VMFA’s new Yves Saint Laurent exhibition to showcase art, innovation of haute couture design

The fast-paced sights and sounds of the fashion runway will come to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts beginning this Saturday with the opening of the new featured exhibition Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style. The multifaceted exhibition will continue through August 27th.

Drawn from the collection of the Paris-based Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent and other private collections, this featured exhibition offers an intimate and comprehensive look at the lifetime achievement of Saint Laurent, one of history’s most radical and influential fashion designers.

Featuring 100 examples of haute couture and ready-to-wear garments–some never shown publicly before–this exhibition reveals Saint Laurent’s artistic genius, as well as his working process, and the sources of his design inspiration. VMFA is the only East Coast venue for the exhibition, which has been organized by the Seattle Art Museum in partnership with the Paris-based Fondation.

In addition to haute couture ensembles and ready-to-wear clothing, the exhibition includes costume jewelry and other accessories, photographs, drawings, films, and video from the Fondation’s vast archive. The exhibition traces the trajectory of Saint Laurent’s style as it developed throughout the course of his career, beginning in 1953 with the “Paper Doll Couture House” that he created as a teenager, which is being shown for the first time in the United States. Ensembles early in the exhibition focus on his formative years at the House of Dior, including an example of a short evening dress from his successful “Trapeze” collection, which marked his debut as a fashion designer when it was shown in Paris in 1958.

The exhibition continues with his groundbreaking designs of the 1960s, which revolutionized the fashion industry. During this decade, Saint Laurent liberated modern women from the constraints of strict gender codes by creating clothing—such as the safari jacket, the pantsuit, and the tuxedo—which he borrowed from the male wardrobe. Visitors also will see how Saint Laurent was inspired by the work of other artists, including Piet Mondrian and Tom Wesselmann, as well as African art and ancient Greek vase painting.

Another key element of this presentation is the inclusion of production documents that offer a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative workings of the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house and the private life of the couturier. Collection boards containing sketches and color swatches from 1962 to 2002 document every Saint Laurent haute couture show, while a room of “toiles”—the forms ateliers use to create as first draft of couture garments—offers a unique look into the various stages of production and fitting before the final garment was realized. The exhibition concludes in an explosion of color with a procession of eveningwear, including garments in black silk, blue-green chiffon, and white damask, which date from the early 1970s to 2002, when Saint Laurent officially retired with his final runway collection.

“History has already cemented Yves Saint Laurent’s reputation as one of the greatest couturiers of the 20th century,” said Alex Nyerges, VMFA Director. “This remarkable exhibition presents Saint Laurent’s exquisite designs in an immersive environment that allows visitors to see firsthand the development of Saint Laurent’s style, as well as his impact on fashion, film, and popular culture.”

In celebration of the upcoming premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will host a black-tie fundraising gala on Tuesday, May 2nd. Organized by a volunteer committee led by Margaret and Sarge Reynolds and Deborah and Thomas Valentine, the gala will be hosted in museum’s galleries and event spaces. Six hundred guests will be among the first to preview the exhibition; the evening’s program also includes a seated dinner and reception. Proceeds from the gala will support the costs of the exhibition.

Tickets to the exhibition are $22 for adults; $18 for seniors; $10 for college students and children ages seven to 17. VMFA members and children six and younger are admitted free. Visitors can reserve tickets online or by phone at 804.340.1405.