For Yves Saint Laurent, photography was more than documentation — it was a tool for transformation.
The International Center of Photography is taking a closer look at the life and career of Yves Saint Laurent. The designer is the focus of the New York center’s upcoming exhibition, “Yves Saint Laurent and Photography,” which opens June 11.
The exhibition highlights the relationship between fashion and photography, but specifically the role that photography played in shaping Yves Saint Laurent’s career and creative approach over four decades, from 1968 until his last runway show in 2002.
“ It was so obvious how important photography was in his life; it was undeniable. You could see that it was pouring out of every aspect of his career and in his life,” says Nastasia Alberti, deputy head of collections and head archivist at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris. “He really cared about his image. He played with it, and his image was a massive part of how he constructed his career.”
Models from the spring 1966 haute couture collection. Published in
Harper’s Bazaar, March 1966. © James Moore © Yves Saint Laurent
© James Moore © Yves Saint Laurent/Courtesy of the International Center of Photography
Alberti curated the exhibition in collaboration with Clémentine Cuinet, head of photographic collections at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, and guest curator Simon Baker.
Over 300 photo-related archival materials — personal letters, magazines, contact sheets — from the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris will be on display, alongside photography taken by Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, Steven Meisel, Guy Bourdin, Horst P. Horst, Andy Warhol and others. Iconic high fashion imagery includes Horst’s “Mainbocher Corset” photograph, from Saint Laurent’s personal collection, advertising campaigns and editorials, casual backstage photography from his runway shows, as well as images from his social life in Paris and beyond.
Cocktail dresses known as “Homage to Pop Art,” fall 1966 haute couture collection. Published in Life magazine, September 1966 © Jean-Claude Sauer (All rights reserved)
Courtesy of the International Center of Photography
“ It’s very much a dialogue around photography with Yves Saint Laurent as a person, but also Yves Saint Laurent the artist,” says Alberti. “And the importance of photography through who he was as a person, who he was as an artist, and his house of couture.”
The exhibition follows previous iterations of the exhibition in Europe, with updates made for the New York setting. The curatorial team added photographs that haven’t been shown before, taken during splashy nightlife events and opening parties held in the city and beyond.
“Yves Saint Laurent and Photography” will be on view at ICP through Sept. 28.
