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Yves Saint Laurent’s Mannish Femmes

Paris enjoyed another bona fide fashion moment Monday, March 9, courtesy of the maison of Yves Saint Laurent, with a super sophisticated mannish fall 2009 collection that seemed two steps ahead of 95 percent of everything else we have seen in the past month on both sides of the pond.

With designers grappling with the whole new financial paradigm and swerving between creating serious “investment” clothes and disco dancing dreams, it was stimulating, invigorating even, to see these latest clothes by YSL’s creative director Stefano Pilati.

Created in black, chalk-stripe and various hues of industrial gray, the collection was a cerebrally chic response to the new realities.

And while clearly in step with the whole YSL oeuvre, the collection was highly contemporary, in particular in its fabrics. Pilati worked with auto makers, using materials more normally used in high-end cars in some remarkable bomber jackets or posh motorcycle looks that were a fresh take on tough chic.

There was an executive feel to many of the opening looks, with mannish lady bosses in to-the-knee skirts, and broad lapel jackets all in chalk-stripe, yet one that did not hide their sensuality. So his next CEO came out in a borrowed-from-the-boyfriend oversized jacket paired with a mini and a Gattaca-style, patent leather spike-heeled platforms. Coming in a season when Saint Laurent's CEO Valerie Hermann announced that the house had finally made it into the black after a half decade of financial losses, the show trumpeted the whole YSL renaissance.

Pilati changed gears one third through, attiring his female patricians in “architectural” white blouses, the sort of self-assured look that was multi-functional and plausible at business meeting, art gallery openings or after hours.

“Masculine, Saint Laurent, independent, oh, and indie!” laughed Pilati backstage, as Kanye West and Claudia Schiffer posed for photos, before he slipped into his private den for a Marlboro light, the one smoking space in the Palais de Tokyo, the modern museum where the show was staged.

Oh, and by the way, it’s official, Pilati is the best stylist in fashion. Practically every designer in the world has a stylist - they are the people who create a fashion vision for editorial shoots in magazines, and help designers edit their shows - but possibly the two most noted exceptions who don't use stylists are Giorgio Armani and Pilati.

Pilati is in a period where his runway antenna seems flawless. From the chignon hairstyles capped with black leather knots to the bee stung lipstick and pale makeup, these models looked, well, perfect. And, his choice of soundtrack, sections of pianist Keith Jarrett’s Bremen Concert and chunks of Alice Coltrane, lent the event the drama and gravity it merited.

But the highlight of the show was the finale, where Pilati re-worked Saint Laurent’s most famous contribution to fashion, the tuxedo.

Made in Stefano’s auto accessory materials, these peplum hemmed, curvy shouldered, padded looks were the must-have of the week. In short, a fashion home run from a mega hitter.

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