It has been five years since I attended the private media day at the Denver Art Museum's Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective, and I still remember the exhibit like it was yesterday. Hands down one of the coolest experiences I've ever had as a writer covering local events for AskMissA.com, an e-magazine founded by DC socialite and philanthropist, Andrea Rodgers, also named one of Vogue's Top 100 most influential people. 

Enamored by Yves Saint Laurent's work, and a longtime admirer of high fashion and haute couture, seeing his designs up close and personal was a moment I will never forget. And as the granddaughter of an exceptional tailor, I have a deep understanding of the creativity and attention to detail that goes into the making of a custom garment. Although a bit fuzzy - and taken with an iPhone before its cameras were perfected - I hope you'll enjoy a few photos from my time behind the curtain, excerpts from my article, as well as a special introduction plucked from the YSL book itself. 

​As I took the number seven seat in Sharp Auditorium, the excitement was palpable. French music filled the air as I awaited the day’s celebrities, and two questions loomed – Why Denver, and is fashion art?  

Perusing the garments, each twist and turn led to an exciting new perspective. I found myself in Yves Saint Laurent’s Paris studio one moment, and in my dream closet the next.  I was particularly drawn to a short evening dress circa 1958 made of Strawberry pink faille with appliqué roses from the collection known as “Trapeze” – a design in which Yves Saint Laurent crafted for Christian Dior. ​

Another favorite – the Scandalous Collection – featuring a short evening coat made of green fox fur, and a long evening dress in black silk chiffon with ostrich feathers. I was also taken aback by an original 1972 Andy Warhol silkscreen on canvas portrait of Yves Saint Laurent – kindly loaned to the exhibition by Pierre Bergé himself. ​

​From plunging necklines, to sheer materials, raw leathers, to pinstripe pants, Yves Saint Laurent’s aesthetic is remarkably flattering and desirable, and continues to withstand the tests of time. I can only imagine what the public’s initial reactions were as they witnessed the unveiling of a new piece on the runway in decades past, such as the iconic 1967 Yves Saint Laurent pantsuit.

As observed in the introduction of the hardcover book, Yves Saint Laurent - the first comprehensive retrospective of his life’s work, which accompanied the first exhibition of some 250 garments from the collection of the Fondation Pierre Bergé–Yves Saint Laurent at the Petit Palais in Paris - Florence Müller and Farid Chenoune write:

"Yves Saint Laurent did not like to explain his work. He preferred to 'let the mystery be.' Yet few fashion designers have left such an extensive exegesis of their work. The impressive number of interviews he gave, even though he refused them in his last years, not to mention his portraits, publications, and appearances, give the impression that everything has been said, everything showed. But despite it all, the mystery remains. Who is Saint Laurent? Was he a designer for every woman or the last of the great couturiers? Did he prefer the ready-to-wear fashion of today or the haute couture of the past? Was he a lover of the classical, seeking rigor and simplicity, or of the baroque, inspired by refinement, poetry, and his own luxuriant fantasies? Did he design for democratic times or for an elite? Was his work an expression of the revolutions of his generation or a nostalgic defense of vanishing splendors? Did he want to make women strong by giving them a masculine armor or did he see them as idols on a pedestal? Was he a lover of hid kindred human beings - so keenly observed behind his spectacled shyness - or did take refuge behind a wall of pride? The magazine Marie France was asking in September of 1969, 'Has Saint Laurent Brought Haute Couture into the Street or, Verging on Genius, Has He Raised the Street to Haute Couture?'"

My only regret is not having the foresight to get Pierre Bergé and ​Florence Müller to sign my book! Hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane. You can still snag a copy of Yves Saint Laurent - one of the best coffee table books of all time - here. 

Cheers and happy reading, 

AP

Amy Puchaty is a luxury real estate writer and communications specialist whose marketing campaigns and copywriting work has appeared in numerous print and digital publications including the Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Denver Post, and Dallas Business Journal to name a few. Follow Amy at www.amypuchaty.com #AtHomeWithAmy

Keep your eyes peeled for when author (also my sister) Molly E. Lee's latest Young Adult Contemporary novel, LOVE IN THE FRIENDZONE drops Aug 14th. Praised by New York Times Bestseller Steve Berry as "the freshest voice in adventure romance" and by author Molly McAdams for writing that is both "breathtaking and emotional," Molly E. Lee does one thing and does it well - create epic stories that tug at the heartstrings.

From LOVE IN THE FRIENDZONE:

The only thing worse than not being able to tell your best friend you’re head over heels in love with him? Having to smile and nod when he enlists your help to ensnare the girl of his dreams.

Braylen didn’t even want to go to Lennon Pryor’s epic graduation-night party, but when Fynn begs her to be his “wingwoman,” she can’t deny him. Talking up her BFF—how he’s magic behind a camera, with a killer sense of humor, and eyelashes that frame the most gorgeous blue eyes in the history of forever—is easy. Supporting his efforts to woo someone so completely wrong for him? Not so much.
​
Fynn knows that grad night is his last shot to find true love before leaving for college. And thanks to Bray, he gets his chance with the beautiful Katy Evans. But over the course of the coolest party of their high school careers, he starts to see that perhaps what he really wants has been in front of him all along. Bray’s been his best friend since kindergarten, though, and he’d rather have her in his life as a friend than not at all.

Want to start reading some of Molly E. Lee's other works? Visit www.mollyelee.com and get lost in her mind-bending tales of love, loss, and adventure.