London Film Festival maybe over,streaming service MUBI are keeping the festival alive with Yves Saint Laurent: The Last Collection. The exquisitely crafted and moving documentary will be getting a limited cinema release alongside a MUBI release.
The documentary is part of an a unique season, bringing three of our freshest films exclusively from their UK premieres at the BFI London festival. The other two two titles are Bertrand Bonello’s post-colonial voodoo horror Zombi Child and Kantemir Balagov’s Beanpole. MUBI has released a short new UK Trailer, check it out…
In late 1998, French filmmaker Olivier Meyrou began filming behind the scenes at one of the most renowned Parisian haute couture houses as the celebrated designer Yves Saint Laurent prepared what would be his final collections. This was the end of an era, as Yves Saint Laurent was already the last of the great French designers to operate his own house.
Meyrou filmed for three years and the result reveals the busy, rarified world of a fashion house and all that went into taking a YSL creation from sketch to catwalk – the ‘petites mains’ sewing and re-sewing to meet perfection, the long-serving press officer Dominique Deroche navigating the press, fittings and event preparations with countless supermodels including the iconic Laetitia Casta, and the power dynamics between a reclusive Yves Saint Laurent and the domineering Pierre Bergé, the designer’s partner in business and life. All observed by the beloved French bulldog, Moujik.
Despite inviting Meyrou to make the documentary, Pierre Bergé successfully suppressed the film for almost two decades. The director believes that Bergé was so committed to managing Yves Saint Laurent’s image that he was disturbed by an outsider’s point of view. It was not until 2015 that Bergé asked to view the film, finally giving it his blessing to launch.
Shot in 16mm, alternating between B&W and colour, and accompanied by François-Eudes Chanfrault’s boldly experimental sound design, YVES SAINT LAURENT: THE LAST COLLECTIONS is a unique, beautifully textured and imaginative testament to the fashion visionary’s legacy.
Yves Saint Laurent: The Last Collection will be released on 30th October in select UK Cinemas and MUBI.
