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Entries in Yves Saint Laurent (13)

jeudi
févr.052015

Carine Roitfeld: Vanity Fair April 2005

Taking it back to 2005… I find it impossible to believe that a decade has passed since this interview with Carine Roitfeld appeared in the April issue of Vanity Fair. In the iconic image above, close friend and collaborator, Mario Testino captures the essence of Carine, at once classic and coquettish, in a jacket by Yves Saint Laurent, a skirt by Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière, and shoes by Sergio Rossi. In case you missed it the first time around, I want to share the interview with you, it is always pleasurable to learn more about the interests of our icon.

Carine Roitfeld
Photographed by Mario Testino in Paris on January 27, 2005.

Residence: Paris.

Occupation: Editor-in-chief, French Vogue.

Personal style: "French, classic, sexy… risky."

Favorite piece of clothing: A vintage Gypsy dress from Yves Saint Laurent.

Most stylish man: "My husband" [Christian "Sisley" Restoin].

Favorite up-and-coming designer: Riccardo Tisci.

Favorite piece of jewelry: A Cartier Panther bracelet from the 70s.

Favorite shoe designer: Saint Laurent. ("Very sexy high-heeled shoes with a touch of 'bizarre.'")

Favorite handbag: "The classic black Chanel."

Favorite scent: Opium pour Homme, by Yves Saint Laurent.

Favorite store: Decades in Los Angeles.

Favorite fashion trend: Summer polka dots.

Manolos or Louboutins? Manolos.

Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds.

Piercings or tattoos? None.

Favorite book: Bonjour Tristesse, by Françoise Sagan.

Favorite cause: AmfAR (The American Foundation for AIDS Research).

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Carine Roitfeld photos © 2005 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

vendredi
janv.302015

The Roitfelds In Yves Saint Laurent: Qui Porte Le Mieux ?

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld recently shared her beauty routine for a night out with Into The Gloss and I love that she borrowed her mother's vintage gold dress by Yves Saint Laurent for the photo shoot. Julia completed her look with large gold hoop earrings (not shown here) and black pumps with bows, tying in with the black velvet bow that cinches the waist of the dress.

Carine Roitfeld is pictured below wearing the same dress at the Vogue Bar at the Hôtel de Crillon during Paris Fashion Week in March 2010. She chose to accessorize vintage YSL with her César Compression pendant (and her Vogue Bar signature cocktail, "Carine's Tea Time").

Now I must ask: which Roitfeld wears it better? Feel free to express yourself in the comments below…

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Carine Roitfeld photo courtesy of twitter.com/VogueParisLive. Julia Restoin-Roitfeld photo © 015 Into The Gloss, Inc

dimanche
avr.212013

Vogue Paris Translation: Betty Catroux Interview April 2001

A delightful piece titled "Initiales B.C." graced the pages of the April 2001 issue of Vogue Paris and I have translated it from French to English. Olivier Lalanne conducted an engaging interview with true original Betty Catroux, and also spoke with the man she inspired, Yves Saint Laurent. Among their reflections, Betty and Yves both mused on the evening they met in a Parisian club. Accompanying the interviews are photographs made of Betty in the 1960s by Helmut Newton, Jeanloup Sieff, and Jean-Jacques Bugat.

Vogue Paris April 2001: Initiales B.C.

Betty Catroux est au cœur d'Yves Saint Laurent. D'hier et d'aujourd'hui. Sa grâce féline, son androgynie comme Bowie, ses figures libres en matière de style et sa rock attitude enflamment toujours l'imagination de la maison. Femme discrète cachée derrière des verres fumes, Betty Catroux est un modèle de modernité.

«Vous savez pourquoi j'adore le vin blanc de Gewurtz ?, demande Betty Catroux. Parce qu'il monte à la tête dix fois plus vite que les autres.» Assise en tailleur sur un fauteuil camel, dans le décor feutré de son appartement du septième arrondissement, cette déesse dans la mythologie de la mode transcende la notion d'allure, presque malgré elle. Le chic est dans ses gènes, comme l'azur de ses yeux ou sa taille extraordinaire, un mètre quatre-vingt-trois à la toise. Pas un arbitre des élégances ne s'y tromperait. Tom Ford, créateur du prêt-à-porter d'Yves Saint Laurent, lui a dédié sa première collection. «J'ai cru que j'allais avoir une attaque, dit-elle, lorsque j'ai vu mes cinquante clones sortir sur le podium. J'étais à la fois grisée et angoissée, moi qui passe ma vie à me cacher. Je m'étonne toujours quand on prétend s'inspirer de moi, parce que rien ne m'intéresse moins que a mode. Je n'aime que le jean, bleu denim ou cuir noir, les T-shirts et les grosses.» Les campagnes de publicité réalisées par le photographe Steven Meisel reproduisent le délié de sa silhouette sous smoking de satin noir, sa longue frange blonde affûtée, refuge de ses yeux, filtre salutaire sur la réalité d'un monde longtemps esquivée.

