Fashion Moment. . .Forever Smoking

They say there is nothing sexier than a woman in a man’s clothing. Think back to any movie scene involving a woman waking up in her lover’s bedroom, and what is she wearing? The obligatory mans shirt, naturally. Put her in a full suit and what do you get? An even sexier woman.
It was of course the genius Yves Saint Laurent who took this sexy morning after look to women’s wardrobes everywhere. His iconic 1966 collection, ‘Le Smoking’, empowered women in a way never imagined before. Gone are the fancy frou-frou shapes at the turn of the century, the overtly feminine shapes of Dior’s new look in the Forties and the Twenties pathetic attempt at androgyny were replaced in the space of one catwalk show. With a slouchy leg here and a nipped in waist there, YSL presented the all powerful woman, suited, booted and ready to take on the world.
Although it’s true that he wasn’t the first to play with the idea of women doing the gender bender- images of sexy women in a man’s tuxedo suit harks back as early as the thirties. Think of Marlene Dietrich in a tux and tails, top hat in hand, and it’s little wonder she had those American soldiers drooling.
However credit could only be given to YSL for presenting an alternative to the cocktail dress, the tuxedo after all was designed for formal wear. A look Bianca Jagger made famous when she wore that white suit to her very own wedding.
A sartorial twist on women’s dressing the smoking suit took all the unwanted proportions of a man and slimmed it down to one sexy slip of an outfit. By tapering at a high waist and a broadening of the shoulders, what YSL created was an all new silhouette. A silhouette which lasted for decades to come- from the shoulder padded years of the eighties to the current trends of the catwalk shows, YSL’s influence can be seen from designers across the globe. Tuxedo jackets splashed with the odd tribal accessory courtesy of Louis Vuitton in Paris, Richard Nicholl’s high waisted pleated trousers in bright hues in London could not disguise the influence of YSL’s original idea.