Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective Opens In England

Yves Saint Laurent once said, "Fashions fade, but style is eternal," a sentiment that will ring true for him forever. To this day, he's still in our hearts, and Saint Laurent's legacy will continue on through the new retrospective, called "Yves Saint Laurent: Style Is Eternal." The late creator was also the first fashion designer to be given a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and that is no small feat.

The retrospective opened this weekend, and will run until October 25 at the Bowes Museum, about 260 miles north of London, according to WWD. Curated by Joanna Hashagen, the museum's fashion curator, the collection boasts more than 50 looks from an archive from the Foundation Pierre Bergé, a continuation on the fashion house of Yves Saint Laurent. Items include sketches, toiles, and ephemera.

Hashagen told WWD, “It was just being in the right place at the right time. I had been thinking about doing a show on a French couturier for a while because, after all, the Bowes collection was created by Josephine Bowes, a very fashionable Parisian woman who dressed at Worth.”

The exhibition is opened by a film about the 2002 retrospective fashion show that was housed at the Centre Pompidou to mark YSL's retirement from haute couture. The whole show covers three rooms and focuses on five themes that show his inspirations, creative processes, and influence on fashion, according to WWD. What's more, the "Alchemy of Style" section, which are made up of original paper dolls that show Saint Laurent's designing process.

The five themes include Haute Couture, Masculin/Féminin, Transparence, and Art and Spectaculaire. Little films also show footage from real runway shows in the past. The final, and probably most exciting room, features mannequins outfitted in some of his most iconic looks, including the very first tuxedo he designed. Most notably, the exhibit also shows off the pieces Saint Laurent created while he was at Dior.

Mr. Saint Laurent truly lived a full, chaotic, and inspired life, and this retrospective seems to pay him homage the right way: By showing off his most iconic pieces and bringing his genius designs to life.

Images: Getty; i_D, reneeprudhomme/Twitter