Yves Saint Laurent: Ironic Logomania

Godfrey Deeny Fri Oct 5, 4:37 PM ET

Paris - In a season bereft of logos on catwalks throughout Europe, it was a shock to see a regiment of YSL insignia on the house's catwalk Thursday evening, even if the emblem was treated with a large dose of irony throughout.

Emblazoned onto a cool gray cashmere sweatshirt, partially hidden as the pattern of a jet-black, dimpled trench or, most spectacularly, used in a racy metallic vest, the YSL signature was the leit motif of the show, even as Pilati subverted the logo.

The three letters were a metaphor for Stefano Pilati's reign as Saint Laurent's creative director, which has been a delicate balancing act between deference and subversion.

"Let's be honest my job at Saint Laurent has been to respect the house and all it stands for while at the same time tearing it down," the lithe and ever dandy Pilati told FWD post show.

This highly tailored spring summer 2008 collection also stood way apart from the whole Milan and Paris seasons. In a moment of florid abandon and dreamy nature fabrics, Pilati did not show any prints. And in a month when designers dress women for picnics and fantasy balls, Pilati attired them for chic urban living.

The key colors were midnight blue and black, best exemplified by an absolute stunner of a black dress worn by Lily Donaldson, the best single lesson in draping anywhere this season. Pilati's time at YSL has also been marked by his growing sophistication as a technician – the manner in which he managed to pucker several dresses in an imitation again of the logo was uncanny.

Pilati's own term for his style, "post minimalism," at that moment seemed more than apt.

Stefano's other big plus is his ability to meld art and artifice, fashion and formalism. His staging, for example, was impeccable; as Belgium producer Etienne Russo turned the Grand Palais into a wonderful art installation, where the huge interior space was illuminated by eight 12-foot diameter helium balloons, with the audience perched on cleverly padded all gray bleachers. That said, we were so far from the clothes binoculars would have been useful.

His other obsession was the star, which burst over silvery satin dresses, necklaces and belts.

One could quibble and note that the collection was a tad autumnal, with oodles of jackets and warm, loose pants. However, the tulip hemmed, occasionally truncated, every so often bat-winged jackets were all so well cut and tailored, it would be a minor complaint.

In a word it was the classiest act of the Paris season, and a sardonic counterpoint to the fantasies currently gripping European runways.

Stars sparkle on and off catwalk

By Kerstin Gehmlich Fri Oct 5, 7:55 AM ET

PARIS (Reuters) - Golden stars and large sequins sparkled from dresses at Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent as designers Karl Lagerfeld and Stefano Pilati presented youthful collections for two of France's most established fashion labels.

Staying true to a fashion house's legacy is a tricky business for designers, who have to add their own edge to a label while remaining faithful to the brand's history.

Italy's Pilati carries a lot of weight on his shoulders at Yves Saint Laurent, where he was appointed in 2004. Lagerfeld, approaching 70, is used to the task, having designed for Chanel for more than 20 years.

On Friday, the German designer brought out models in Chanel's trademark tweed jackets, but worn over long shifting dresses covered in stars or combined with tight denim skirts.

"Chanel -- to me that's just haute couture," supermodel Claudia Schiffer said at the show for spring-summer 2008 collections, adding that she still liked to wear Chanel outfits that dated back 10 or 20 years.

Schiffer and other front row guests including actress Kirsten Dunst and singers Lily Allen and Courtney Love watched as models presented sporty striped V-neck tops and light pastel-colored blouses held at the waist by a black ribbon. One girl wore a small leather wallet attached to her ankle.

"Coco Chanel was the spokeswoman of the modern woman," Lagerfeld said of the label's founder, who died in 1971. "(The brand) continues to incarnate the development of the modern woman," he said backstage. "(Now) it's up to me to lift people up into the stars."

SPARKLING STARS AT YSL

At Yves Saint Laurent, Pilati presented models in sleek oversized vests, parading them out beneath giant white balloons in Paris's glass-roofed Grand Palais exhibition hall.

French actress Catherine Deneuve said Pilati had respected Laurent's inheritance while adding a new edge to the label.

"He has done the impossible thing," she told Reuters at his show late on Thursday, in which Pilati showed high-waisted fuchsia skirts and tunic-style dresses covered with stars.

"He is bowing to the spirit of what Yves Saint Laurent did. He got into the job with a lot of modesty," she said.

The bespectacled Saint-Laurent, born in 1936, ruled the French fashion scene from the age of 21 until his retirement in 2002. This year, he was awarded the title of Great Officer in the Legion of Honor.

Pilati, born in 1965, sent out a girl in a tight knee-length skirt covered in triangular-shaped sequins in pink and turquoise. Other models presented dresses cut close to the body around the shoulders and the front but floating out in the back.

"When I think of Yves Saint Laurent, I think of dark elegance," burlesque artist Dita von Teese said at the show. "It's very special what (Pilati) has done. He's staying true to the brand but also brings new life to it."