ANNALS of FASHION

SOME CREATIONS ARE MORE THAN JUST WAIT-LIST SYMBOLS. ASHWINI ARUN KUMAR DETAILS SEVEN CREATIONS FROM HERITAGE LUXURY BRANDS, AND, IN SOME CASES, EVEN THEIR REINTERPRETATIONS, WHICH HAVE BEEN IMMORTALISED IN STYLE. NOT ONLY HAVE THEY SHAPED FASHION, BUT ALSO BECOME METONYMS FOR THE BRANDS THAT MADE THEM AND THEIR CREATORS

- ASHWINI ARUN KUMAR

LE SMOKING SUIT

YSL

Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson, Meghan Markle, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Julia Roberts are just a handful in a long list of names who have supplanted evening dresses with sleek tuxedos on the red carpet and to events. But the blazer that every woman flings oh-so-casually over her shoulders today owes a debt of gratitude to Yves Saint Laurent's 1966 collection, Pop Art. Especially to the pièce de résistance, the Le Smoking suit - a classic black dinner jacket made with grain de poudre-finished satin, featuring a ruffled white undershirt. At the time of its release. it was considered an absolute fashion abomination, especially coming from a designer who spent his formative years attached to the purveyor of hyper-feminine designs, Christian Dior.

When it comes to making women feel sexier, few designers' clothes come close to Yves Saint Laurent. Inspired by the contrarian women of the '30s such as Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich who were often photographed in chunky men's suits, the disruptive designer put a sensual spin on androgyny and elevated pantsuits to women's eveningwear. A barrage of pantsuit designs has since followed but not without using the original Le Smoking as a jumping-off point. Within the house itself, many creative directors have given the world their interpretations of the now-iconic design. But it wasn't until Naomi Campbell walked the ramp in a sequin-inundated suit for Anthony Vacarello's Spring 2020 show that we realised that the Le Smoking jacket was truly a piece for the ages.

THE F-HEEL SALVATORE FERRAGAMO