A look we remember: Yves Saint Laurent opens their first shop in London

Few designers can compare themselves with the genius that was Yves Saint Laurent. After having taken over as the head designer for Dior at the age of just 21, he launched his own fashion house, named after himself, just four years later. Saint Laurent's greatness lay in his ability to combine elegance, sensuality and masculinity. He lays all of this behind some of the 20th centuries most iconic and progressive garment. The Le Smoking collection put the suit on women, the Mondrian collection transformed clothing into wearable artwork. His introduction of ready-to-wear in a time where all the big fashion brands only worked with high fashion, therefore it was a major step in the democratisation of the fashion industry.


Our look is collected from 1969 at the opening of one of the ready-to-wear shops, which was named Rive Gauche. This was Saint Laurent’s first Rive Gauche shop in London, and it of course landed on Bond Street. In the picture, we see how a 31 year old Saint Laurent poses for the camera, wearing a safari jacket and chinos, together with the angular, signature sunglasses. Saint Laurent’s personal style was closely connected and drew a lot of inspiration from his own clothing collections. Suits with powerful shoulder definition gave a more masculine and elegant expression, at the same time as the sensuality always lay dormant beneath the surface. The centre of our look at the clothes will of course be the safari jacket, which collects its inspiration from military uniforms worn by French soldiers in Africa, but first became a women’s garment in 1967. The jacket was an immediate success, and can be seen as a typical example of his ability to transform the masculine uniform into a feminine led attire.