Customer Reviews

Yves Saint Laurent - His Life and Times/5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The 2nd movie (5 Ave Marceau) is a behind-the-scenes look at the creation and development of YSL's 2001 spring-summer couture collection. For fans of the rarified world of haute couture, we get to see the design process from sketch to toile to final preparation of dresses with all the minute and perfectionist adjustments made to hems, linings, collars, flounces etc. YSL's regular house models are featured including the evergreen Amalia. His muse Loulou de la Falaise Klossowski and also Anne Marie Munoz are there by his side to give their opinions and support. For once we also get to see his chiefs of ateliers working out his sketches and trying to come up with creations that match what he dreams of. It's a hushed temple of design with everyone contributing to the final designs. We get to see how fabrics are draped and chosen, decisions on embroidery, how the style of the model's walk can affect the design, how some colours or fabrics are rejected and replaced; successful creations are paraded by the house models in front of YSL and others and greeted by cries of "ravishing", "beautiful!" and "sensational". I only wish that the 1hour plus movie was even longer. There's only a little snippet of the actual fashion show tacked onto the end of the movie but that's not really the point of the movie. The style of filming is slightly distanced - we observe the team observing the designs and sort of listen into their conversations. Totally recommended if you love couture and love YSL. In French with accurate English sub-titles.

Yves Saint Laurent is one of the greatest French fashion designers and his work has been raved and worned by fans worldwide. In this 2.5 hrs long documentary, we get to have more intimate look at the life and career of genius through the changes of more than 4 decades in the fashion world. With segments devoted to his fashion shows, and interviews on him as well as on others(influential fashion people) ultimately revealed more about the man behind the glamorous haute coutures.

It's very captivating to see how he became Dior's apprentice at 17 and when Dior died, he took over the job at the age of 21, with a debut show that dazzled the world. Eventually, he resigned from Dior, and just when everyone thought he was making a mistake, he launched his own label and started a smaller couture house of his own, and the result was astonishing as his first YSL collection became a hit. His work was especially adorned by divas like Catherine Deneuve, and even Jackie O.

I especially enjoyed watching him talk about himself in terms of family, love, career, and creativity. "I never plan what I draw, it just comes to me, and I have no vision of it". is one of the more interesting things I learned about him. He also openly talked about his passion for couture and resends ready-to-wear. He loved Chanel and Piccaso, and Balenciaga. He preferred Black models, because the colours of the dresses looked better on them and they have fabulous bodies......

The first part of the movie is finished at halfway, and followed by a complete domcumentary on behind the scenes of the preparation of a collection; from illustration to fabrics, toile fittings, to fancy embriodery work, to final fitting. He sits in a room, while his team makes his dream(designs) come true, and they have a model wearing the newly finished piece to let him critique the work. The head of his assistant would say,"Merci Monsieur!" if it turned out to be the way he imagined it.....

The second part is probably more interesting and worthwhile watching if you are into studying fashion, otherwise you might find it somewhat long and slow to watch the fittings and sewings take place. Well, at least you'll understand why couture is outlandishly expensive.

Having been in the fashion world for more than two decades, this DVD is the best example of what the Couture World is all about, perhaps a vanishing art but Yves was one of the last great real couture designers and this movie demonstrates that to the best ability. For anyone interested in Fashion and art in general, this is perhaps one of the most interesting documents on how the true couture work, men and women with true dedication to the art of drapping and hand work that produces the small miracles in beadwork, and all elements that made a couture garment different from any other. True understanding of the way a dress should look and how it flows like air. I recommend it highly to anyone going into the fashion world or already in the fashion world.

Having completed my undergraduate work in Clothing and Textiles (eons ago), I still crave watching the masters create. The skill of Saint Laurent, Blass, Givenchy, and Chanel among others will never be rivaled.

Although I watch Project Runway and against my better judgment, The Fashion Show, this video of the life and magic of Saint Laurent sparked my desire to once again drag out the dress form, cutting table, and 20 year old sewing machine, and create.

Inspiration is gained by watching on the masters seek perfection in design and detail.

There have been many designers that have shaped the world of fashion through the years: Balenciaga, Dior, Chanel. But the one who created the many looks still worn today is YSL. The tuxedo look for women, the Safari jacket, color blocking(Mondrian dress), the peasant look. All designed by him.
This documentary is divided into two parts: His first years growing up in Algiers, his move to Paris and his beginnings working for Dior, and then heading the House after Dior's passing when he was just 21. The second part takes place at his atelier, almost 50 years later, working on his collection. You get to see the man at work, bringing his sketches to life, a change here a change there, and the people that help him bring it to reality. You hear him talk, move, answer questions, talk about his life, his acomplishments. You get to see a man who, in spite of who he is, is humble and totally dedicated to his craft. It's about the design, the clothes, the women who wear them, not the fame or the money or the accolades. His friends are also interviewed (Betty Catroux for one), and his mother.
And talk about the reverence, the total respect the people that work for him have for this man. They are dedicated to him, to help him achieve his vision.

I love fashion and the power it has to change the way you feel about yourself and how you present yourself to the world. I bought this DVD to better understand the process of designing and the man himself, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. If you love fashion as much, you'll enjoy it too.

This engrossing documentary give us a glimpse into an exquisite world of haute couture that no longer exists. The first part of the film is biographical; we learn about Saint Laurent's happy childhood and his early years in Paris. The film moves at a slower pace than most contemporary documentaries; but that's what gives it its charm. The second half of the film shows the day to day activities of his fashion house as Laurent prepares for the 2001 season and it's extraordinary to see the dresses take shape under his direction. It's a stately, dignified way of life that's gone forever.

This DVD is a wonderful documentary on the life of the most influential fashion designers ever to live. It documents so many various levels of the fashion world and really gives you an insight not only into his amazing life, but truly into the world of fashion. It's a must have for any YSL fan and a must have for anyone who loves fashion and the art that is fashion. Yves Saint Laurent was a man like no other and he will always be remembered as one of the most fabulous men to ever live and grace the every changing world of haute couture and pret-a-porter. Buy this DVD, trust me, you wont regret it and you will tresure it as much as I have and always will.

The DVD wasn't as good as I expected. St. Laurent talked about his life, but did not show many garments. I expected a runway show of some of his creations, but didn't get one. I wouldn't buy it again.

Now I can chuck out my grainy VHS tape. I was never that interested in YSL's designs but I can appreciate that he was genuinely talented and more importantly, genuinely FRENCH. I liked how much affection his friends had for him. That was very nice to see. The funniest thing is not that YSL designed women's clothing to fit his body but that only women of his tribe and Anthony Bourdain/Eric Ripert could wear his clothes. I'd like to see Christian Lacroix documentaries because he's the one I really like and I think he's the real deal too.

I loved this DVD. Not only is it on a fashion designer and his business that I've admired, but it goes through the bits and pieces a business must go through to bring a line of clothing to fruition. I will watch it many times.