For
a gay high school boy in El Paso. there was no denying the allure of this photo. Male nudity had barely appeared in mainstream magazines and here was willowy
Yves Saint Laurent, wearing nothing but his oversize glasses in an ad for
Pour Homme, his new fragrance.
Two models obsessed me as a teenager paging through
Life,
Look and
Time magazines, all of which
my mother subscribed to at one time or another: even in black and white
Twiggy manages to embody
Carnaby Street and the Swingin' Sixties;
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| Twiggy (YSL haute couture Spring/Summer 1967) by Bert Stern |
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and
Veruschka, who looks as fierce as they come.
Audrey was thrilled when I said she reminded me of the German-born Amazon when we motorcycled to the Hamptons one summer afternoon and she never complained once. Veruschka and the Italian photographer flew to the
Central African Republic (liberated from French rule in 1960) to get his shot for
Paris Vogue. Colonialism hadn’t yet gone out of style.
Melania still thinks it hasn't.
There’s something almost sphinx-like about the couturier in this dewy portrait by
Irving Penn. Although only 21 at the time, Saint Laurent, born in Algeria, was already head designer at the
House of Dior. He hardly looks as if he’s about to take the world by storm.
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| Paris, 1957 |
It didn't take long for him to do just that, though. Such a phenomenal talent. Andy has never looked sexier than he does napping in this YSL trench coat.
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| Andy Warhol (YSL rive gauche homme Fall/Winter 1974) by Helmut Newton |
Too bad he didn't return the favor. Yves without his glasses is like Andy without his wig!
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| 1972 |
Saint Laurent instinctually knew how much artful, erotic photography could enhance his brand. He and
Helmut Newton had a long working relationship. Several muses--some celebrity, some not--also inspired him. Deneuve looks more
Veronica Lake than Mod in this shot.
Artistic inspiration could run both ways, too. At the age of 82, sporting photographer
Jacques Henri Lartigue used flash light for the first time to capture Saint Laurent's billowy creation on Deneuve in a fashion studio.
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| YSL haute couture Spring/Summer 1976 |
Loulou e la Falaise described herself as a "hard working" muse. She designed jewelry and accessories for YSL.
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| Yves Saint Laurent and Loulou de La Falaise (1982) |
Anh Duong modeld for Saint Laurent long before she became the muse of
Dolce and Gabana. A 2024 exhibit at the International Center of Photography introduced me to the work of
David Seidner, but I don’t remember anything as extraordinary as this shot.
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| YSL haute couture Spring/Summer 1986 |
Wow. Just wow!
Peter Lindbergh, the German photographer Anna Wintour hired to shoot her first cover for
Vogue, is better known for his 1989 grouping of Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford, and Christy Turlington before they became "super models," but this later one has a lot more dramatic flair.
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Gisèle Zelauy (YSL rive gauche Spring/Summer 1991)
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I mostly associate
Campbell with phone throwing-tantrums. No more. Kudos to the anonymous hair stylist.
Carla Bruni was wearing white even before she became the corrupt French prime minister’s bride.
Jerry Hall really is living proof that modeling really is a ladder to celebrity husbandry. Now there's a tell-all autobiography I'd love to read.
Mick was her hubby when this photo was taken.
Curators of "
Yves Saint Laurent and Photography" at the International Center of Photography make no mention of his destructive infatuation with
Karl Lagerfeld’s boy toy but they do pay respect to the man behind the scenes whose unwavering support and business savvy made an enormous contribution to the designer’s success.
Pierre Bergé, seen here when the YSL atelier was being turned into a foundation, had a talent for staying in the background. I visited their Moroccan retreat.
Jardin Majorelle is as beautiful as you would expect.
But it's also been said that Laurent's happy place was hanging "with his girls" backstage after a fashion show. These four don't even need last names and they also prove that good photography contributes as much to a look as the clothes.
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