Yves Saint Laurent and Art

An unforgettable journey through art history with Yves Saint Laurent as a guide. January 1962 saw the launch of the very first collection by Yves Saint Laurent. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of his couture house, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris is organizing a unique retrospective of the couturiers work that juxtaposes his creations with art works from the collections of four major Paris institutions: the Musée dOrsay, the Centre Pompidou, the Musée dArt Moderne de la Ville de Paris and the Musée Picasso, as well as presenting a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the secrets of couture at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent. From the ancient world to pop art, Yves Saint Laurent regularly took inspiration from art history as he combined colours, carved out new forms and rethought the structure of garments in order to create his own masterpieces. Here, androgynous silhouettes and Proustian gowns stand alongside Manets Le Déjeuner sur lherbe, feather patterns respond to Jackson Pollocks drip paintings, flowing silhouettes merge with a mural by Raoul Dufy, Lucio Fontanas neon lights make metallic fabrics sparkle and the motifs on a coat echo The Dance by Henri Matisse. Exploring the couturiers deliberate homages to the masters of art and his never-ending quest for new means of aesthetic expression, this book takes readers on an unforgettable journey through art history with Yves Saint Laurent as a guide.