Yves Saint Laurent
French,1936-2008
Le Smoking
The Le Smoking tuxedo was created by Yves Saint Laurent during the 1960’s. This suit created social turmoil due to the fact that Saint Laurent tried dressing women as man, a revolutionary idea at the time. This suit was included in the exhibition, Items: Is Fashion Modern? at the MoMa because it represents some of the ideas the exhibition exemplifies, Identity and stereotypes. Stereotypes are present in our daily lives; we tend to associate certain things with certain people or groups of people. When we think about suits we immediately relate it to man which at some point in history was valid, but not anymore. Today, women wearing a suit is something mundane, is a sign of empowerment and androgyny that started with YSL and Bianca Jagger in the 1960’s. This suit broke gender and identity barriers by allowing females to wear a garment that was usually associated with masculinity and power. The suit gave women an androgynous look that contrasted with the little black dress and the feminine silhouettes of the time. Le Smoking served as way for women to revel in the 60’s because although it was not socially acceptable they still wore because it supported their feminist ideals. This style is a clear example of how fashion structures our idea of gender and identity by telling us what is right and what is not right for people of certain gender to wear.
