of a pair of pants sound delicious and succulent. And when she got down to the male body, the voice-over was positively orgasmic.
It helped that on screen was an image of the handsome, heavy-lidded American actor Matthew Pitt, from the neck up. The rest - and the clothes at the Yves Saint Laurent Homme menswear presentation - was left to the imagination, until the designer Stefano Pilati moved from his hip film by the photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, to show a capsule collection.
With Catherine Deneuve front row as well as Pitt himself, this was bound to be a moment of fashion cool. And Pilati's collection, with its textured and shiny leathers and light padded materials, seemed to be reiterating the voice's message that you needed to finger the fabrics to appreciate them.
The designer has created a distinct look, based on ultra-wide, ankle-short trousers, sometimes even in double layers, that are not for every man but looked in sync with cropped, square jackets. Above all, Pilati has the courage to push the boundaries of silhouette and fabric.
Yet some of the strongest looks were the most simple: a tailored coat in a bright cobalt blue or another with a swing at the back. As for the film, since the most profound stamp Yves Saint Laurent himself put on menswear was his own willowy, naked image, there seemed to be a subtle synergy between past and present.

[dior_couture1245]

Sounds...bizarre? The clothes...or should I say outfit...looks very Hedi Slimane/ Dior Homme.

Come on Stefano...almost all the other menswear shows this week have been fairly manly...what is up with this extremely boyish look you have here? This seems very out of step with the rest of the season so far.

But then again, it's only one look. I'll reserve all further judgments until the entire collection is seen.

[VICTIM]

whats wrong with being out of step, why would you want to look like another collection?

[rangerrick14]

I for one love the boyish look. Leave the manly stuff to Armani and Ralph Lauren. Those manly looks are not great looks for alot of fashion male fans. I got into mens' fashion because of Hedi and his hustler boy look. I love that mens' fashion always has a tinge of femininity. Prada with her midriff baring looks for men last season were wonderful. Boo to boxy suits

[dior_couture1245]

^^I'm not saying he should make a collection that looks like everybody else's or is personality-less, it just feel a bit passé, this whole grungy teenage boy look. Hedi owned it, and now that he isn't designing anymore, I feel like that look is over.

And what's even more strange is that up until this point, Stefano has always designed sophisticated, adult collections for YSL Homme, so why, all of a sudden this 17-year-old urchin look?

I didn't/ don't hate the Hedi Slimane aesthetic - his "hustler boy" look - however, I just think it's getting tired.

[ilaughead]

Video's on the website, if that hasn't been said already...

[j'adorekapusta]

well, to be honest, it's hard to say anything about Pilati's vision considering only one image (and hey! it's Ash. i do doubt this boy can look something not grungy and hedi slimane-sque). i'd love to see the whole show, even more so as Pilati has such a great sense of fabrics for his mens collections. let's just wait...

[j'adorekapusta]

Originally Posted by ilaughead

Video's on the website, if that hasn't been said already...

oh, thank you!
*off to the ysl.com*

[ilaughead]

...and Suzy wasn't kidding when she said orgasmic. But, of course, it wasn't the voice-over climaxing, it was the model. So I'm giving a thumbs-down on the stereotypically French cinema there.

However, I'm too excited to see the rest of the clothes. I'm in love with that one look, and I am SOO ready for a Slimane revival. Already. As if it were ever gone.

[disco54]

the hedi slimane look is being over done soo much as we speak , I guess pilati succumbed to it , but I expected him to be a visionary rather than a follower his early menswear collections were awesome , now its just plain weird.

[Bonaparte]

The video is intruiging.

Must see more.

[disco54]

Originally Posted by dior_couture1245

^^I'm not saying he should make a collection that looks like everybody else's or is personality-less, it just feel a bit passé, this whole grungy teenage boy look. Hedi owned it, and now that he isn't designing anymore, I feel like that look is over.

And what's even more strange is that up until this point, Stefano has always designed sophisticated, adult collections for YSL Homme, so why, all of a sudden this 17-year-old urchin look?

I didn't/ don't hate the Hedi Slimane aesthetic - his "hustler boy" look - however, I just think it's getting tired.

i strongly agree , ever most mens designers are churning out copies of the look he created several years ago , even pilati and its getting soo stale . I just saw the movie on their website , its bizarre and weird ,some homeless looking dude who looks like he is about to cry talking about fabrics in poetic prose ??? WTF

[TraiT]

I don't get the video in the website. I almost fell asleep, sorry. Not for now.

I'm more used to viewing them.

[dior_couture1245]

^^Yeah...the video is extremely pretentious.

[Scott]

well i enjoyed the film myself. reminded me of master derek jarman a bit. and michael pitt is a wonderful actor and his expressions...beatutiful,lustfully sensual expressions....were intoxicating. it's a funny thing to hear the clothes as a metaphor for sex. but you know what they say,you can't separate it.