While all of Paris was dressing up in clothes that were enamored with frills, Yves Saint Laurent, age 26, took it upon himself to establish raw, almost utilitarian lines. The most important thing was no longer the proactive perfection of an envisaged body, but to make it so beautiful that it was naked. Inspired by the emblematic uniform of the French Navy, the first “essential” garment from Saint Laurent would be the peacoat. As a sort of manifesto of the attention of an era that forced women to stop wearing pants. Exempt of all sensuality, the peacoat was in his eyes the balance of the entire being: the masculine/feminine, an androgynous and innocent woman. More than that, the peacoat laid the foundations for a meeting between haute couture and present times, realism and the knowing prestige of the imagination.
Far from conventions, he preserved the peacoat’s solid, warm, and comfortable aspects. With its navy blue shade, he created a new harmony, wielding the piece’s masculine allure through the use of golden buttons and braids. By using male codes, he gave women the audacity, the assurance, and the power where Chanel brought them liberty of movement. But he gave them an ample cut, and here the peacoat immediately perfected femininity through a different angle: by transforming individuality into personality. Far from fashionable taste, Yves Saint Laurent invented an attitude, a type of clothing that was conducive to any interpretation. Turned urban, the peacoat definitively fit into Saint Laurent’s vocabulary when he dedicated a whole new part of his collection to the “sailor” theme in the summer of ’66. He imagined it to be accompanied by a hat and a golden anchor brooch; potentially more adjusted, the peacoat could also become a tailored dress in a marine wool in just one afternoon’s time. Thereby, the brand circulated the idea that a well-dressed woman was well-dressed because she was able to match her clothes with her personality.
Since that collection, the peacoat has been endlessly revisited. After being chosen by Serge Gainsbourg, James Dean, and Marianne Faithfull, it’s risen up to the ranks of a classic, to the ranks of a timeless piece that’s been able to reinvent itself. In 2001, it kept its wool, its lines became shorter, less ample. But it still conserved the essence that made it a success: muted luxury.
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