Grace Kelly and Yves Saint Laurent, the beautiful and the damned. Some post-mortem analogies.

The American Princess

Grace Kelly, the American princess, the actress, the fashion icon, an utterly good-looking offspring and a doomed cruel fate. We have seen her, loved her styled by Givenchy in 'Rear Window' and at least once dreamed to be her.

The movie 'Grace of Monaco' starring Nicole Kidman will premiere at Cannes Film Festival, how fabulous and geographically appropriate, right? The picture perfect novel is screeched by the news that the royals of Monaco, the Ranieri, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will not be in attendance. Prince Albert has spoken: the character of his father has been 'vilified' to paraphrase.

While we are anxious to watch the movie, see Nicole Kidman's performance

The French artist

Yves Saint Laurent and his troubled and dark life are the subject of two movies. When one life and a bigger than life legacy cause controversy and debacle.

Yves Saint Laurent vs. Saint Laurent

Corporate battle? With the first being blessed, approved and authorized by Pierre Berge' and the latter fought, threatened to be banned by the designer's long-time partner. We have read YSL's bio by Alice Rawsthorn, his Voguepedia profile and watched the documentary on Netflix on numerous rainy Sunday afternoons.

Fact is that now that the new creative director, Hedi Slimane, has taken bold decisions and veered the direction of the brand far from where Stefano Pilati had aimed and eons away from the artist's world [told ys the opinions are mine], we, and by 'we' here I mean us, fashion world, not 'we the people' have risen our antennas ET style.

A series of questions arise:

What took Monsieur Berge' to take the biased decision? 'I will give access to the archives and my personal approval to one and not the other one.'
Are we really even sure that we are going to be able to see the movies in the US? [usually when movies are so controversial they are shushed in our beloved America]
If so, when? May is one, the 'blessed' one, but how about the black sheep?
Why, if the company's name has been officially changed by Slimane to Saint Laurent with Monsieur Berge' approval, the title of the authorized YSL sealed movie is called Yves Saint Laurent?

Some numbers and curiosities:

seventy-seven is the number of outfits lent from the headquarters and each of them hand delivered by one handler
'conditio sine qua non' to borrow the garments was that the Fondation Pierre Berge - Yves Saint Laurent would choose models, hair and make-up ... talking about micro-managing
Pierre Niney, the actor impersonating the designer, was allowed to wear the glasses that Saint Laurent used to wear (I mean the same frame). He looked so identical that the dog, the very one dog that the couple used to have though he had found his lost owner.

Analogies?

They were both talented gracious souls.

He had this noir halo that persecuted him, in other words what it is called a troubled soul. She had a noir fate persecuting her.

We lost them too early: we needed more of them ...

There's only one thing to do: wait and devour [the movies when they come out].

Because we can now that it’s over. And, provided that I haven’t attended one show in person, I have been an observer, a stalker, a live-stream junkie and a compulsive WWD.com addict.

The most iconic maisons of times past, French most of them, have lost their eponymous heads, genius, revolutionary minds. It’s the inevitable and cruel tic-tac-tic-tac clock of life. At the current state of affairs, their creative helms are in the hands of someone playing multifaceted roles, an impersonator expected to swim and dig into the legacy, follow the traces, hold the reins and keep tracing the path to come. The same impersonator is to talk to clients, fans and media with the same language as the founder.

The DNA of a brand is elusive, impalpable alas visually enthralling.

I mean nobody is stranger to Coco’s camellia, unfinished tweeds and boiler hat? Not even who lives in suburban South Florida and does groceries at the gas station.

For the most sophisticated and fashion fanatics, we all had at least one dream in which we were wearing the white gown embroidered with black flowers that Givechy designed for Audrey in Sabrina? Yes, gloves included.

The Gucci’s horse bit or the Roberta di Camerino’s Bagonghi bag may be now must-haves for a restricted niche, but for Italians of generation Y they bring us back to … why fashion is in our threads (pun intended).

Courege’s palazzo pants, the bias cut of Madame Vionnet, the bold surrealism of Elsa Schiaparelli they are for those crazy fashion historians (and fashion history vultures).

How about Christian Dior? Mon Dieu, it was a painful saga with un-smoothened angles, although the house has a new tenant, Mr. Simons, whose minimalistic sense of style and upbringings redefined its basements.

We wish we could feel the same way about Balenciaga and its golden days, all the way back when Oscar de la Renta was an apprentice in Madrid. The bubble dress and the square coat that gave Balenciaga the praise of the press have been substituted within the collective imagination by Gesquiere’s over saturation of motorcycle bags. Alexander Wang is eulogized by bloggers and honestly doing his own thing for the new customers.

Same thing with ~~Yves~~ Saint Laurent, new logo and name cut off by Hedi Slimane. Givan at The Cut gave him already her piece of mind (and a little more). I am not there to send him to the grave, overall, I am sitting at home and he’s the head of the house, But I can openly speak my mind and join the no Hedi team.

Some order must be made, what makes you a sinner or a winner? It’s just a question: do you think that ________ [fill in with the designer of your choice] will roll in his grave or pat you in the back?

Without going through painful details, we have drawn the line between failure and gods, heaven and hell by adding consecutive images of original/impersonators and let your minds cogitate.

Images speak more words at times, so you got an idea at where we stand.

Have something to say? D’love to hear if we are on the same train of thoughts …