German artist Claudia Wieser engenders a dialogue with the designer’s archives through an exhibition focusing on Yves Saint Laurent's modern and enduring vision, highlighting the connection between fashion and art.
“Yves Saint Laurent - Shapes & Forms” reflects the institution's commitment in creating synergies with the art world carried out by the new director Elsa Janssen who boasts a a 10-year solid experience as director of cultural events at Galeries Lafayette.

The exhibition, which runs at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris until January 14, 2024, presents some forty models by Yves Saint Laurent, both haute couture and ready-to-wear garments, accessories and sketches, all set off by Wieser’s fascinating spatial arrangement with hand-carved wooden sculptures, offering visitors a totally immersive experience.

Yves Saint Laurent has always considered art as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Throughout his career, the legendary grand couturier Yves Saint Laurent never ceased reinventing forms. Already in 1958, when he was artistic director at Christian Dior, he affirmed his modernist approach with his “Trapeze” collection. Its iconic geometric silhouette has gone down in the annals of fashion. Beginning in the 1960s, his creations reflected a streamlined cut, well-defined lines and rich colors. His works were influenced by the artistic trends of the time, simple and geometric abstraction, constructivism and concrete art, whose many movements mirror the multi-faceted talent of Yves Saint Laurent.

An illusionist, he would juxtapose black and white to suggest movement in the garment through an optical illusion. A colorist, he imagined pure yet exuberant abstract compositions born from the juxtaposition of flat surfaces in vibrant hues. Finally, the couturier delighted in playing with geometries, assembling endless colored and boldly partitioned fragments as if from a prism. The fashion revolutionary thus became known for his monochromatic compositions, vibrant hues, and geometric assemblies.

The show includes some pieces rarely seen, such as the Cubist-inspired jacket from his fall 1988 Rive Gauche ready to wear collection. This piece is composed from a patchwork of satin and leather, providing shine and rigi- dity, and in five vibrant, eye-catching colors: pink, white, black, fuchsia and yellow. This jacket was worn by Iman at the runway show, with a straight black leather satin skirt and accessories that accentuated the silhouette, a hat created from two fuchsia and black tangled cubes and earrings composed of triangles and circles.

Yves Saint Laurent - Shapes & Forms
June 9, 2023 - January 14, 2024
Musée Yves Saint Laurent
5 Avenue Marceau
75116 Paris
museeyslparis.com

Courtesy image of Musée Yves Saint Laurent