Yves Saint Laurent to return to couture

[honeycombchild]

YVES SAINT LAURENT is set to return to couture for the first time in more than a decade. The French house - which last showed a couture collection created by the founder in 2002, just before his retirement - has not yet confirmed whether it will show on schedule again, or just create bespoke creations for celebrities and clients in a similar way to Givenchy, but it did reveal that the pieces would be for both men and women.

Overseen by Hedi Slimane, who assumed his role as creative director in 2012, the pieces will be produced at the label's new atelier. The space, created inside a 17th-century mansion, Hôtel de Sénecterre, will house three separate areas: the Salon Couture, where clients will try the pieces; the Atelier Flou, for dressmaking; and the Atelier Tailleur, for tailoring, in order to facilitate the new venture, and boasts a "geometric garden" pioneered by Slimane, as well as furniture and art from both his own and the house's private collections.

"Hedi began to recompose the traditional couture ateliers of the house in 2012," the company revealed this morning. "The ateliers are now at the centre of the Saint Laurent project by Hedi Slimane. The ateliers also produce commissioned hand-made pieces for movie stars and musicians. Hedi determines which of these pieces will carry the atelier's hand-sewn couture label 'Yves Saint Laurent'. These couture pieces may be women or men, a tuxedo or an evening dress, daywear or eveningwear. The 'Yves Saint Laurent' private atelier label is made of ivory silk satin and is numbered by piece. The atelier keeps a strict record of all the couture pieces in a gold monogram book."

Saint Laurent posted positive first-half results yesterday, with first-half revenue increased by 38 per cent and sales in directly-operated stores also up more than 25 per cent.

Vogue.co.uk

 

[gazebo]

That's exciting! I do wish they put on a proper show during couture week. I can't imagine what his couture will look like though...For sure it has to be really young, cause that's the identity of the house right now, and that's what Hedi likes. Some of his ready to wear is made in couture level. We'll have to wait and see, but as I said, any addition to couture is exciting for me.

 

[perhydrol]

I think we've seen his "couture" so far because I doubt he'll try to recreate Saint Laurent spirit with this label. And I don't think it's a good idea, to me couture at YSL was like the most personal project of Yves and nobody should touch it.

 

[orchidee]

I want to be excited but at this point, I'm just terrified that he's going to ruin yet another aspect of the house. Sure he has done a good job of making it a "cool" brand, but all he does is rehash classic pieces. He hasn't really done anything revolutionary in terms of design during his time at Saint Laurent. I can't imagine him producing anything innovative enough to warrant a couture relaunch.

But maybe this will see him experimenting and growing a little more since the primary goal of couture is not to sell to the masses.

 

[GivenchyHomme]

YSL Haute Couture sounds incredible, Saint Laurent Couture sounds horrifying. This can go either way depending on how Hedi will approach it. Maybe he'll be more respectful of the heritage of the house instead of parading us with his usual trash. We'll see!

http://myfriendisaac.com

 

[MagFan]

there are first pieces photos with this article

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2015/07...rns-to-couture---hedi-slimane/gallery/1446771

 

[lelaid]

Please Hedi, just no...

 

[mistress_f]

lmao how has the world survived so long without couture babydolls, i wonder???

 

[StoneSkipper]

I'm... not sure how I feel about this. When I read the title of thread, I was like "OH HELL NO", but judging from the previews shown above, it actually looks passable (if not incredibly dated). I guess we'll just have to see...

 

[Nymphaea]

Haute couture by YSL is pretty exciting but not with Hedi at the helm. I'm afraid he will bring more of the same with only more details etc. and custom made to call it haute couture. I'm hoping he suprises me.

 

[AD011620]

Hedi and couture... mmm...

 

[Steddycam91]

The French house - which last showed a couture collection created by the founder in 2002, just before his retirement - has not yet confirmed whether it will show on schedule again, or just create bespoke creations for celebrities and clients in a similar way to Givenchy, but it did reveal that the pieces would be for both men and women.

Vogue.co.uk

BINGO. I may eat my words, but I don't think this is getting an official show. I have the feeling this is sort of like Gucci Première, where they're put out a snazzy-sounding press release for something they've been doing for awhile (fancy custom pieces for movie stars and elite clients).

 

[TaylorBinque]

Hedi and couture... mmm...

Exactly my thought!

