Yves Saint Laurent

Alice Rawsthorne has done a breathtaking job researching the complexed life of Yves Saint Laurent. When finishing it I felt wiser about YSL, about the man and his carrier, also about the fashion industry from Diors heydays up until today. I've learned a lot about the industry, the people and the pressure a designer is under during the preporation of an haute couture or a prêt-à-porter presentation. It made me feel happy I chose fashion journalism and not fashion design. If I should say anything negative it would be that Alice Rawsthorns journalistic interest in finance is a bit boring. Especially for the fashion interested readers, that are the ones who will read her book. Imbicile as it may sound, all the money I care about are the ones I spend at Rive Gauche Homme.

This is an interesting book but as the other reviewers have pointed out it emphasizes the financial aspects of the fashion business. It does not delve too much into why the designer was so innovative. Also, you don't get to know the designer very well through the book. If you are interested in the history of the fashion business from the 1960s through the 1990s, this book is for you.