The U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A new exhibit at the Orange County Museum of Art highlights the drawings and work of legendary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.
“Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression,” which opened earlier in the week, explores the many sketches, drawings and other illustrations that served as the basis for his clothing designs over the decades of his career.
Paulette Lombardi-Fries, of Travel Costa Mesa, checks out the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dress designs during the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Stone and metal bracelet from the spring-summer 1988 haute couture collection during the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dress designs during the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Metal bracelets with beads from the spring-summer 1980 haute couture collection during the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Heidi Zuckerman, CEO and Director of Orange County Museum of Art (OCM) during the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Enlargements of greeting cards Yves Saint Laurent would send with the word”LOVE” as their recurrent theme during the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Eric Harris photographs dress designs during the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Lorna Sullivan, from Westways Magazine, takes pictures of drawings during the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Gael Mamine, exhibition curator for Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression, during a tour of the display at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Paulette Lombardi-Fries, of Travel Costa Mesa, checks out the U.S. premiere of Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, CA, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Line and Expression is an exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent’s drawings. Original sketches, photographs, jewelry, accessories, and haute couture garments from 1963 to 2001. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The free show has special connections to Orange County, said the museum’s director and CEO, Heidi Zuckerman, as this is the first time the venue has hosted a fashion-related showcase and Yves Saint Laurent was among the first luxury brands to open up shop at South Coast Plaza, just across the street.
“We are thrilled to be able to host this exhibition,” she said. “There’s this really amazing history between Orange County and the brand.”
Zuckerman said she saw the exhibit on display at an Yves Saint Laurent museum in Marrakech, Morocco – a city the designer retreated to twice a year to sketch out new designs – and worked to bring it to Orange County where it was reimagined to fit OCMA’s footprint.
“I was just incredibly taken by the show,” Zuckerman said. “And I knew – in the same way when I visit an artist studio or go to other art museums – when I see something I know that it’s perfect for us.”
Saint Laurent started his career working for French fashion designer Christian Dior in the 1950s. In 1961, he and partner Pierre Bergé founded the House of Yves Saint Laurent, which operated until 2002.
Over the years, Saint Laurent produced ground-breaking designs, from his “Trapeze” dress line in 1958, to his “Le Smoking” suit for women in 1966. His frequent visits to Morocco often inspired him to weave vibrant colors into his designs.
The new exhibit gives museum-goers a glimpse at dozens of sketches and drawings that Saint Laurent used to bring his iconic looks to life.
It begins with a 1988 drawing of a floor-length evening dress from his haute couture collection – placed next to a display of the finished product – and winds around the museum space in chronological order, ending with displays of colorful garments on mannequins.
The exhibit sheds light on the many eras of the designer’s career, from 1966 sketches of above-the-knee cocktail dresses, to a 1999 illustration of a pantsuit with a bow-shaped tie, to a 2002 drawing of an off-the-shoulder evening dress.
Gaël Mamine, a curator of the exhibit, said it’s designed to show the important role that Saint Laurent’s illustrations played in the development of his collections.
“This exhibition is a portrait of Yves Saint Laurent in the sense that we are really focused on the drawings,” Mamine said. “Our aim is to show how this man could create something really specific from those sketches to the garments and how there’s a strong link between the two.”
Organizers said the exhibit fits well in an art museum as Saint Laurent’s concepts were influenced by theater, art, fashion and literature, and his illustrations and garments are hand-crafted pieces of art.
The exhibit, for example, contains a collection of more than a dozen black evening dresses boasting different textures, hemlines, necklines and sleeves.
Zuckerman said the section reflects the “incredible breadth and depth of the designer,” while Mamine called it “a real vision of his work.”
In addition to featuring drawings and clothing, the exhibit also includes jewelry and images of select greeting cards that the designer sent to friends and colleagues every New Year’s Eve reflecting artistic trends of the period.
Overall, Mamine said, the exhibit has been carefully curated to reflect Saint Laurent’s lasting impact on both art and fashion.
“Its purpose is to focus on the artistic vision of Yves Saint Laurent,” he said. “We reveal how he was an artist and how his vision is still strong and still remains.”
The Orange County Museum of Art, 3333 Avenue of the Arts in Costa Mesa, is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays; though admission is free reservations need to be made online. For more information visit ocma.art.