 

[GIVENCHYlover]

^^ Or something very pretentious, exclusive and private

 

[orchidee]

So based on the previews, he won't be breaking any boundaries. It's just the same super skinny Le Smoking plus a few evening gowns that look sort of dated. Pass.

 

[ThatRascal]

This is interesting and I'm intrigued. I'll wait for the second or third collections to decide whether or not I like it because I loved his first women's wear collection for the house and nothing since. Love the men's stuff though.

 

[thatsfierce]

Babydolls and ugly coats fur couture? Please no, this will be a mess.

 

[george5]

Saint Laurent Is Creating a Line Even More Exclusive Than Couture

July 28, 2015

First, Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy sneaked a few couture looks into his men’s wear show, and now, Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent is creating his own, even more exclusive, version of the club.

According to an executive at the house (no one but Mr. Slimane or Francesca Bellettini, the chief executive, is authorized to speak for the brand), Saint Laurent, which closed its couture atelier in 2002 when the designer Yves Saint Laurent retired, is officially debuting a new offering: the hand-sewn “Yves Saint Laurent” Couture ivory silk label. (Note the return of the “Yves,” which was dropped from the ready-to-wear line under Mr. Slimane’s direction in 2012.)

The line, which has been in nonofficial existence for a while, will not be shown on the couture schedule, but it is featured in a monochromatic ad campaign that will appear in magazines next month. Photographed by Mr. Slimane in the brand’s couture atelier, renovated by Mr. Slimane, in Paris on Rue de l’Université, it includes long, slinky, strapless black gowns with a fan of pleats at the throat and tuxedo suiting.

It will be “used only for ‘friends of the house,’ and can be both for men or women, daywear or evening wear,” the executive said. “Hedi Slimane decides these orders case by case. Unlike a couture collection, this is an even more exclusive definition.” Each order will be recorded in a “Monogram House Couture book held by the premier d’atelier flou,” the head of the workroom that specializes in drapery and bias cutting.

Not just any rich person can have a YSL Couture garment, in other words. Only people Mr. Slimane approves can have one. As to what the qualifications for that are — well, no one knows. Though examples may be “certain looks worn at the Oscars, Cannes or for the stage,” the executive said.

This puts a whole new twist on the form.

Indeed, when I asked Ralph Toledano, president of the Fédération Française de la Couture, if YSL had gotten in touch about returning to the official couture sector, he emailed back, “No!”

However it makes a certain amount of sense, given both Saint Laurent’s upward trajectory — in their H1 financial report released on Monday, the house’s parent company, Kering, reported that the brand had revenue growth of 24 percent (on a comparable basis) — and the fact that increasingly, brands are making bespoke garments for celebrity clients part of their business. Why not make that official and call it what it is? Couture — just outside the official world of the French governing body.

This is the rationale of Givenchy, which is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and which dropped off the couture schedule in 2013 but continued to serve special clients behind the scenes. They just didn’t have a show — until Mr. Tisci featured 11 couture looks (for women) during his men’s show in June. Whether that would herald a full-fledged return to the schedule, however, they did not say.

In both instances, I am struck by two things:

1) In a way, this is a vote of confidence in the fashion form, which is often subjected to the “Why do we still need that antiquated and exclusionary way of dressing?” debate. After all, Mr. Slimane, along with Mr. Tisci, pretty much embodies cool (and sales) for the contemporary fashion establishment.

And, 2) it suggests that neither feels the need to define couture the way French fashion used to, but rather wants to go their own way.

So it will be interesting to see how this plays out, in both cases — though especially in Saint Laurent’s. Will positioning himself as the grand chieftain of deciding who gets to wear a YSL couture garment make Mr. Slimane, and his clothes, more attractive, or will it just make people mad? Given the incredibly seductive desire most of us have to be part of the in-crowd, my guess is the first, though the second is always a possibility. As is the idea that quite soon, other brands might follow suit.

Pun intended.

- Vanessa Friedman

nytimes.com

 

[MulletProof]

an ad to let us know some more ads are coming.. priceless.

 

[jescajade]

I'm quite excited about Hedi Slimane reintroducing YSL couture, it looks like it will be a continuation though of what Saint Laurent already includes in the ready-to-wear, when they highlight pieces as 'couture', from the images so far it looks good, very classic. Though as it won't be on the official schedule and Hedi is deciding who can and can't purchase/wear the pieces, it is apparently only for friends of the house, I'm not sure my initial reaction was justified. One things that is interesting is Hedi brought back the 'Yves' for the couture line. I am intrigued to see how this pans out.