The fashion house has teamed up with South African photographer Purienne, who is known for his tongue-in-cheek eroticism
Saint Laurent has joined forces with photographer Henrik Purienne for an ethereal new publication. The book, titled Rive Droite Editions Purienne, sees the South African image-maker capture the brand’s most recent designs through a series of sensual black and white photographs. In them, we see models – dressed in Saint Laurent feathers, muslin and lace – waft mysteriously through an ornate Parisian backdrop; their hair tousled and bodies contorted. Like much of Purienne’s work, the images are playful and erotic, straddling the boundaries of unsettling voyeurism and tongue-in-cheek eroticism.
This aesthetic was most recently seen in Purienne’s equally sultry 2019 release, Jeux De Peau, in which the photographer shared candids of scantily clad models basking in the California sun. “The ability of photography to capture a time or place, or to contract a lie or fantasy, has always held an almost mystical appeal to me,” Purienne told AnOther at the time. “Most of my books are nothing more than scrapbooks of memories and notes, a reference for existence – nothing more, but nonetheless haunting.”
Rive Droite Editions Purienne is the fourth release from Saint Laurent’s new publishing house, Rive Droite editions. The project, led by Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello, has previously included exclusive collaborations with Daido Moriyama, Betty Catroux and Gray Sorrenti. There was also a fanzine dedicated to British subculture photographer Derek Ridgers, released last month.
Purienne is exclusively available at Saint Laurent Rive Droite Paris and Los Angeles stores, or you can buy it online here.