Tagged: production boards

June 18, 2013

YSL lives on..

(Photo by Sophie Carre)

Back to reality..almost..

There are certain places I have visited only in my dreams, but one day, one day Rodders, I’ll get there…Coco chanel’s apartment, the Picasso Museum in Antibes..and the Studio of Yves Saint Laurent at 5 Avenue Marceau, 75116 Paris.

For a lucky few and until the July 21, it’s possible to go on a guided tour of the studio and library courtesy of the Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation. The Foundation was set up to share the forty years of accumulated memories and artefacts of this iconic creator with his intimidating reputation for excellence and meticulous sculpting of cloth.

Oh to be a speck of dust. To be still and drink it in.

But if I can’t be there in person. Sigh. There is still the internet – part of the Foundations aims is to promote cultural projects and with this in mind, they are releasing all sorts of wonder through their site which is so worth a visit. For instance, there are the production boards..

Illustrating 1283 production drawings from 81 Haute Couture collections from 1962- 2002. Each garment features a sketch, a sample of fabric from which the final garment was produced, the name of the couture workshop that produced it, the name of the model that wore it and even the order in which she walked during the Fashion Show. It is a little glittering cyber treasure trove…

It’s also possible to buy a beautifully bound four book edition of the Production Drawings. And if I had 2,100 euros handy..I would.

The latest release from the Website is the ‘Paper Dolls’ – Yves Saint Laurent made these beauties between 1948 – 1949 using from amongst other things, cuttings from his mother’s favourite magazines – Vogue, Jardin des Modes and Paris-Match. These fragile works of art are the physical embodiment of his vivid, verdant imagination and somehow make him feel very human..touchable even.