Yves Saint Laurent and the Rive Gauche
French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent started up his self-titled fashion house Yves Saint Laurent in 1961. It was the first couture house to launch the concept of a luxury ready-to-wear collection with the first YSL prêt-a-porter collection Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Famous for pioneering the classic tuxedo suit for women, Le Smoking and popularising thigh-high boots, safari jackets and the beatnik look, the French fashion brand underwent a massive change and re-branded the YSL company as Saint Laurent Paris.
Saint Laurent Paris Glasses
With Hedi Slimane being appointed as creative director of the brand in 2012 Saint Laurent took back to its roots in a bold yet controversial move. The vintage-inspired and full of French “flavour” eyewear collection also follows the Saint Laurent Paris style. Exciting retro shapes and a wider variety of colours/patterns include cat-eye frames, traditional spotted havana colours and brushed wood frame effects. Some of the older YSL Saint Laurent glasses have a combination of textures i.e. black matte frame arms with a black glossy frame. The play between colours and textures makes the frame look modern and playful yet still keeping that sophisticated aura.