Word: saint
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While the secret of Saint Laurent's longevity is in his daytime clothes, his brilliance shows in his extravagant evening fantasies. There are, to be sure, examples of pure, timeless classicism and of ethereal visions fashioned out of yards of Chantilly lace. More often he sheds convention like an overcoat in springtime. There are reckless forays into nudity, called see-through in the catalogue; avalanches of silk that swell the exemplary trapeze into a balloon; decadent wraith-wear for psychedelic occasions. Is this foolery (all done before the designer turned 40) vulgar, silly, nutty? Yes, probably all three...
...Saint Laurent turned serious about evening clothes. The fashion press, to which he is acutely sensitive, was giving its most reverent attention to his Rive Gauche collections, and so the couturier decided to teach his critics a lesson. Using lavish matierials, he created dazzling sequences of adornments fit for the queens of legend: Spanish motifs that might have been painted by Velásquez, extravagent conjuries of ancient China and, most famous, the Russian-inspired "rich peasant" collection that was front-page news for the New York Times in 1976. The theme was copied internationally in every price range...
These magnificent dresses-them selves worth a visit to the show-provide the dramatic centerpiece for the exhibition that lacks logic. Vreeland's practice of organizing the Met's fashion displays by color, mood, line and occasionally whim is not satisfactory. It is impossible to trace Saint Laurent's career or to see the variety in a given year without making the crowded circuit several times and squinting down at the labels. This is particularly frustrating, since the exhibition rooms, possibly suggesting the museum's priorities, are cramped and poky. One strategy might...
Vreeland's higgledy-piggledy does have the effect of a kaleidoscope. One sees the arrival of the mini, the pantsuit for day and the androgynous "smoking" for night, boots, turtlenecks, sporty furs. Picasso keeps reappearing, usually in witty design quotations. So do plaids; in 1979, Saint Laurent's heart went deep into the Scottish Highlands, and he made a formidable, fanciful rig. Except for his Mondrian motif, Saint Laurent was not comfortable with minis; the late '60s belonged to André Courrèges. In fact, despite the influence of specific designs, Saint Laurent has not always...
Probably the couturier got his new minis from the girls rather than vice versa. It is said that Saint Laurent does not get around the streets to observe enough any more. The ebullient man who posed nude for a men's fragrance ad in 1971 is now painfully isolated (see box). He has new rivals. Today Armani commands fashion's thinkers. The Japanese designers are the darlings of the avantgarde. Ralph Lauren has made distinctively American tailoring popular internationally. At Chanel, the talented, aggressive Lagerfeld seems to be mounting a direct challenge to Saint Laurent's supremacy...