Yves Saint-Laurent: The Impossible Collection

Preview: Yves Saint-Laurent: The Impossible Collection

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About the Work

Yves Saint Laurent, after assisting Christian Dior, established himself as a leading haute couture designer by redefining fashion for a new generation of empowered, youthful women. He pioneered the concept of designer ready-to-wear, expanding fashion to a wider market. His designs were ahead of their time, featuring feminine adaptations of masculine styles like the pinstriped pantsuit, the khaki safari jacket, and Le Smoking tuxedo. Saint Laurent pushed boundaries with daring creations like transparent blouses and the provocative Opium perfume.

Laurence Benaïm, a renowned fashion journalist and expert on Saint Laurent, collaborated with Assouline to curate the 100 most iconic pieces from Saint Laurent's 40-year career. The result is Yves Saint Laurent: The Impossible Collection, a best-selling volume in Assouline's Ultimate Collection. It showcases Saint Laurent's most famous works, from his first runway show in 1962 to his final couture presentation before retiring in 2002.

This exquisite volume features the designer's classics, including the Mondrian shift dress, the black dress with white collar and cuffs from the film Belle de Jour, the celebrated Ballets Russes collection, and tributes to Picasso, Matisse, and van Gogh. It also includes his tailored pantsuits, flowing "coup de crayon" draped gowns, and his extravagant use of velvet, lace, feathers, leopard print, and jewel tones.

About the Author

Laurence Benaïm is a journalist and writer known for her biographical works. Her biography on Yves Saint Laurent (Grasset, 1993) is a reference on the designer and has been updated and reissued several times. She has written numerous other works on Saint Laurent, including Yves Saint Laurent: Naissance d'une légende (La Marinière, 2002), Requiem pour Yves Saint Laurent (Grasset, 2010), and Dior by Yves Saint Laurent (Assouline, 2017). Benaïm has also authored biographies on Marie-Laure de Noailles titled La Vicomtesse du bizarre (Grasset, 2001) and on Jean-Michel Frank titled Le Chercheur de silence (Grasset, 2017). In addition to her works on fashion, Benaïm has written on other subjects such as Dior: La Révolution du New Look (Rizzoli, 2014) and Femmes en Dior: Portraits d'élégance (Rizzoli, 2015).

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