Saint Laurent F/W 13.14 Paris

[disco54]

Ay, there's the rub.

From the Berge Foundation's 2010 monograph: People instantly realized they were being projected back to the 1940s. The critics slammed the collection. "Nauseating," said the Daily Telegraph, and the Guardian called it "a tour de force of bad taste." "A cold shower," clamed Paris-Jour; "women at their worst," concluded the Daily Sketch. But it was Eugenia Sheppard who wrote the most famous putdown of all: "The Ugliest Show in Town". Pierre-Yves Guillen, meanwhile, was the most vitrolic. "What arrogance to think that, like sheep penned in a concentration camp, we would applaud when we saw good taste sent to the slaughter, elegance consigned to a mass grave, glamour dispatched to the ovens".

Mind you, all this Fuss about a style of clothing already in existence, saved and forgotten, sold off and discarded, picked through and revived, worn by young women who had no idea or did and couldn't care less. Why is that not Luxury?

Why aren't we asking bigger questions about who gets to decide on what should and should not be shown? We are all aware of Mr. Slimane's design skills, it's impact cannot be erased. I think, despite how I personally feel about his latest efforts, that he deserves the benefit of the doubt, if such a thing exists. He went the more typical luxury route for the house when he helmed its menswear the first time around; youtube shows gold leathers, redheads, bikini briefs, sleeveless trenches und so weiter.

I would say this is more about irony, in celebrating and reviving a style that was at its essence anti-fashion. Didn't Courtney Love burn those Perry Ellis grunge pieces that Marc Jacobs sent her? Mr. Slimane essentially wants to dress the very people he never could or never will, those who are unaffected, immune to the fashion circus.

Those who are immune to the "fashion circus" lol, do not pay high fashion prices, they go to bargain bins and thrift shops, so your argument, I am sorry to say makes no sense.

 

[Zazie]

Hmmm...I do get that excitement that is triggered by the whiff of scandal, which is what YSL himself did for many of his collections, in the tradition of the French bohemia, from Rimbaud to Baudelaire.

The problem is that to me, Misshapes, Lady Gaga, Kate Moss, Skye Ferreira, post-Nirvana Courtney Love and Kirsten Dunst and all these rich LA hipsters that Slimane recalls or pays tribute with this collection are simply in terms of their importance to contemporary culture.

They don't evoke the same space of imagination, character, taboo, scandal, seduction, authenticity or freedom as "Belle de Jour" Deneuve, Tina Chow or la Boheme Loulou de la Falaise.

I'd much prefer he pays tribute to some complex, true, fallen angels, eg. Amy Winehouse....but er....better not....don't dig her "look"...however, that is an authentic female artist.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

I can see shades of Amy Winehouse in this collection; she would have looked just like herself in those ultra-short leather skirts & dresses, coupled with abbreviated jackets, for e.g.

I do think that time is an interesting factor to consider in terms of how collections are viewed, and it'll be interesting to see how this collection is viewed in time - even in as short as a year from now, and in as long as a decade. The discussions about how YSL's collections were initially reviewed to how they're now viewed as iconic are intriguing, or more recently how Jacob's grunge collection shaped a new outlook even though he was fired and the clothes weren't even produced!

Grunge maybe caught on due to the minimalism of the 90s and the economic come-down after the ridiculously over-the-top 80s, with yuppies and dynasties.

So does this collection fit our times in any way?

On the one hand, you have outlandishly ostentatious collections at Tom Ford and Balmain that hearken the excesses of the 80s.

On the other hand, you have extremely lo-fi collections like this Saint Laurent one, like Junya Watanabe's patched jeans and biker jackets (very 90s), or not as lo-fi, certainly, but even like Dries' more luxury take on the 90s with his plaids in the Spring collection and his dresses over pants in the latest Fall one. And you do see the rise of minimalism again with the return of Jil Sander to her titular house, and of course Celine influencing everyone and their dogs.

The world economy is certainly not booming. We don't quite have the rich/poor gaps of the 80s, but we do have unrest.

Is grunge appropriate for now? Economically? Culturally?

OR is it just indicative of the seemingly never-ending post-modern recycling? Nostalgia is "it." Ford and Balmain choose to be nostalgic about the excessive 80s, Slimane about the 90s. 20-something-year-old Hipsters walk around in Urban Outfitters' versions of both decades.

Is there anything new under the sun?

Is Hedi saying "nope, there isn't. So I choose this."?

Dunno. But this collection has stirred us, and I love the philosophical questions it's making people ask not just about fashion, but about fashion's place in history, its influence on culture, and, of course, what it says about US - you and me.

 

[birdofparadise]

Those who are immune to the "fashion circus" lol, do not pay high fashion prices, they go to bargain bins and thrift shops, so your argument, I am sorry to say makes no sense.

On the contrary, my feisty Disco54 , you've got it exactly. He is not interested in the customer who would be attracted to the label, who would pay high fashion prices. He is after what he cannot have; Olivier Zahm commented on this kinds of fantasy aspect to the collection, this longing, this desire for what is no longer, for what never existed, at least in France. I think this Longing, this Striving is very Yves.

