Yves St. Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent

The Label

The Yves Saint Laurent and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche brands seem to be recovering from an identity crisis that began in 1999, when the luxury label was first purchased by Gucci for $900 million and design direction taken over by super slick Tom Ford. Yves Saint Laurent, who retired in 2002, changed the way women dressed when he launched his label in 1962. He put them in mannish pant-suits with square shoulders, smoking jackets, safari jackets, and tuxedos, but softened the androgyny with billowy peasant blouses and fitted, flouncy couture gowns in dramatic colors. New designer Stefano Pilati is bringing it all back home, returning to those YSL classics and making them staples of the eveningwear and ready-to-wear collection.

The Look

Sexpot in a power suit. Trust-fund bohemian. Red-carpet diva.

The Designer

The current designer is Stefano Pilati, formerly Tom Ford’s chief deputy of the YSL Rive Gauche ready-to-wear collection, and a designer for Miu Miu and Giorgio Armani prior to that. While Saint Laurent kept hold of the couture reins until his retirement in 2002, Tom Ford most recently oversaw design for ready-to-wear. Ford replaced Alber Elbaz, who is now creative director of Lanvin.

Who Wears It

Everyone from long-standing fans like YSL muse Betty Catroux and Catherine Deneuve, to actresses like Renee Zellweger and Chloe Sevigny.

Official Website

yslonline.com