POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Womens outfit by Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche

Object No. 2003/99/1

This outfit by Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche was selected for the Grand/Marnier Powerhouse Museum Fashion of the Year 2002 program. Established in 1991 this annual project draws together a panel of discerning fashion commentators and Powerhouse Museum representatives to select the designers, outfits and accessories that represent some of the year's most influential fashion themes and trends. Drawn from the ready-to-wear collections of international and Australian designers the selection enters the Museum's permanent collection ensuring that the Powerhouse Museum develops and maintains a well-considered collection of contemporary fashion. The advisory panel for 2002 included an impressive array of experts from the Australian fashion industry including: Kirstie Clements, Editor and Gabriele Mihajlovski, Fashion Director, Vogue Australia, Jane de Teliga, Style and Fashion Director, The Australian Women's Weekly. Alison Veness-McGourty, Editor and Jane Roarty, Fashion Director, Harper's Bazaar; as well as representatives from the Powerhouse Museum, Deputy Director Jennifer Sanders and Glynis Jones, Assistant Curator, decorative arts and design. The fashion house of Yves Saint Laurent was established in Paris in 1962 by Yves Saint Laurent. He had been head designer at the House of Dior and had already earned a reputation as one of France's outstanding designers. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Yves Saint Laurent led Europes most influential and innovative fashion house. Some of his most memorable designs included pantsuits for women inspired by menswear and some extraordinary collections based on the Ballet Russes, African, Chinese and Russian dress. Texas-born Tom Ford studied architecture and design at Parsons School of Design in New York. He worked for the American fashion house of Perry Ellis before moving to Milan as womenswear designer for Gucci. In 1994 Ford was made chief designer and creative director for Gucci, a role he excelled in as he pushed Gucci back to the forefront of fashion. As creative director he reinvigorated the label creating clothes that were in keeping with the Gucci label's established image. When the Gucci Group acquired the French YSL label in 2000, Ford was once again called upon to reinterpret an established fashion label. Given the reputation of the YSL fashion house for producing beautiful clothes and Tom Ford's precocious talents and success at Gucci, there was much fashion media interest in Fords design's for the YSL ready-to-wear range. Although his first collection was considered disappointing, the second one was celebrated as an outstanding success and subsequent collections have established him as a fashion visionary and astute businessman. This outfit was selected from the Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Autumn/Winter 2002-03 collection. The YSL media release for the collection stated 'At Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, the moment has arrived for a return to elegance. "This is the time to be chic, to wear really beautiful clothes", says Tom Ford. Inspired by French style-18th-century Baroque in particular-he has produced a collection of extreme opulence that twists such icons of French fashion as lace, bows and billowing sleeves and elevates these to a new level of modernity'. The collection was very feminine and sophisticated with interesting sleeve and bow detailing, Transparent fabrics, seductively laced blouses and a predominantly black palette gave it a darkly romantic mood. The fashion media loved it, not only because it was so rich and beautiful but also because it introduced a completely new fashion trend which stood in stark contrast to the dressed down, loose fitting hippy chic looks that had dominated the catwalks.