 

[iluvjeisa]

On the contrary, my feisty Disco54 , you've got it exactly. He is not interested in the customer who would be attracted to the label, who would pay high fashion prices. He is after what he cannot have; Olivier Zahm commented on this kinds of fantasy aspect to the collection, this longing, this desire for what is no longer, for what never existed, at least in France. I think this Longing, this Striving is very Yves.

That which you cannot have is perfection. No hint of that in this collection...

 

[fashionista-ta]

obviously no one is getting turned down at the entrance of a SLP boutique..but can you honestly say looking at the latest collection that the mature bourgeois woman has been kept in mind? same goes for men really, my recent visit to SLP showed pretty much NSFW items... they've got freaking SLP rollerskates planned for FW13 (i am not kidding!) at least DH had their basics for the office man (suit, ties, shirts, shoes & briefcases) but this departure is perhaps in line with the evolution of Balmain, Balenciaga etc.. basically clothing for a less conventional clientele..

what about your nda??

 

[Izreal]

..well aren't rules meant to be broken?

Four One One

 

[ad31214]

omg

 

[TianCouture]

There are pictures alllll over Twitter of those roller skates. How truly awful. Apparently only 25 pairs produced...

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ i think it would be much cooler to make skates out of the spiked combat boots

 

[iluvjeisa]

God those roller skates are ugly. They look like they are about to break too, so at least something will be broken.

 

[Izreal]

... actually they use industry grade wheels & trucks used for hockey & street skating (krypto impulse) so again quality shouldn't be knocked..
not that i would dare step foot in those .. but hey..

instagram/caradelvingne

 

[Thefrenchy]

I wonder who is the tool bag who's actually going to buy this crap

 

[TianCouture]

Only 25 pairs were made apparently. So 25 tool bags will waste money on Saint Laurent roller skates...

 

[Izreal]

i heard 100... not really any less stupid then chanel skis, LV tennis racket or Hermes bicycle.. i find it quite funny actually since quad skates haven't been seen since the late 70s/80s.. (and people say hedi has no humor) perhaps a roller disco theme collection will be next and finally disco54 will be happy

 

[lelaid]

I think you are seriously underestimating their loyal clientele's, that has existed for decades, net worth. I'd bet it's much more than the rich kids they are targeting with this collection, sans the celebrities who don't pay for their clothes anyway. I think they might actually see a significant drop in their profits.

Besides, it can sell all day long, that doesn't mean it doesn't still completely and utterly suck. Shouldn't they prefer a designer who can bring them a better balance of profits and respectability? Are they really willing to trash a reputation that goes back a half-century?

Examples: Ed Hardy, Juicy Couture, etc...
Just because they have good sales doesn't mean it's good.
I honestly did not mind the last collection, which put me in the minority around these parts. I was cheering for Hedi and I understood what he was trying to do and I legitimately liked a lot of what he showed. But I cannot make any YSL connection to this. If he wanted to produce this sh*t he should have started his own label and not dragged Yves name through the mud.

 

[Izreal]

YSL SS'71 ^

tucec9.tumblr.com

 

[Street_a_Licious]

under those oversized and honestly plain ugly overshirts, jackets and coats, are some pretty party dresses. but those baby dresses? no.

i don't even mind the shoes.

why does Hedi insist on styling his clothes like that? clean the girls up a bit, give them proper shoes and jackets which are their actual size and it'd be (a smidgen) better.

but when you look at what ends up being offered on sale, it's really just basics, which are cut a bit sharper, true to Hedi's style.

the floppy hats are really popular in Paris, as are a lot of the bags. while being in Paris during FW, i saw quite a number of both Bettys and the duffel bags. but while i understand how the first runway show could possibly move accessories and maybe even fragrances, i fail to see ANYTHING aspirational here.

and isn't aspiration one of the main ingredients when it comes to designer clothing? esp YSL...

 

[mikeijames]

^customers aspire toward that intangible "cool factor" as much as they aspire toward that ineffable "chic factor." we will always have enough room in the marketplace for both the uptown houses and the downtown houses. it's clear that slimane -- and ppr with their pick of alexander wang at balenciaga -- feels the opportunity lies with the latter and not the former. and given the other major cultural exports of our day -- from music to cuisine to film to architecture -- i'd say they're not the only ones.

 

[Uemarasan]

Haters Gonna Hate: the recourse for debate for those who don't have anything of substance to say. Not that Izrael hasn't been trying to substantiate his position, but I just find it lazy thinking (if in fact the brain cells are accessed at all) whenever someone brings up this desperate cliche just so they get in a final word (again, not that this is what Izrael is doing; I know he meant it as tongue-in-cheek). It's such juvenile rationality at work.

The difference betwen the YSL of yesteryear and the YSL of today is that back then there was no internet. People had limited knowledge and lacked exposure to ideas and concepts. So the shock of something new was a possibility, the repulsion towards that which was inconceivable. But in this day and age when everything is at saturation point because it is easily accessible makes immediate response more informed, more perceptive, and, in certain ways, more prescient. Still, that depends on how lazy or not the person who's responding is. I do believe, however, this collection will be remembered solely for the reactions it produced instead of the actual clothes on show.