YSL Embroidery

Yves Saint Laurent embroideries were gorgeous, beyond belief. I can't imagine how many hours it took the specialty embroidery houses to accomplish what he wanted on each garment he sent to them. I was drooling over the examples at the VMFA's YSL "The Perfection of Style" exhibition.

Embroidery meant many techniques to include "sequins, beading, appliqué and embroidery with thread". St Laurent identified where on a garment he wanted the embellishment. The embroiderer would submit several test examples for that particular project and then St Laurent would choose which he preferred. Francois Lesage (an embroidery house and school that is still in business) and Pierre Mesrine were the creme de la creme of embroiderers at the time. They created exquisite work for Yves St Laurent, some of which is in the photos below.

Here is a collection board for evening wear with the word "lesage" above the jacket ensemble in the middle.

A collection of different embroidered items with embroidery samples in the very front cases....absolutely gorgeous!

A close-up of the center dress. This was from the Autumn-Winter 1970 haute couture collection. It's made of black georgette and embroidered with flowers in pink, purple and blue seed beads. The embroidery was by Lesage.

An embroidery sample that was submitted to St Laurent for a garment...

This exquisite jacket was from the Spring-Summer 1983 haute couture collection. The base fabric is black silk organza. It's embroidered with a tortoiseshell pattern of red, orange, white, silver and black sequins and black and orange seed beads. The edges have black faceted beads, silver rhinestones and coral tubes. This is another fabulous example of Lesage workmanship.

So many beautiful things at this wonderful exhibition!!

YSL and The Perfection of Style

There was a profusion of color at the end of the Yves Saint Laurent exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, VA) that was a feast for the eyes and senses. The entire color wheel was represented. This photo gives a view of the installation.

Each colorway had boards of swatches on the walls behind a grouping of exquisite haute couture selections from different collections. Here's a sample of some of the presentations.

The dress below is the one in the photo above at the right. The draping of the yellow coat (called a domino) is magnificent. This ensemble was from the Autumn-Winter 1983 haute couture collection.

And another, although I apologize for the fuzziness of the photo. Love the purple hues! The greens were fabulous, and notice the range of sample colors on the wall.

The beginning of this rainbow started darkly with this installation of elegant and sumptuous evening ensembles, all from haute couture collections. More photos to come, especially about the fine embroidery houses Yves Saint Laurent used for his designs.

Yves Saint Laurent at the VMFA!

I just got back from seeing the Yves Saint Laurent The Perfection of Style exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA. It was well worth the ticket price and the drive. Oh my goodness, a chance to see over 100 of his works of art (and they are art) from his haute couture collections and his Rive Gauche, the ready-to-wear line that started in 1966.

What was particularly fascinating are the Collection Boards, which are records for each collection with information about each garment. Only two per collection are shown at the exhibition...which is fantastic! The drawings are Yves St Laurent's own sketches, and some have notes about which company (house) was doing the specialty embroidery, furs, etc. The name of the model who will wear the design is on the Board and the large red number is the reference number for that particular garment within the particular collection. Here's an example of one.

I noticed this Collection Board right away because of the silk ribbons in so many colors on the right hand side.

And here is the dress that matches the ribbons on the the board: it's a wedding dress from the Autumn-Winter 1970 haute couture collection (Number 12 in the Runway Checklist that your receive when you take the tour). It's a multicolored silk velvet coat with applique letters forming the words LOVE ME FOREVER on the front. and OR NEVER on the back with heart, stars and cloud in multicolored silk satin. Quite a statement for a wedding gown!

The exhibition opened on 6 May and will continue until Aug 27, 2017, at the Museum. Tickets are available online at the VMFA website and are "timed" tickets (you select what time you want to start). Allow at least two hours at the exhibit, then plan to have a meal on the 3rd floor at the Amuse Restaurant. Be sure to make reservations at the restaurant as it is very popular. More to come in later posts....