Claude Lalanne (1925 – 2019) is the French sculptor and designer you need to know. And you really need to know about Claude Lalanne for Yves Saint Laurent, if you follow fashion or art religiously. Lalanne was most widely known for her work in the collaborative duo Les Lalanne with her husband, François-Xavier Lalanne.
We’ve thought of Claude Lalanne for Yves Saint Laurent a lot lately, especially with so much attention on Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli’s jewelry and body pieces, and certain other designers claiming that Roseberry copied them. The fact is, the gold molded surreal jewelry concept has been around for ages (literally, centuries), but Claude Lalanne for Yves Saint Laurent is one of my favorite examples.
For the Yves Saint Laurent Autumn/Winter 1969 haute couture collection, Claude Lalanne made gilded body casts of fashion model Verushka that were incorporated into two dresses, one in blue and the other in black.
“What touches me about her is that she is able to combine the same exacting standards of craftsmanship and poetry,” Yves Saint Laurent once said, of Claude Lalanne. “Her beautiful sculptor’s hands seem to push back the mists of mystery to reach the shores of art.”
Much like Schiaparelli’s popular gold fingertips, the Claude Lalanne for Yves Saint Laurent partnership also included some incredible gilded fingertips. These pieces truly are the embodiment of sculpture, jewelry and fashion all in one–like a dream come true.
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