An Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective

Bianca Jagger wore a white pantsuit to her wedding. While the matrimony between her and the Rolling Stones’ Mick was a failure (8 years long with claims of adulterous affairs), her choice of dress was not. It would go on to become a staple in modern-day women’s wear, courtesy of Yves Saint Laurent.

Just 5 years earlier, in 1966, the Algerian-born French fashion designer had debuted “Le Smoking”—the classic tuxedo for women that would pioneer androgynous styles for years to come. This power suit, that was once exclusively for men, had been trimmed and tailored and had, ultimately, materialized the culmination of sex and status.

At 21, YSL found himself the head designer at the House of Dior, succeeding 52-year-old Christian who’d unexpectedly died from a heart attack. As they say, the rest is history. Soon after, the straight-line silhouettes featured throughout his “Trapeze” collection of dresses catapulted him into fame, and the introduction of the Parisian-influenced “beatnik” look, intensified it.

The popular 1965 day dress that paid homage to color-block artist Piet Mondrian didn’t hurt his rise to stardom, either.

The man in the horn-rimmed glasses changed the idea behind “ready-to-wear” by bringing it to the runway and combining it with couture. This created easily transitional day-to-night pieces that would forever influence the modern-day woman—think pleats and tweed, peasant-inspired cloths and pea coats, leopard prints and trench coats, and an abundance of costume jewelry, beadwork, and appliqués (often inspired by artists Miro and Picasso).

A single glance at the women and girls walking the streets of today will prove these styles are timeless and not forgotten.

In the first show since his death in June of this year, and serving as the first major retrospective of his work in over 25 years, the de Young Museum in San Francisco is holding an exhibition that will include over 120 accessorized outfits from his collections, as well as some of Saint Laurent’s photographs, videos, and sketches that illustrate the lines, colors, and fundamentals of his design.

The show will run through April 5.