“I suddenly became aware of the female body. I started to converse with the woman and to become aware of what a modern woman is”. Yves Saint Laurent doesn’t fashion any woman for his clothes, but rather dedicates his compositions and offers his creations to the woman. His sources of inspiration are inexhaustible. Crossing artistic, genre, and identity borders, his style is universal and timeless.
When he opened his first boutique Saint Laurent Rive Gauche in 1967, he dedicated his first collection to the “safari look”: clothing made of raffia and linen, adorned with wooden and glass beads, all offered to the female body. It was within this movement that he dreamed up the safari jacket one year later. Directly inspired by the uniform by military troops in Africa, the safari jacket was cut like a vague men’s shirt. A simple cotton coat in appearance, it metamorphoses into a comfortable, practical, and elegant tunic. Super feminine, it’s belted at the waist by bronze links, and its provocative décolleté is unlaced down to the navel with beige cords. Four patched pockets with gussets and flaps show up on the front, two on the chest, and two on the hips. During the photo shoot in the Central African Republic, the jacket-tunic was captured for the first time through the lens of Franco Rubertelli on the sculptural silhouette of model Verushka. A veritable praise to a new brand of seduction, she evokes the female warriors of Greek mythology.
For this summer 2013, Hedi Slimane is bringing this iconic piece to the next level. He translates and interprets the safari jacket into a feminine maxi-dress, inspired by evening dresses. Elegance incarnated, it could espouse the long body of a sylph. Suede gives this garment a sophisticated feline allure, and an exclusive “second skin” effect. The safari jacket 2013 is more couture than the original, thanks to its materials and cut. Camel replaces the sand color from before, affirming the sensual nature of a great tan. The four pockets are still present and accounted for, while the belt has been granted a few buckles. The new Amazonian is modern and eternal all at the same time, bequeathed with the sensuality of a Roman statue, of a vestal virgin. Transported into her own urban context, she sensuously shows off a wide-brimmed hat, composed with a masculine base and mixed with a sunbonnet brim from the 70s. This is the gateway to the era that Hedi Slimane is making reference to, justifying the comeback of the iconic Saint Laurent wardrobe in doing so.
Leave a Reply