THINGS I LOVE vol.17

"Saint Laurent" is a brand whose creative director is now Anthony Vaccarello, but it was originally founded in 1961 by Yves Saint Laurent, who was known as the "Emperor of Fashion."
"Chanel", "Dior", "Saint Laurent". There is no doubt that these three brands are a great legacy of the Parisian fashion world. However, when I started going to see men's collections in Paris around 1990, Yves Saint Laurent's collections were not praised at all. My impression of Saint Laurent at that time was, ``Who wears these clothes?'' It was a brand that no one knew how they wanted people to wear it. Therefore, I only saw the show once in 1989 or 1990. Even when I went to Paris Fashion Week, I didn't see Hedi Slimane in the early days even when he started directing men's clothing. Until 1998, I never saw it even when I went to Paris Fashion Week.

In fact, I think the 1990s was a time when the policy for development in Japan was ambiguous. When I was a kid (around 1980), the YSL mark was used on many licensed brands in Japan, and I think it was even used on toilet slippers and toilet seat covers. This current situation coexists with Yves Saint Laurent's genius image (for example, his nude portrait taken by Jeanlou Sieff), making it difficult to grasp the real situation. However, after getting to know Hedi Slimane, I gradually began to understand the greatness of Saint Laurent.
Especially when Gucci acquired Saint Laurent in 1999 and Tom Ford joined Yves Saint Laurent as creative director, I saw and heard a lot of anger and jealousy from the people in the industry around me. Rather, it was a sign to me of Tom's strong presence in the industry and the great respect he had from those around him.

In Tom Ford's first Yves Saint Laurent collection, I fell in love with the red velvet jacket at first sight. At that time, I was obsessed with Dior Homme, but six months later, I went to the newly opened Yves Saint Laurent store in Milan with Hidetoshi Nakata during the Milan Collection. I bought an oversized collared coat and baggy pants. Back then, I didn't have many opportunities to wear them, but when I look at them recently, the quality of the construction is just amazing. As expected of Tom Ford! I am acutely aware of this.

Later, in 2012, Hedi Slimane changed the brand name from "Yves Saint Laurent" to "Saint Laurent." Once again, fierce leopard print jackets and navy jackets with gold buttons appeared, and I got them.
I have seen several Yves Saint Laurent movies in the past. But to be honest, I didn't live at the same time, so I have a hard time really understanding it. However, even I could clearly see that his creations were genius.

I once saw Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent's longtime partner, at Cafe de Flore. While drinking tea with a handsome young man, he looked around the store with a keen eye. His unique atmosphere gave off an aura that made him unapproachable, but the person I happened to be with knew him, so I decided to say hello. We shook hands and gave a proper hug.
Afterwards, as he looked around the store, my line of sight collided with his, and he smiled. For some reason, I felt happy at that moment. Whenever I went to Paris, I always went to Café de Flor several times. From 1997 to 2006, my birthday occurred during the men's collection period, so I had people from the industry come to Paris to celebrate. It's an irreplaceable memory. Usually two or three people went to Café de Flore, but there were times when I went alone. It's quite common to see people in the industry, and I feel like Karl Lagerfeld came almost every night during collection week. I was also one of the people who was there every night. On the other hand, I was never able to say hello to Yves Saint Laurent himself, but I once sat right behind him at Hedi Slimane's debut collection for Dior Homme, and that was the closest I ever got. I think the actress Catherine Deneuve was sitting next to Saint Laurent. Saint Laurent's presence was overwhelming and gave me a sense of dignity.

By the way, Saint Laurent did not come to see Tom Ford's "Yves Saint Laurent" debut collection this season. However, I was surprised to see that he had come to see Hedi Slimane's show at Dior Homme. There are several movies about Yves Saint Laurent, but I've been watching ``Yves Saint Laurent,'' ``Saint Laurent,'' and ``Andre Leon Talley: The Aesthetic Pursuit.'' All of them clearly demonstrate the genius of Yves Saint Laurent, but it's easier to understand if you watch three films in a short period of time. And even today, for men, Yves Saint Laurent's ``jackets with large lapels that shape the waist'' are making a comeback as a trend. I think we can learn a lot from Yves Saint Laurent's legacy. In the past, Alber Elbaz, Tom Ford, Hedi Slimane, Anthony Vaccarello...all of them must have been guided by that legacy.

　

■Tomoki Yuma (@stsukezane）
Born in Kyoto City in 1965. Started his career as an editor in the editorial department of Magazine House ``POPEYE''. Currently, in addition to planning and styling fashion pages for magazines, she also designs advertising costumes for artists and musicians. Before the coronavirus, he covered men's collections in Paris and Milan for over 35 years.

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