«La première fois que j'ai vu Betty, se souvient Yves Saint Laurent, c'était au New Jimmy'z, le club de Régine. 1967, je crois. Elle portait une jupe en plastique Prisunic. Ce qui m'a impressionné, c'est le style, l'androgynie, le corps, le visage et les cheveux. Je l'ai draguée.» Yves Saint Laurent, en prise avec les mouvements de son époque, venait de lancer Rive Gauche, sa ligne prêt-a-porter, et glissait dans ses vêtements les acquis d'une génération, la fusion des genres, l'audace du corps et la liberté sexuelle. Betty Catroux devient son égérie, la Betty's touch un statement sulfureux. Betty adore les cheveux sales, au bord de trouver ça chic. Elle se fait siffler à l'Opéra parce qu'elle ose dévoiler son buste de jeune garçon sous un voile de mousseline. Elle choisit les pantalons de jersey, les cols roulés pour le jour ; cède parfois aux robes du soir, «des modèles un peu macho avec des manches longues noires». Elle ne jure que par la «loucherie», déteste le «square» (l'académisme), invente l'expression «pourri de chic» à propos de Gstaad dans les années 70. «C'est en pensant à elle que j'ai imaginé le tailleur pantalon, puis le cuir, ajoute le couturier. Tous les codes masculins que j'ai interjetés au féminin. Si Paloma Picasso et Loulou de la Falaise m'inspirent la fantaisie, Betty, elle, m'inspire a rigueur du corps.»

«Je me souviens très bien de cette nuit, dit Betty Catroux. Yves était blond platine, cuir noir total look. On se ressemblait. Il est tellement timide qu'il a envoyé quelqu'un m'accoster à ma table. Il m'a ensuite demandé de passer sa collection, je lui ai dit non. Je faisais quelques photos de mode à l'époque, mais c'était pas mon truc. C'était de l'argent vite gagné pour sortir, boire et déconner.»

Betty Catroux est discrète, entend préserver le mystère qui nimbe sa beauté anguleuse, modèle en «I». Naissance à Rio, Brésil, d'une mère italienne et d'un père irlandais, diplomate. Prénom Elisabeth. Paris à l'âge de 4 ans, puis l'école en Angleterre. 1968, la rencontre avec son mari, le décorateur François Catroux, deux enfants, un garçon, une fille, une intimité serrée au poing.

«Je suis légère, charmante, mais je ne suis proche de personne. Je suis une marginale qui a le sentiment de n'appartenir à un aucun groupe, aucun sexe. François, mon mari, c'est ma moitié. Yves, c'est l'ami. Nous avons une sensibilité commune lui et moi, le même état entre dépression et excitation. Un naturel forcé d'une petite technique. On en rajoute parce que l'air abattu, ça fait fondre les gens.» Betty, présentée comme «le copain, l'amie intime, le double» de Saint Laurent, est aussi la compagne de dérive, celle qui partage la même soif sauvage de sensations violentes, les mirages alcool et autres substances pour assassiner doucement le temps, se dérober à l'optimisme soigné, ce gras et prospère élevage du tiède, du médiocre, de l'ordinaire.

«A l'époque, j'étais dans un état second dit Betty Catroux. J'étais mal dans ma peau et je faisais beaucoup d'excès. J'ai à peine apprécié ce que j'ai vécu. Je ne me suis jamais sentie aussi bien que maintenant. Je suis faite pour notre époque.»

«On s'est beaucoup amusé, ajoute Yves Saint Laurent. On était toute une bande avec Paul et Thalita Ghetty [sic], Andy Warhol, Noureev, Helmut Berger... Quand on a vécu tout ça, il faut beaucoup d'imagination pour vivre aujourd'hui.»

Betty Catroux n'a pas le goût de la nostalgie. Celle qui se définit comme la «passivité incarnée» danse tous les jours depuis quinze ans. Un cours de modern jazz, porte de La Chapelle où elle se rend en métro. «Il n'y a que des jeunes à tomber, de toutes les couleurs, qui veulent devenir professionnels.» Chaque matin, son copain Yves lui téléphone. Une fois par semaine, tous deux se retrouvent au Relais Plaza, au Costes ou au Mathy's bar. «On parle de tout , sauf de mode, insiste t-elle. On se dit des bêtises, on a des fous rires de mômes, on échange nos états d'âme.»

