YSL Rive Gauche: Tom Ford Goes Romantic
Written by: Godfrey Deeny
Photos by Gruber-FWD
PARIS, Jan 29, 2002/ FWD/ --- It was by any standard a pretty impressive recovery.
Precisely 27 hours after Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche called off its men’s catwalk show when
high winds threatened its black-box tent structure, the house staged a polished presentation in
its Ave George V headquarters.
"Romantic," was how designer Tom Ford summed up the collection, which was all about idyllic cool
luxury.
Ford opened with a raincoat cut like a dressing gown that looked utterly fresh, then paired
spaciously-cut pants in impeccably soft pinstripes with torso-hugging sweaters.
He also showed Aran sweaters, cleverly reinvented with a stringy inner weave, and an inside-out
jacket -- a major trend in Paris and Milan.
Timely, considering the weather, were his great black scarves again in an Aran weave.
Gunmetal leather or shiny velvet jackets followed, each cut close to the body, even as the
trousers with huge cuffs grew steadily wider.
Rive Gauche Balmacaan coats with Raglan sleeves were mightily roomy too.
And one doesn’t need to go to the gym to wear this collection. Its cut was forgiving to gourmands.
The mood was set by an acoustic guitar opening, which moved into a spiritual version of "The First
Time Ever I Saw Your Face."
The finale was elegantly Byronic, especially the lightly etched gold velvet jackets, again over
wide pants.
Inevitably the collection will be compared to, and contrasted with, the key show of the previous
day, Christian Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane, the young French talent who left Rive Gauche for Dior
when Ford became creative director of YSL.
The two offer radically different visions of men’s fashion: Slimane’s Dior with its narrow,
teenage silhouette and stylish street credibility, Ford’s Rive Gauche with its more realistic
line and imaginative panache.
For sheer professionalism one couldn’t fault Ford, who though forced to abandon his custom-built
arena, made Sunday’s show as smooth as silk.
Moreover, the Gucci Group always gets the details right: the welcome was cordial, the champagne
sublime, and their caviar on mini toasts the fashion week’s best hors d’oeuvre.
Just the sort of greeting a man wearing this season’s Rive Gauche collection would expect.
YSL Rive Gauche Menswear
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