Fashion 88 : Saint Laurent Back in Stride for Paris Show

An emotional Yves Saint Laurent hugged well-wishers Wednesday after a show that brought the audience to its feet in cheers. The designer, who has had some problems with his Rive Gauche ready-to-wear in recent years, is apparently getting back in stride. And in a season when timeless clothes are making a comeback, his perfectionist approach to classics was doubly well received.

You can’t get more timeless than Saint Laurent does with some of his suits, which have sculptured tailoring that emphasizes the shoulders slightly and makes the rest of the figure seem to diminish in size. The secret is in proportion and cut, at which this man is a master. Some dressy suits, in taupe or black, feature long jackets with fronts patterned to resemble shards of muted stained glass. Sporty suede suits, in gray or cinnamon, take wrapped or straight skirts and easy jackets outlined in overstitching. All of the designer’s daytime skirts were at knee length.

His hats were architectural shapes that made the models resemble walking skylines.

Saint Laurent’s wide pants looked exceptionally graceful as the models walked. One pair in gray was shown with a scoop-neck gray silk jersey blouse and a gray cable-knit cardigan. Black velvet jodhpurs were teamed with a matching jacket that had wide, satin lapels. This was part of a much-applauded group of wide lapel jackets shown with a varity of skirts and pants.

Saint Laurent’s most successful evening look was dramatically simple, even sporty. A series of floor-length, slim cashmere capes in pale colors topped matching floor length cashmere skirts gathered at the waistline. Completing these outfits were pale suede belts and classic light shirts, one of which had a deep V neckline and a stand-up collar.

What the With-It Wear

Patrick Kelly completed the round of shows with his version of what the young and with-it will wear for fall. The news here was ornamental. Black stretch fabric dresses were decorated with dangling white pearls sewn on to form heart shapes. What looked like miniature billiard balls, in bright primary colors, were sewn onto other stretch fabric styles.

One of the designer’s new fabrics is of multicolor ribbons intertwined with black stretch fabric; another was printed with tiny brown teddy bears wearing red bow ties on a black background. These were shaped into simple, slim dresses with high necks and long sleeves.