It's harder to find interesting references in the collections, but Stefano Pilati's cruise 2012 collection for Yves Saint Laurent, shown last week in New York, presented an interesting mix – anchors, the poppy and stars – all of which have roots in
The months of May, June and July see a handful of designers show their cruise collections. Historically, leading French and American designers have shown pre-season collections, in addition to the twice-yearly seasonal collections. This week, BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent Sarah Mower announced the new London Pre Collections initiative intended to keep track of many British designers producing pre-collections. Usually presented via appointments, these collections are usually smaller and more commercially driven, sometimes carrying through ideas or providing a hint of what's to come in the designer's next collection. It's harder to find interesting references in the collections, but Stefano Pilati's cruise 2012 collection for Yves Saint Laurent, shown last week in New York, presented an intriguing mix – anchors, the poppy and stars – all of which have roots in the house's archives
The 25-piece collection heavily referenced naval culture, with lanyard necklaces, rope-print dresses, gold buttons, horizontal stripes and sailor jackets and pants. Was Pilati making ironic reference to the idea of the cruise collection – previously intended for wealthy jet-setters who spend their time aboard luxury cruise ships during the winter months? Or just homage to Yves Saint Laurent's own nautical-themed collection from 1982? The anchor, a mooring device used by boats and ships since the Bronze Age, was a recurring motif in the collection, appearing on necklaces, trouser pocket embroidery and shirt and dress prints.
The necklaces also featured a cluster of differing-sized stars. Worn over striped tops, the combination can be seen as a reference to American culture. The star is a Pilati favourite, most notably used in his standout spring/summer 2008 collection on necklaces, buttons, belts, shoes and chain-linked reflective plastic breastplates. The shape is also favoured by other designers including Christopher Kane (galaxy prints for S/S11), Chanel (S/S08) and Maison Martin Margiela (S/S07). The five-pointed star can be found in many places in culture – from heraldry, religion and warfare – and has a number of meanings ranging from human life to perfection.
Backstage, Pilati revealed the collection's starting point was the use of a poppy on a shoe design from a 1971 Saint Laurent collection, “I’ve always been kind of obsessed, but I thought I’d never use it for a fashion show. But then I had a book, which had a lot of poppies, and I went to the [Italian] countryside and there were a lot of poppies.” The poppy, which has between 4-6 petals and a whorl of stamens in its centre, has long been seen as a symbol of sleep and death: sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and death because of the common blood-red color of the red poppy in particular, and its association with wartime remembrance. Making its appearance in the second half of the collection in prints and sewn motifs, the flower also inspired a red and black colour palette; another favourite of Yves, used memorably in his (only) comic strip book from 1967 entitled La Vilaine Lulu.
The next Fashion Equation will be published in two weeks.
Laura Bradley is the Commissioning Editor of AnOther and published her first series of Fashion Equations in May 2008. Tom Baxter is an illustrator currently living and working in London.
