From the Archives: Yves Saint Laurent's 40-Year Rive Gauche Revolution
Fashion isn't just about trends; it's about revolutionizing the way we see and wear ourselves. Forty years ago, Yves Saint Laurent did just that with his Rive Gauche label. At 29, he had already made waves in the couture world with his youthful silhouettes, and he was ready to take on the high-end European fashion scene with an accessible, ready-to-wear collection.
"All you need to wear them is to be in the right frame of mind," he said. "It is not only a question of age...it is a question of a way of life."
In 1966, Saint Laurent debuted his first Rive Gauche ready-to-wear boutique on Paris' Left Bank, just as the fashion world was primed for change. The pivotal moment marked the rise of luxury boutique culture, and Women's Wear Daily got an exclusive look at the momentum and the shop, which was decorated in wild colors and featured a black glass entrance that opened to unexpected dark orange carpeting. The concept was very modern, and Saint Laurent's future-forward vision included a 30-piece rotating collection for all its boutiques. The clothes were sold exclusively under the Saint Laurent Rive Gauche label and offered young women a complete look from head to toe. From fabric selection to final silhouette and color, the affordable concept heralded many firsts, including the iconic "Le Smoking."
The stores became a harbinger for socializing, staying open until midnight with ten direct licensed stand-alone boutique locations launched simultaneously in France, America, and Canada. The concept was anything but conventional or classical, yet it perfectly suited the target consumer and encapsulated the spirit of the decade that revolutionized fashion forever. Everything at Rive Gauche, Saint Laurent told WWD, "was exclusive and can be launched all year round," a statement that is astonishingly familiar to today's fast-paced fashion world.
Two years later, the concept of Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, often noted as an experimental "fashion laboratory," was beyond successful. In 1969, WWD went directly to Saint Laurent for its article, "YSL: The 60s...& Beyond," where he stated his reason for developing Rive Gauche ready-to-wear: "the haute couture had to move," nothing had happened for a long time. To give its readers insight, the daily asked Saint Laurent to select 10 of his favorite silhouettes of the decade. He personally selected and illustrated 37 of his favorite looks exclusively for WWD. To fit its print layout, 16 looks were selected to pinpoint the major trends of the decade.
Highlights include the peacoat, the belted coat in cire (a high-gloss outerwear fabric), and the jersey tunic in 1962, followed by the first gypsy look in 1964. His Mondrian dress, the first in his art-inspired series, and translated for the boutiques in 1965, remains one of Saint Laurent's most influential collections. Next in the rotation was the first Midi and the leather and fur coat. In 1966, he shocked fashion with his sheer dress, the silhouette was revisited in 2006, and the first edition of his tuxedo for women -- Le Smoking, sold under the Rive Gauche label, alongside his simply chic jersey color-blocked sheath dresses.
The fervor for Rive Gauche lasted well into the 1990s, with a bevy of "It" girls, friends, and muses of the designer -- Francoise Hardy, Betty Catroux, LouLou de la Falaise, and Catherine Deneuve -- elevating the label's inevitable success. By the end of the decade, it was clear a revolution in fashion had taken place. Saint Laurent Rive Gauche boutiques evolved with fashion until Yves Saint Laurent retired in 2002. For his final bow, a retrospective show inclusive of Saint Laurent Rive Gauche looks from the 1960s were showcased in an unforgettable salute to the designer's legendary career. The label, including the couture founded by Yves Saint Laurent, was dissolved. In 2012, now owned by the Kering Group, the brand was reinstated under its current moniker "Saint Laurent." Led by then creative director Hedi Slimane, the brand continues to evolve many of the innovative elements and spirit that started a fashion revolution 40 years ago.
Explore Saint Laurent Rive Gauche's early years through Fairchild Archives images in the gallery linked to this article.
