YSL - Expo

An exhibition under the high patronage of Mrs Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

The flurry of books, CDs and DVDs, a compendium of correspondence from Pierre Bergé published posthumously and a film in the works are a few examples of the eulogies that Yves Saint Laurent has elicited since his death almost two years ago. But judge this man by his clothes! And there is an ample assortment of them on show at the Petit Palais in Paris until 29 August next. The Yves Saint Laurent exhibition is an amazing experience spanning 45 years of haute couture and vision – for, as Saint Laurent himself put it, “By an extraordinary stroke of luck and intuition, I am one of the last to hold the secrets of haute couture, and may be the one who closes the circle of its history.” The exhibition’s 15 rooms capture that many periods one after another, from the black and white to the colours of Morocco, to a recreation of Catherine Deneuve’s walk-in wardrobe and on to a Visconti-style grand ballroom. Yves Saint Laurent would have liked to be Marcel Proust and this exhibition fittingly sets bygone days back in motion. The evening dresses are there, along with the tuxedos and safari jackets. But the 307 models from the 5,000 items in the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation’s collection are not just stunning garments: they encapsulate the power that clothes afford women. This exhibition starts with his first collection, Trapèze (1958), ends with his last fashion show (2002), and is being held under the high patronage of Mrs Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (who modelled for him). It also features archive footage explaining why the idea that women might wear trousers was outrageous in its day, and providing behind-the-scenes insights into the stages and mechanics of creation. A plank on trestles was what this boy from Oran used to draw models on small rectangular pieces of cardboard, following nothing but the power of his pencil. Pierre Bergé then takes over to explain the rest of the process in a film resembling a diptych where the artist and the businessman speak in turn. Genius is futile until it crafts creation. That is the case that this exhibition has made, exactly a year after the staggering art collection that Messrs Bergé and Saint Laurent owned together graced the Grand Palais across the road.