How does it feel to receive a standing ovation from Lady Gaga, Jane Fonda, Demi Moore, Justin Bieber, Joan Jett, Courtney Love, Sylvester Stallone, Sam Smith, Lenny Kravitz, Zac Effron, Linda Ramone (et al)? One will have to ask Hedi Slimane, the creative director of Saint Laurent, who received this honour at the end of his Hollywood Palladium show in LA last night.
The rock-ready collection marked the 50th anniversary of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche (the original couture house’s prêt-a-porter line), mixing menswear with what was labelled ’Part I’ of womenswear (’Part II’ being shown in Paris on 7 March).
For A/W 2016 the performance travelled from Paris to Los Angeles, where the designer has lived since 2008, having also relocated the Saint Laurent design studio in 2012. In spite of the rumours of his impending departure from Saint Laurent, insistently denied by his reps, the designer quietly pieced together a sophisticated, gender-bending, state-of-the-art rock couture collection set against a backdrop designed by artist/collaborator Lucia Santina Ribisi
Announced via billboards plastered all over town, and perfectly timed five days before the Grammy Awards, the event was imbued with the ethos of its historic Hollywood Palladium venue – a 4,000 capacity ballroom in an Art Deco building transformed in the 1960s into a rock venue.
Last night it was filled with an epic line up of 13 bands on stage and 71 models and musicians wearing 93 looks. Showcased long after everyone had happily mingled on a red-lit dance floor, the collection itself was quintessential of Slimane’s signature style, collecting 1960s and 70s Hollywood-Strip-heyday references, intermixed with the couture house’s DNA courtesy of reissued archive prints.
The collection was also peppered with various musical homages, from 1970s British rock bands, to Bowie and the psych rock era – a theme first explored in Slimane’s S/S 2013 Saint Laurent collection.
Iconic, maxi length jupe culottes cut in bourgeois leather were paired with pussy bow silky blouses and high heeled glam boots, dramatised with studded, tapestry or embroidered jackets or gold mink coats, while many waists were cinched by oversized, buckled belts.
The show’s lanky, street-cast boys were adorned with dapper fedoras, silk scarves, military or velvet jackets, never parting from their signature Slimane legging-esque slender pants. The palette was an explosion of glitter, sequins, gold, silver, black against red lipstick notes, foxy browns and animal prints, the whole show shimmering in its own aura of ‘Rock my Religion’ ecstasy.
The showcase recieved a standing ovation from the likes of Lady Gaga, Jane Fonda and Justin Bieber.
The collection marked the 50th anniversary of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche the couture house’s prêt-a-porter line
The show combined menswear and what was labelled Part I of womenswear; Part II will be shown in Paris on 7 March
The performance travelled from Paris to LA, where the designer has lived since 2008, having also relocated the Saint Laurent design studio in 2012
Announced via billboards plastered all over town the event was imbued with the ethos of its historic Hollywood Palladium venue
The Palladiuim – an Art Deco building transformed in the 1960s into a rock concert location – can hold 4,000 people in its ballroom
The show comprised an epic line up of 13 bands on stage and 71 models and musicians wearing 93 looks
The collection itself was quintessential of Slimane’s signature style, collecting 1960s and 70s Hollywood-Strip-heyday references intermixed with the couture house’s DNA courtesy of reissued archive prints
It was also peppered with various musical homages, from 1970s British rock bands, to Bowie and the psych rock era
Culottes were paired with silky, pussy bow blouses and high heeled glam boots, while many waists were cinched by oversized, buckled belts
The show’s lanky, street-cast boys were never parted from Slimane’s signature legging-esque slender pant
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Saint Laurent’s website
-
Revolutionary Apple icon designer Susan Kare unveils a playful jewellery and objet collaboration with Asprey StudioAsprey Studio's new collection, Esc Keys, brings digital artworks by Susan Kare to life
-
What is the role of fragrance in contemporary culture, asks a new exhibition at 10 Corso ComoMilan concept store 10 Corso Como has partnered with London creative agency System Preferences to launch Olfactory Projections 01
-
Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
-
Summer games, from pétanque to pool floats, get a fashionable spinFrom a luxurious pétanque set to pool floats and playing cards, summer games and toys from the world’s best-known fashion houses
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu MiuIn this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear showsFrom giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
-
Paris Fashion Week S/S 2022: Loewe to ChanelFashion Week returns to form in the French capital. Here is everything you need to know about Paris Fashion Week S/S 2022
-
Doug Aitken creates reflective artwork for Saint Laurent in VeniceFor the Saint Laurent S/S 2022 show, the brand’s first physical catwalk presentation since the Covid-19 pandemic began, American artist Doug Aitken created the living artwork Green Lens, on Venice's Isola della Certosa
-
Saint Laurent celebrates 40 years of Memphis GroupMemphis Group's milestone birthday is celebrated with a series of colourful furniture installations across the French maison's concept boutiques
-
Saint Laurent S/S 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Saint Laurent Men's S/S 2020