«Elle me rend heureux, dit Yves Saint Laurent. Elle démode toutes les femmes. Dans sa façon d'être, de bouger, de s'habiller, je crois que Betty a inventé la modernité.»

Vogue Paris April 2001: Initiales B.C.
Translation from French to English by Kellina de Boer

Betty Catroux is at the heart of Yves Saint Laurent. Yesterday and today. Her feline grace, her androgyny like Bowie, her free figure in terms of style, and her rock attitude always ignite the imagination of the house. Discreet woman hidden behind smoked glasses, Betty Catroux is a model of modernity.

"You know why I love Gewurtz white wine?" asks Betty Catroux. "Because it goes to the head ten times faster than the others." Sitting cross-legged on a camel chair in the cozy setting of her apartment in the seventh arrondissement, this goddess in the mythology of fashion transcends the notion of allure, almost in spite of herself. Chic is in her genes, such as the azure of her eyes or her extraordinary height, eighty-three meters to fathom. An arbiter of elegance not to be deceived. Tom Ford, ready-to-wear designer for Yves Saint Laurent, dedicated his first collection to her. "I thought I was gonna have a heart attack," she said, "when I saw my fifty clones out on the podium. I was both gray and anxious, that I spend my life hiding. I am always amazed when one claims to be inspired by me, because nothing interests me less than fashion. I love the jeans, blue denim or black leather, t-shirts and large." Advertising campaigns shot by photographer Steven Meisel reproduce the hairline of her silhouette in le smoking in black satin, her long blond fringe sharp, the safe haven of her eyes, a wholesome filter to the reality of a world long evaded.

"The first time I saw Betty," remembers Yves Saint Laurent, "it was at New Jimmy'z, the club of Régine. 1967, I think. She wore a Prisunic plastic skirt. What impressed me was the style, the androgyny, the body, the face, and the hair. I hit on her." Yves Saint Laurent, engaged in the movements of his time, had just launched Rive Gauche, his ready-to-wear line, and slipped into his garments the achievements of a generation, a fusion of styles, the audacity of the body and sexual freedom. Betty Catroux became his muse, Betty's touch a sulphurous statement. Betty loves dirty hair, besides finding it chic. She is hissed at the Opera because she dares to reveal the bust of a young boy in a muslin veil. She chooses jersey pants, turtlenecks for the day; at times yielding to evening gowns, "models a little macho with long sleeves black." She swears by the "squint," hates the "square" (the academy), coined the phrase "rotten chic" about Gstaad in the 70s. "I was thinking of her when I imagined the pantsuit, then the leather," adds the designer. "All the male codes that I have appeal to the female. If Paloma Picasso and Loulou de la Falaise inspire my fantasy, Betty, she inspires my rigorous body."

"I remember very well that night," said Betty Catroux. "Yves was platinum blonde, black leather total look. We looked alike. He is so shy that he sent someone to accost me at my table. He then asked me to his collection, I told him no. I made some pictures of fashion at the time, but it was not my style. It was easy money to go out drinking and messing around."

Betty Catroux is discrete, aiming to preserve the mystery which haloes her angular beauty, the model of "I." Born in Rio, Brazil, to an Italian mother and an Irish father, a diplomat. First name Elizabeth. Paris at the age of 4 years, then school in England. 1968, the encounter with her ​​husband, decorator François Catroux, two children, a boy, a girl, a tight-fisted intimacy.

"I am light, charming, but I'm not close to anyone. I am a marginal who feels that they belong to no group, no sex. François, my husband, is my half. Yves is my friend. We have a common sensitivity him and me, the same state between depression and excitement. A natural force of a small art. We add in that dejected air because it melts people." Betty, presented as "the buddy, the close friend, the double" of Saint Laurent, is also the drifting companion, which shares the same wild thirst for violent sensations, the illusions of alcohol and other substances to gently kill time, shirking the neat optimism, this fat and prosperous breeding of warmth, of the mediocre, of the ordinary.

"At the time, I was in a daze," said Betty Catroux. "I was wrong in my skin and I did a lot of excess. I just enjoyed what I experienced. I've never felt better than now. I'm made for our times."

"It was great fun," adds Yves Saint Laurent. "It was a whole bunch with Paul and Talitha Getty, Andy Warhol, Nureyev, Helmut Berger... When you have been through it, it takes a lot of imagination to live today."

