Dress up: The influence of Yves Saint Laurent at OCMA

In the world of fashion, we hold certain truths to be self-evident. A little black dress will never go out of style, for instance.

The collection of Yves Saint Laurent black cocktail dresses and evening gowns on display at the Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa are a testament to the frocks’ timelessness. The wardrobe is part of OCMA’s newest exhibition, “Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression.”

“Everyone knows the little black dress,” said Heidi Zuckerman, OCMA’s chief executive and director, who wore her own black shift with a cold shoulder detail to a preview of the exhibition on June 27. “These things that we take for granted in contemporary culture, it all starts somewhere and it really starts with Yves Saint Laurent.”

While the invention of the little black dress is attribute to Coco Chanel, designers like Laurent are responsible for continuing its legacy.

“This kind of meditation on black that happens here changes your perspective based on the length of the sleeve, or whether there is no sleeve, what the materiality is or how fitted or how loose they are. All of these different gestures are such significant gestures that tell all of these different stories,” said Zuckerman. “Being able to see them all together is what shows the incredible depth of the designer.”

Curated by Olivier Saillard and Gaël Mamine, “Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression” opened to the public Wednesday and features a treasure trove of original sketches, photographs, jewelry and haute couture garments ranging from 1963 to 2001 from the iconic couturier. There are 46 looks in total. The exhibition is organized by the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech, where Zuckerman first saw the show while on vacation in Morocco.

“When I saw it, I thought ‘this show has to come to the Orange County Museum of Art,’ ” Zuckerman said.

The site of the local exhibition is appropriate, considering Yves Saint Laurent was the first luxury brand to come to South Coast Plaza, which lies just across the street. It debuted at the shopping destination in 1982, a bold move that may have inspired other fashion houses to venture into the Orange County market, contributing to making the shopping mecca what it is today.

It is also a fitting example of the thread that connects art to fashion.

“Part of the reason I was specifically interested in this exhibition is because it shows Yves Saint Laurent was an incredible draftsman. All of his creations start off as drawings and that is what a lot of sculptures and painters do, as well,” Zuckerman said.

The designer’s drawings are said to be what inspired Christian Dior to hire him as an assistant in 1955. Saint Laurent’s sketches in black ink or pencil are on view in the show in humble spiral notebooks but also framed, some with swatches of fabric samples pinned to their corners. All are works of art.

Mock-up garment of some of the sketches are displayed too, on artfully posed Schläppi mannequins (on loan from the Bowers Museum) no less, highlighting slender silhouettes and elegant lines the late designer became known for.

A collection of the tuxedo-inspired ‘Le Smoking’ creations is also a stand out, an example of how Saint Laurent gave women clothing inspired by menswear and pushed forward another fashion truth: Women wear trousers. Silk lapels, structured velvet jackets and tailored pants are just some of the ways in which we see Saint Laurent make the tuxedo feminine.

Besides sketches and couture, there are also jewelry and accessories on display. Stone and metal necklaces that resemble unearthed volcanic rocks from the spring-summer 1986 collection sit near earrings of rose-colored glass entwined with wire details from the spring-summer 1988 collection. Walking through the exhibition is like experiencing a fashion magazine in 3D. Each look a turn of the page, each page wearable art.

“People look at fashion runway shows and they think that the work is more sculpture or performance than it is wearable. Part of that is how bodies fill clothing, but fashion also emphasizes our individuality,” said Zuckerman. “That is one of the things that I think connects fashion with art.”

“Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression” is on view at the Orange County Museum of Art, 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. The exhibit runs through Oct. 27. Admission is free.