Art Festivals & Events

As the sobriquet the “King of Fashion” suggests, Yves Saint Laurent was a dominant figure in the world of 20th century fashion.
Following the sudden death of Christian Dior in 1958, Yves Saint Laurent made his brilliant debut as a designer at the House of Dior. In 1962, he launched his own brand, Yves Saint Laurent. From then until his retirement in 2002, Yves Saint Laurent revolutionized women’s clothing for nearly half a century and remained at the forefront of the international fashion scene.

This exhibition, organized with the full cooperation of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, marks the first retrospective of the designer’s works ever to be staged in Japan. Throughout his 40-year career, Yves Saint Laurent consistently devised styles with universal appeal while taking inspiration from a diverse range of cultural and historical influences. Consisting of Introduction and eleven sections, the exhibition presents a comprehensive overview of Yves Saint Laurent’s work, from his debut at Dior and the first collection that appeared under his own brand to the establishment of his own style, through 110 of the designer’s looks as well as accessories, drawings, and photographs. Please join us as we savor the world of magnificent beauty created by Yves Saint Laurent.

1. A Wealth of Some 300 Items Including Dresses Never Before Shown in Japan

The exhibition paints a complete picture of Yves Saint Laurent’s life as a designer and his creations. The displays include 110 of the designer’s haute couture looks, encompassing the changes that occurred over Yves Saint Laurent’s more than 40-year career, from the time of his stunning debut at the House of Dior in 1958 to his retirement in 2002, as well as a host of valuable documents such as drawings, photographs, and videos.

2. Universal Women’s Styles That Live on Today

Yves Saint Laurent designed garments that transcended gender images associated with clothing by, among other things, actively incorporating pants (a style that was still strongly rooted in men’s fashion in the 1960s) into women’s fashion, and creating a new kind of femininity and elegance that was in keeping with the times. In part due to becoming involved with prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) fashion in 1966, Yves Saint Laurent’s style propositions spread rapidly. With garments such as pea coats, pants suits, trench coats, and tuxedos, he garnered acclaim by modifying trailblazing forms of menswear into clothes for women. In this exhibition, we introduce Yves Saint Laurent’s universal styles, which today have become an established part of the female wardrobe.

3. Establishing Art-inspired Styles

By envisioning a fusion of art and fashion, exemplified by his Mondrian look, Yves Saint Laurent breathed new life into the traditional world of haute couture while also actively engaging in collaborations with those in various fields of art, producing stage sets for theatre pieces, ballets, and other performing arts, and costumes for films. Yves Saint Laurent’s efforts to forge a link between art and haute couture led fashion to be afforded the same value as painting, sculpture, architecture, and other forms of art. It also resulted in vibrant, body-based fashions that were inspired by art.