current affairs, designers, fashion

ready or not: the why in yves


Saint Laurent Paris, opening soon.

R.I.P. the Y in Yves; it all seems surreal. Impossible, said the French way.

The power of one letter, and one so rarely used. This is the power of branding, consumer association and influence. Yves. Y. Yves. Why? YSL is iconic; what of Yves, the man behind the letters?

I only wish to own one Yves Saint Laurent bag before Saint Laurent becomes ubiquitous. Just one bag with that freshly historical Y to remember the man behind the letters. Preferably the studded one above.

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17 thoughts on “ready or not: the why in yves

    • Neither can I. I really do wonder what prompted the management/branding team to make such drastic (and no doubt costly!) change to such an iconic brand; even more I wonder what made people agree to this given the historical significance and emotional attachment tied with the name. (Note to self: research immediately!) I hate to pass judgement on an issue without a good knowledge base about all sides of an issue bitty I can’t help but to feel as if this move was completely unnecessary, if not disrespectful to the great designer himself. I don’t believe it’s just personal bias speaking here – he’s iconic for a reason (I actually don’t like the brand now as I do the brand under YSL himself). Yves Saint Laurent was never referred to as simply “Saint Laurent:” both he and the brand were known as Yves Saint Laurent with the Yves or ad YSL; had this been a case like Christian Dior where the brand was almost always referred to as “Dior,” this change would have had little impact on fashion history and its fan/customer base.

      Eek! I ranted! Point is, I’m about to stock up on my beloved YSL lipsticks stat. I’m being rational. (;

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  1. Zaza says:

    I wonder what the new logo will look like on the bags … I need to go get the Belle de jour clutch before they change the logo on it!

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  2. Scribbler says:

    As far as marketing goes, I am not quite sure this is a good idea. Why? That’s many wasted years of brand recognition going down the drain. Sad.

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    • Agreed. And I find it so disrespectful to Yves – I think he’s one in a few designers who have built for themselves a brand and a legacy well-loved world-wide.

      The only reason I can think of that would make the marketing/branding team make such great a chance is the press it will receive – and more importantly, the number of current YSL-marked goods (esp. the handbags!) that will fly off the shelves by loyal/furious customers.

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