The renowned fashion historian’s extraordinary personal collection of vintage pieces by the French couturier.

Introducing Hamish Bowles’ Yves Saint Laurent collection, this catalog is also the first to present work from three stages of the couturier’s career: Dior, House of Yves Saint Laurent, and the SAINT LAURENT rive gauche line.  

Bowles was only nineteen when he acquired his first Yves Saint Laurent, a 1969 evening dress, found in a London thrift store. Organized chronologically, the book’s 55 couture garments are newly photographed and accompanied by personal texts by Bowles, original sketches, archival editorial imagery, and more, gorgeously reproduced on multiple paper stocks. 

Accompanying a recent exhibition at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech, this volume is a testament to Saint Laurent’s genius, his evolution through time, and his lasting influence. For students and collectors of Yves Saint Laurent, this monographic exhibition and catalog offer a rare opportunity to see previously unpublished material and new design details, drawn exclusively from a private collection instead of the runway. The included pieces were made for some of the most fashionable women of their time, including Betty Catroux, Nan Kempner, Lynn Wyatt, and Lily Safra.