The press, which saw in him the only legitimate heir to the great tradition of French haute couture, could not forgive him for the square shoulders, knee-length skirts, and platform shoes, which were reminders of the years of deprivation and restriction through which most of them had lived. Their articles unanimously condemned the fashion faux pas of a designer “who was nostalgic for this period ... and whose excuse was not having known it”1.
Olivier Saillard

The “Liberation” collection caused fashion to come crashing into contemporary history.

It brought down the walls separating haute couture from ready-to-wear and relegated the terms of elegance to the realm of past considerations. The 1971 collection also marked a shift in Yves Saint Laurent’s trajectory. It was the manifesto of a designer who now wanted to be the arbiter of ambiguity. It was a rough draft of the maturity to come.

Retrospective in its inspiration, it placed the historical exercise at the heart of the creative process in a new and different setting. Providing the carbon paper for the “retro” fashions that were about
to sweep across the second half of the twentieth century, the 1971 collection was the mirror that chased a disappearing world from its frame in order to welcome the reflection of a new generation.
Olivier Saillard

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
Yves Saint Laurent 1971 : la collection du scandale
Éditions Flammarion, 176 pages, 30 €
Preface: Pierre Bergé
Texts: Olivier Saillard, Alexandre Samson, Dominique Veillon
 
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