Yves Saint Laurent questioned the traditional representation of the genders—establishing him as a revolutionary even as that debate continues today.
As sexual roles began to blur in the 1960s, he saw the possibility of a disruptive new form of seduction, and he created a new identity more complex than the usual opposition between masculine and feminine. In 1966, he created the first version of the Tuxedo, “Le Smoking,” and feminized it by pairing it with an organdy blouse with a soft bow. This challenged the customary codes of evening wear, which at the time were low-cut evening gowns for women and tuxedos for men. Offered in the brand’s first boutique in Paris, the Tuxedo caused a “shopping frenzy” and became the “it” item of the year, according to the exhibition catalogue, Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style.
The play between masculine and feminine is seen in other Saint Laurent garments that borrow from menswear: the Autumn-Winter 1963 motorcycle jacket, the Autumn-Winter 1967 pantsuit inspired by film noir gangsters, the trench coat drawn from British World War I officers, and the jumpsuit, the uniform of aviators.
The exploration of fashion that transcends gender culminated in the redesign of the safari jacket, inspired by big game hunters of France’s colonial past. In an emblematic photograph from 1969, Saint Laurent and Betty Catroux stand together, wearing nearly identical safari jackets that express their own new gender. Worn with thigh-high boots, Catroux exemplifies rock and roll, while Saint Laurent adopts an androgynous pose. Saint Laurent proposed that men concede part of their virility to women and that women accept men’s feminine side.
The exhibition closes at VMFA on August 27, 2017.