Betty Catroux does not have a taste for nostalgia. She who is defined as "passivity incarnate" has danced every day for fifteen years. A course in modern jazz, the door of La Chapelle where she goes via public transportation. "There are nothing but young people to die for, in all colors, who want to become professionals." Every morning, her pal Yves telephones her. Once a week, the two find themselves at the Relais Plaza, the Costes, or Mathy's bar. "We talk about everything except fashion," she insists. "We speak nonsense, we giggle like kids, we exchange our moods."

"She makes me happy," said Yves Saint Laurent. "Her style eclipses that of all other women. In her way of being, of moving, of dressing, I think Betty invented modernity."

More from Vogue Paris April 2001

Vogue Paris April 2001: Bande A Part
By Jessica Eritou

Vogue Paris April 2001: Berlin
By Dara Block

Vogue Paris April 2001: Tentation Rebelle
By Kellina de Boer

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Vogue Paris editorial images © 2001 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

jeudi
déc.202012

The Fantastic World Of Dior Couture

The Fantastic World Of Dior Couture
By Bernie Rothschild

Rizzoli published the book Dior Couture last autumn which contains the greatest hits of the Maison de Christian Dior. The book showcases the house from the revolutionary New Look of 1947 to the hip and beatnik designs of Yves Saint Laurent, from the simplicity and practicality of Marc Bohan on to the colorful Gianfranco Ferre, and ends with the glorious years of John Galliano. Patrick Demarchelier captured the most fantastic dresses in the most exquisite locations in France, Shanghai, and New York, as worn by the most beautiful female models in the world from Gisele Bündchen to Charlize Theron. For V Magazine's model issue last year, Carine Roitfeld styled an editorial featuring the dresses of Dior, many of which were designed by John Galliano.

Christian Dior is known as one of the greatest couturiers of our time. He defined glamour around the world after the devastating war with his New Look that set the standard for women everywhere. It was 1947, two years after World War II. The world was at peace at last but women all over the world were experiencing an identity crisis, they were completely lost and unsure as to what to wear. Then Dior showed his first collection. The dresses featured the waist and the bust with accentuated jackets and above-the-knee skirts. That was then controversial and some even considered it vulgar. The collection was originally called "Corolla" but then the legendary Carmel Snow of Harper's Bazaar announced to Mr. Dior and the press that "It's such a New Look!" and the glamorous style of the century was born. Everyone from all walks of life copied and followed the New Look, although some criticized Dior for using expensive fabrics while others did not have enough to eat. The French, however, hailed Christian Dior as a hero for once again putting Paris on the map and for his fashion influence in the 1940s and the 1950s. The New Look was highly praised and popular, Mr. Dior even presented it to the French Embassy in Britain with Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; Marina, the Duchess of Kent; her sister Olga of Yugoslavia; and Princess Margaret (herself a great supporter of Dior) as the audience. Rumors suggest that the then Princess Elizabeth (now the Queen) stopped by to see the collection as well. Christian Dior designs were worn not just by the blue blooded women of the world but also the most glamorous movie stars of that era: Garbo, Dietrich, and Monroe, to name a few. But all great things are not meant to last... sadly a mere decade after changing the world of fashion with his vision, Christian Dior died of a heart attack.

At the tender age of 21, Dior's assistant, Yves Saint Laurent, took over as the house designer. His first collection in 1958 featured a softer version of the New Look and the French hailed YSL as "The man who saved France" as well as the savior that rescued the Maison Dior from the verge of bankruptcy. Just like Mr. Dior in 1947, Saint Laurent's first collection in which he showcased the trapeze line was praised by the press. They said that "Saint Laurent has saved France — the great Dior tradition will continue." His design had caused an enormous commotion. He even went out to the balcony to wave to the cheering people as if he was the new king of France. Notably Saint Laurent also designed the wedding dress of Farah Diba, the last empress of Persia.

Another high point in the history of Dior came in the spring of 1997, when British designer John Galliano was chosen to head the house. Originally from Givenchy, the owner of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, chose him to succeed Gianfranco Ferre as the chief designer of Dior. Known for his theatrical and feminine designs, Galliano's first collection was praised for restoring the beauty and the elegance that had been missing from Dior. His designs were inspired by historical figures such as Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, and Pocahontas, as well as romantic novels and poetry. He even glamorized homelessness and poverty in one of his collections. Celebrities embraced the beauty of Galliano's designs. But the decadence, eccentricity, and theatrical nature of his shows caused critics to question the wearability of his designs, insisting that he was not a designer but a costumier. Nevertheless the Dior couture presentation was the hottest show in town.

