Documentary Film on the Yves Saint Laurent Company
In the true sense of haute couture, the craft of hand made, individually fitted apparel, it’s easy to observe the selectiveness that abounds this elegant segment of retail fashion. Not only are the price tags an obvious indication or the country where an item was made but the label stands as more of the revelation that a piece of clothing has undergone a meticulous assembly process by talented stewards of the design world. The essence of haute couture was no doubt born out of Paris, France over a century ago that has ever since been held to a standard set by the Chambre de Commerce et d’industrie of maintaining a system for designating the world’s most illustrious garment producers. Several dozens of recognized labels have been coveted with the honor in the past but only a handful have been incorporated as official members as selection is decided upon only on a yearly basis. Many of the top Italian designers are given correspondent nomination as the classification was originally intended to pertain to French companies but broadened it’s inclusion to top brands such as Versace, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, and others.
Deriving a similar, meaning for this bespoke style of outfitting involves an even earlier time period from the eighteenth century in the fashion district of London known as Seville Row. The artisan tailors would maintain copious supplies of wool, silk, cotton and other fabrics on hand to present to their clientele. In the initial stages of preparing for the construct of an outfit, whomever intended to purchase, began with a consultation for the selection of material, pattern and measurements. The saying to emerge from this pre-industrial British age way of tailoring was known as ‘bespoke’ which now carries the connotation of something exactly unique that exceeds the need of it’s particular function.
Back then though, it’s more literal meaning was that a certain piece of fabric or material had already been ‘spoken for’ or selected to be used in assembling a particular item of clothing. This customized approach to designing high quality clothing that surpasses the characteristics of most everyday machine made apparel is still a very much practiced tradition that has endured to fulfill a very niche consumer market.
The pieces that are often assembled using hand crafted techniques with several levels of professionals overseeing each phase of the process from concept, to drawing, to samples, to prototypes and eventually the final completion are rightfully considered distinctly different from the mass produced garment market. The practitioners of this craft have continued to regard themselves as forward thinking, skilled, fashion stewards whose pieces are often those occupying red carpet occasions, off duty executive events and affluent social gatherings.
The coveted standard of creating what it’s advocates, most of whom are those wealthy enough to purchase such meticulously crafted merchandise of course represents just that minute percentage of the clothes’ that are sold worldwide. The importance though of the high priced fashion industry is a symbol for each brand’s own elite label of hand made clothing as well as the more affordable, mid range levels of production that even the very best of European designers still allocate a significant part of their operations to.
Thus the mystique and adoration maintained for those top regarded fashion houses plays a lead role still in garnering attention for their industry as a whole. Several times throughout the year what is considered some of the best crafted designs are put on display during the biannual fashion shows around the world. The history and inner workings of such a specialized industry that is directly accessible by so few but that nonetheless has an otherwise resounding impact upon the rest of the industry is an interesting topic to observe.
One such movie that captures the story behind one of the leading brands of haute couture fashion is newly released ‘Yves Saint Laurent‘. The brand’s founder of the same name, was first a leader in his respected trade as the owner of a top quality atelier, or workshop. But the notoriety shown for Saint Laurent throughout his career is highly regarded also for a vision to transcend offering high quality designer wear just to the highest echelon of consumers but rather make it more widely available to a broader market. He developed an efficient, streamlined process for assembling luxury apparel by introducing the concept of ready to wear which no longer involved only customized clothing but standardized top quality merchandise for retailers.
The story of Yves Saint Laurent offers a compelling glimpse of a sophisticated, honored profession often regarded as abhorrently vain but that nonetheless upholds an importance for the image of elegance and fame that it casts upon each generation. The movie awaits anyone who cares to gain a better understanding of the business and the French/Italian nuances surrounding it. Subtitled in English.