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| Yves Saint Laurent's West End debut
by Belinda White Yves Saint Laurent's creative director Stefano Pilati, has designed the costumes for a production of Harold Pinter's 'Betrayal'. If you're directing a play set in the late Sixties and Seventies, who better to dress the cast than the man who dressed the whole era -Yves Saint Laurent. Continuing a close affiliation with the theatre world established by late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, Stefano Pilati, the current creative director of the label, has designed the stage costumes for the West End production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal which opens later this week. Based on Pinter's secret affair with BBC presenter Joan Bakewell, Betrayal follows Emma, played by Oscar nominated actress Kristin Scott-Thomas - a long-time friend of the fashion house - and her husband Robert, played by Ben Miles, over a nine year period during which Emma embarks on a seven year extra-marital affair with their friend Jerry, played by Douglas Henshall. Lending his designer's eye to the task, Pilati created a range of stylish costumes that draw on the label's heritage and perfectly recall the signature looks of the day. Scott-Thomas' character moves through the play, and her affair, dressed in a belted fuchsia silk dress, classic cashmere camel coat, and chiffon skirts in signature Stefano Pilati fingerprint patterns, toting statement YSL handbags. Both male leads are classically dressed in YSL suiting, and daywear classics such as a polo-neck jumper teamed with a louche suede jacket. "Saint Laurent has always been a house with substantial associations to the performing arts, which are further enriched by projects such as this," Pilati told us. "The initial link to the project came from our longstanding friendship with Kristin Scott Thomas, and grew into a true creative collaboration whereby I was able to address my fashion to a purpose, a context, a set of characters whose costumes serve to index or even symbolise their identities." Theatre was a continual source of inspiration for Yves Saint Laurent during his career leading him to design costumes for many theatrical productions. A close friend of Zizi Jeanmaire and Roland Petit, he designed the sets and costumes for Champagne Rosé, Notre-Dame at the Opera Paris, and for Cyrano de Bergerac as early as 1959. In late 2007 the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent in Paris staged an exhibition dedicated to his theatrical work entitled Yves Saint Laurent: Theatre/Cinema/Music-Hall/Ballet featuring outfits and design drawings from the many productions the late designer was involved. The Telegraph - 13th June 2011 |