In January 1998, Galliano's spring 1998 couture collection based on the Italian eccentric Marchesa Luisa Casati inspired the world to go crazy over him, just like the moments of Christian Dior in 1947 and Yves Saint Laurent in 1958. The collection showcased a heavily embroidered Oriental coat, suits referencing the Ballets Russes and Edwardian styles, and an updated version of the Dior "Junon" dress. The show was so spectacular that it was widely considered the collection of the season. Galliano was also recognized by the CFDA, winning the award for International Designer of the Year, and showed this epic collection that amazed the American audience. John Galliano didn't just return the couture line to profitability but also revived Dior's ready-to-wear market that during his first years had no difference from his couture collection. In the summer of 1999, Galliano's contract with LVMH was renewed and this time he was put in charge of everything... the store and window design, the accessories, the lingerie and beach wear, the ad campaigns... For the turn of the millennium, he gave the Dior woman a new sex appeal by embracing the style of the street, from drag queens to hip-hop, from BDSM to rock 'n' roll. Galliano proved to his critics that he could design sportswear as well. Note also that Dior under Galliano is one of the many design houses who embraced the logomania of the year 2000.

His tradition of theatrical femininity continued with Galliano's spring 2004 couture collection that was inspired by his trip to Egypt, it was the most celebrated collection of the new millennium for the House of Dior. The pyramid-shaped clothes with the Egyptian Nefertiti headpiece crowns and the glamour of the Penn and Avedon photos of the 1950s. The box-shaped hair from the collection took Orlando Pita three days to create. The innovation of Galliano in this collection makes it one of the most memorable periods of his reign at Dior. Even Bernard Arnault once compared him to Christian Dior. But Galliano's tenure at Dior ended in an ill-fated manner, the anti-semitic remark that he made while drunk induced LVMH to cancel his contract, although it had been rumored for a long time that they had wanted to oust him. He was hurt and humiliated by the situation and also by his legion of followers. It was the end of an era. Everyone is still waiting to see what Galliano's next step will be. His talent is such a shame to be wasted. Dior won't ever be the same from the moment he left. Will he suffer a similar fate to Coco Chanel who was accused of being a Nazi collaborator? (Keep in mind that after a few years she made her marvelous comeback). His admirers wish him the best and only time can tell but I certainly hope he will have a triumphant return to the fashion world soon.

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Dior photographs © 2011 and 2012 Condé Nast, Christian Dior, Rizzoli, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and V Magazine, LLC, and courtesy of tumblr. "Dovima and the elephants" designed by Yves Saint Laurent under Christian Dior. Photo by Richard Avedon.

samedi
nov.052011

Loulou De La Falaise: A True Saint Laurent Woman

Loulou De La Falaise: A True Saint Laurent Woman
By Bernie Rothschild

This morning fashion icon Loulou de la Falaise is dead which is very sad news to all of us, Loulou was a devoted friend and muse to Yves Saint Laurent. She inspired many of his collections which is very scandalous but artistic at the same time. As she tells their story, “I met Yves through mutual friends. We had lots of fun together, and he must have liked what I did with clothes because one day he asked me to work with him." Loulou was also a noted jewelry designer and the head of accessories for the Rive Gauche line. She was the antithesis of her fellow YSL muse and close friend Betty Catroux. The two women embodied and influenced the French fashion of their time. The très risque androgynous hedonist style of the trousers wearer, Ms. Catroux, is the exact opposite of the elegant, chic, and glamorous Ms. de la Falaise. But for many that are still wondering who this fabulous woman really is, here is the story for you. Loulou was born in England to socialite Maxime Birley who was an Elsa Schiaparelli model and a noted fashionista of her time. According to Cecil Beaton, Ms. Birley was the only English woman who had a great fashion sense that he knew and her father was the aristocrat Alain de la Falaise. She was related to many known artists of the 19th century, no wonder artistic lineage is born into family. During the early 70s, she was discovered by the legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland as a model at which point she moved to New York City and became part of the in crowd, epitomizing the fashionable chic woman of the 1970s, together with her great friends the Berenson sisters, the divine Marisa Berenson and her former roommate the late Berry Berenson, Paloma Picasso, Marina Schiano, Elsa Peretti, Bianca Jagger, and Diane Von Furstenberg, that astonished the crowd with their effortless chic and unique style. Who would forget her special custom made YSL dress at the Opium launch party and her Oriental wedding theme for which Saint Laurent created her Aladdin inspired wedding dress. The life of Ms. de la Falaise is a great inspiration to all of us. She proved that everyone could be a muse in their own way. Rest in peace, Loulou. Thanks for the legacy that you left us.

Loulou de la Falaise photographs courtesy of Condé Nast, Sugar Inc., zero1magazine.com, puretrend.com