Yves Saint Laurent, Across the Style

September 20 (Wed), 2023 - December 11 (Mon), 2023

Past Exhibitions
Special Exhibitions

As the sobriquet the “King of Fashion” suggests, Yves Saint Laurent was a dominant figure in the world of 20th century fashion.
Following the sudden death of Christian Dior, in 1958 Yves Saint Laurent made his brilliant debut as a designer at the House of Dior. In 1962, he launched his own brand, Yves Saint Laurent. From then until his retirement in 2002, Yves Saint Laurent remained at the forefront of the international fashion scene and revolutionized women’s clothing for nearly half a century by establishing safari looks, pants suits, pea coats, and trench coats.
This exhibition, organized with the full cooperation of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, marks the first retrospective of the designer’s works ever to be staged in Japan after his death. The exhibition presents a comprehensive overview of Yves Saint Laurent’s work, throughout his 40-year career, from his debut at the tender age of 21 and the first collection that appeared under his own brand to the establishment of his own style, through 110 of the designer’s looks as well as accessories, drawings, and photographs in twelve chapters.
This is a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with the unrivaled and magnificent world of beauty that emerged from Yves Saint Laurent, one of the great talents of the second half of the 20th century.

Overview

Period

September 20 (Wed), 2023 – December 11 (Mon), 2023

Closed on Tuesdays

Opening Hours

10:00-18:00
*10:00-20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays
*November 26（Sun.）, December 3（Sun.）, December 10（Sun.）10:00-20:00
(Last admission 30 minutes before closing)

Venue

The National Art Center, Tokyo
Special Exhibition Gallery 1E
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558

Organized by

The National Art Center, Tokyo; The Sankei Shimbun; TBS; Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

In partnership with the：Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris

With the special sponsorship of：SAINT LAURENT

With the support of：Embassy of France / Institut français du Japon; BS-TBS; TBS RADIO

With the sponsorship of：Sompo Holdings, Inc.; Nozaki Insatsu Shigyo Co., LTD.

With the cooperation of：Japan Airlines

With the collaboration of：Ueki & Associés

Admission (tax included)

General	2,300 yen (Adults), 1,500 yen (College students),900 yen (High school students)
Advance	2,100 yen (Adults), 1,300 yen (College students), 700 yen (High school students)

Visitors who are junior high school students or younger will be admitted for free.
Disabled persons (along with the one assistant) will be admitted for free upon presenting the Disabled Person’s Booklet or an equivalent form of government-issued ID.
Free entrance to the exhibition for high school students from October 7 (Sat.) to October 9 (Mon.), 2023, upon presenting student ID.
No reservation required for this exhibition. For more information regarding tickets, please visit the ticket page on the exhibition website.(These services are only available in Japanese.)
Reduction (100 yen off) applies to visitors who present the ticket stub of a current exhibition at The National Art Center, Tokyo; Suntory Museum of Art; or Mori Art Museum (Art Triangle Roppongi). Please show the ticket stub at the "Yves Saint Laurent, Across the Style" exhibition ticket booth.
Students, faculty and staff, of “Campus Members”, can view this exhibition for 1,300 yen (students) and 2,100 yen (faculty/staff). Please purchase tickets at the "Yves Saint Laurent, Across the Style" exhibition ticket booth.
Credit card (UC, Master Card, VISA, JCB, AMEX, Diners Club, DISCOVER), e-cash (Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, etc.), iD, J-Debit and Union Pay are available for purchasing tickets.

Inquiries

(+81) 47-316-2772 (Hello Dial)

Exhibition Highlights

List of Works

Japanese [PDF] / English [PDF]

Chinese [PDF] / Korean [PDF]

1. A Wealth of 262 Items Including Dresses Never Before Shown in Japan

The exhibition paints a complete picture of Yves Saint Laurent’s life as a designer and his creations. The displays include 110 of the designer’s haute couture looks, encompassing the changes that occurred over Yves Saint Laurent’s more than 40-year career, from the time of his stunning debut at the House of Dior in 1958 to his retirement in 2002, as well as a host of valuable documents such as drawings, photographs, and videos.

2. Universal Women’s Styles That Live on Today

Yves Saint Laurent designed garments that transcended gender images associated with clothing by, among other things, actively incorporating pants (a style that was still strongly rooted in men’s fashion in the 1960s) into women’s fashion, and creating a new kind of femininity and elegance that was in keeping with the times. In part due to becoming involved with prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) fashion in 1966, Yves Saint Laurent’s style propositions spread rapidly. With garments such as pea coats, pants suits, trench coats, and tuxedos, he garnered acclaim by modifying trailblazing forms of menswear into clothes for women. In this exhibition, we introduce Yves Saint Laurent’s universal styles, which today have become an established part of the female wardrobe.

3. Establishing Art-inspired Styles

By envisioning a fusion of art and fashion, exemplified by his Mondrian look, Yves Saint Laurent breathed new life into the traditional world of haute couture while also actively engaging in collaborations with those in various fields of art, producing stage sets for theatre pieces, ballets, and other performing arts, and costumes for films. Yves Saint Laurent’s efforts to forge a link between art and haute couture led fashion to be afforded the same value as painting, sculpture, architecture, and other forms of art. It also resulted in vibrant, body-based fashions that were inspired by art.

Related books

A list of materials related to the exhibition that were introduced in the Art Library are available on the OPAC. Please click here to see the list on Past Exhibition-related Materials Exhibit page.