(All about Yves: Inside an Unmissable fashion film)
It was a really, really good film which I enjoyed watching and helped me a lot through my research of his brand. It helped me to understand better the circumstances of his life, what inspired him and mainly how a great designer conceives his pieces of art. It gave me a better insight about his vision and also about the brand vision, because YSL is not only about luxury clothing and accessories but about a certaint lifestyle too, which I think that it's reflected in their ethos, in their brand philosophy.
It gave me a better idea of how the photography and make-up should look like if I had to work for them to reflect the YSL style. Now I am thinking of creating a design that should inspire luxury, desire, romanticism while preserving the mistery of a luxurious lifestyle that not everybody can afford or even bear. Because being an artist is far from being an easy "job".
However, I think that the best way to describe this film as a production is by reffering to those who know how to review one, because I am not that good at speaking about films in general, so here's an article from Vogue about it which I really liked:
"Living with Yves Saint Laurent was not easy, says Guillaume Gallienne, who plays his long-term partner, Pierre Bergé, in a new biopic about the designer. Gallienne lost nearly a stone in the two months that it took to shoot the film, which hits cinemas on March 21.
"It consumed me," Gallienne told us. "That's what I said to Pierre after shooting, 'How did you manage?' He said, 'I was in love. And imagine, it lasted 50 years for me.' I said, 'Dear God.' They loved each other for what they were and not what they wanted the other person to be."
The French film, directed by Jalil Lespert, stars Pierre Niney in the title role and chronicles the designer's legendary career - from the 22-year-old creative director of the house of Dior (Christian Dior instructed the then fledgling designer to succeed him before he died), to the creative mastermind behind one of the most influential and enduring fashion brands in history, changing the way that women dress forever. It is unflinchingly candid, never shying away from the darker side of Saint Laurent's personality. The designer - who is portrayed as fashion's version of Van Gogh - was tormented by mental illness and suffered from manic depression his whole life, making him angry, reclusive, volatile and self-destructive. Bergé, his partner in both business and love, acted as his rock amid the madness.
"Yves was really smart and lucid," said Niney. "Daily things were tough and violent for him. That's where his inspiration and creation came through, but he couldn't handle that. He saw immediately in Pierre the strength that he didn't have. So they were necessary for each other."
"In a letter Pierre wrote to Yves, he told him, 'You brought me poetry; you made me touch; you gave me access to something that I've never felt before,'" added Gallienne. "Yves would fall in love with a piece of art and then he'd buy it because it moved him. But having to take a chequebook out and pay for it… he couldn't understand that, not for a snobby reason, but he would think, 'I'm having such a beautiful moment, don't interrupt me.' Pierre would then be behind him, would pay for it and then get a 20 per cent discount."
The film features many of Saint Laurent's contemporaries, from his muses and collaborators - such as Betty Catroux and the late Loulou de la Falaise - to designer friends including Karl Lagerfeld, documenting the wilder, perhaps lesser-known aspects of their lifestyles. Debauched parties are thrown with Andy Warhol, boyfriends are stolen, drugs are taken and fights are drunkenly fought - it's hedonism to the extreme, but with unromanticised consequences. Although Niney admits that some creative liberties were taken, he spent five months researching his character - talking to the people who knew Saint Laurent the most in order to accurately recreate both his physicality and mentality.
"I spoke to Betty and she was amazing," said Niney. "She didn't avoid any taboos, the drugs, the partying, the cocaine, the alcohol. She talked so easily about Yves it was like he'd gone to the toilet and would be back any minute. I didn't meet Karl, although we were supposed to - it was question of schedule. It's very sensitive and one has to respect people's shyness."
The biopic is one of two films about the designer being released this year; the other, directed by Bertrand Bonello, stars former Chanel muse Gaspard Ulliel as Saint Laurent and Léa Seydoux as Loulou de la Falaise. Bergé has been famously critical towards Bonello's interpretation and has threatened to sue if they use unauthorised copies of the designer's work. However, the businessman, who occasionally still attends the label's shows (he is a big supporter of current creative director Hedi Slimane), has praised Lespert's film, which moved him to tears - such was Niney's striking resemblance to his former lover. He worked very closely with Niney, opening up the YSL archives and allowing the use of original pieces, and was very open about how he dealt with Saint Laurent's illness.
"I couldn't switch off and it wasn't easy," said Niney, who wasn't aware of Saint Laurent's legacy before shooting. "I didn't see my friends or family during shooting; I switched my phone off. I worked with medical professionals. I hope people can appreciate the sadness, the tragedy, but also the positive message - Yves went through his life never being able to deal with happiness, but he turned his suffering into new inventions, new creations for women. He managed to make women around the world happy even if he couldn't be."
"It's the first time in my life I have been moved by a dress," continued Gallienne. "You come out of the film realising that art is not only in museums; that is what Yves would be happiest with if he was able to see this. He brought art to the streets because he decided that women should be masterpieces; they could be a Mondrian, they could be Picassos, they could be avant-garde Ballets Russes beauties. That's his gift."(All about Yves: Inside an Unmissable fashion film)
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