Lap of luxury: YSL boutique opens in Jakarta<\/p>\n
Agatha Belinda
\nContributor\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
One hundred and seventeen square meters is the size of the brand
\nnew Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) flagship boutique in Plaza
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
It is the latest enticement from PT Graha Citra Prima, the
\nlocal license holder of Gucci group, owner of YSL, to seduce the
\ncity's well-dressed ladies who lunch into -- gasp -- buying yet
\nanother very expensive bag.<\/p>\n
With the right buzz, selling luxury goods with matching price
\ntags in this supposedly struggling country hardly makes a Botox-
\nfriendly forehead frown. The forecast for the luxury goods market
\nin Indonesia, so I was told by a trusted investment banker, \"is
\nstable, volume is low but outlook looks good near term\".<\/p>\n
For the few who don't know about the recent departure of YSL's
\nbeloved creative director, Tom Ford, he reportedly quit due to
\nfailed contract renewal negotiations (over salary as well as
\ncreative control) with Gucci Group's strategic alliance and now
\nmajority owner, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR).<\/p>\n
Ford was truly instrumental in the company's growth, steering
\nthe prestigious but outdated house of the namesake legendary
\ndesigner back to hot status.<\/p>\n
His exit was the biggest drama in the fashion scene of recent
\ntimes. Thus, the decision to open the boutique at this vulnerable
\ntime raised a few eyebrows.<\/p>\n
At the grand opening at the end of August at La Moda Cafe,
\nright across from the boutique, guests were treated to the YSL
\nRive Gauche fall\/winter 2004-05 collection. The show in Paris had
\nbrought out major celebrities and famous fans, including fellow
\ndesigners Diane Von Furstenberg, Valentino and Stella McCartney,
\nto show their support and appreciation of Ford.<\/p>\n
Everyone knew it was going to be a historic collection, Ford's
\nfinal statement before he bid goodbye to the fashion world and
\nsaid hello to Hollywood to try acting.<\/p>\n
Ford took over at YSL as creative director and ready-to-wear
\ncommunication director after Gucci Group NV took control of the
\nhouse in 1999. From the start, it was clear it would be a mighty
\ndifficult challenge, especially since Monsieur Saint Laurent
\nstrongly disapproved of his successor and was tres outspoken
\nabout it.<\/p>\n
Tom Ford being Tom Ford, somehow managed to pull the same
\nmagic trick at YSL as the one he did for the House of Gucci about
\na decade ago: cranking up his own psychic, sensible sensuality
\nversions of vintage YSL collections.<\/p>\n
For his grand finale, the 42-year-old designer channeled the
\n1977 Chinese collection (the house is also relaunching its highly
\npopular Opium perfume from the era, most probably not by
\ncoincidence), which was, as he explained to Style.com, \"a period
\n(he) hadn't mined\".<\/p>\n
Let's get on with the show, shall we?<\/p>\n
The collection -- as usual -- was beautiful, poised,
\ndelightfully elegant, with that definitive hidden sexuality.
\nFord's take on chinoiserie is simply genius; it's a wonder why no
\none here ever thought of it before, and why he did not do it
\nsooner.<\/p>\n
There were actually two shows, the opening one for accessories
\nand the latter for women's ready-to-wear. The Rive Gauche show
\nopened with a beautiful 1950s power suit silhouette, consisting
\nof a deep brown silk Mao jacket paired with ultraslim waxed silk
\nsatin skirt in slate blue and brown fur wedges, with razor thin
\nheels.<\/p>\n
Gradually, the shoulders got bigger and higher, an homage to
\nYves's original pagoda shoulder, except this time rounder and
\nmore dramatic. It was cut to resemble a Chinese Red Army double
\nbreasted blazer\/button jacket, complete with silk combat pants
\nand killer knee high leather boots that would look just as cool
\non you as they would on Cameron Diaz.<\/p>\n
If they were a bit too masculine for all you princesses, well,
\ndon't worry. There were super-feminine, different versions of
\nbias cut, Chinois dresses that could make any ugly duckling into
\na swan.<\/p>\n
Exquisite dragons, fans and fish prints got sequined, and
\nfeathers were laser cut, then sewn into fish scales to decorate
\nthe dresses, taking about 1,400 hours to finish.<\/p>\n
Clever jewel color combinations -- crimson and scarlet, jade
\nagainst lime, plum and pink -- added playfulness without losing
\nsophistication. Furs (fox and mink) were sprinkled into dress
\nhemlines and collars and trimmed on coats to add to the luscious
\nmood, while bags and shoes were mostly of velvet, snakeskin and
\nsuede. One of everything, please!<\/p>\n
Texan-born Ford admits that he owes his critical and
\ncommercial success to two things: energy and instinct.<\/p>\n
\"There are many more talented designers than me. But I have a
\nlot of drive and won't let it go,\" he said at the V&A in London.<\/p>\n
\"I'm lucky, I have mass-market tastes. When I say I like a
\nshoe, generally thousands of people will like it. Thank God,
\nbecause I would have been a very unhappy person if I hadn't had
\nthis kind of success.\"<\/p>\n
Indeed. Ford will be as hard an act to follow as his
\npredecessor, if not harder.<\/p>\n
In the luxury business, it requires much more than talent to
\nsucceed. The embodiment of the designer often helps -- if not
\nmakes -- the sell. Problem is not many designers have the
\ncharisma or sex appeal that goes along with the smarts and
\ntalent. Only one other designer has been able to pull the same
\nstunt twice like Ford did for Gucci and YSL: The one and only
\nKarl Lagerfeld for Chanel and Fendi.<\/p>\n
After much consideration and negotiations (rumored candidates
\nincluded McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Zac Posen), PPR finally
\ngave the hot seat to Stefano Pilatti (whose previous position was
\nYSL's design director for women's ready-to-wear).<\/p>\n
\"We are not worried about Tom Ford leaving the company because
\nwe know that they have a very solid creative team and Stefano
\nPilatti, the new designer, is not somebody from outside,\"
\nexplained Santi Suhud, PR manager for YSL.<\/p>\n
\"He used to work under Tom Ford's guidance, so in a way he
\nknows exactly what to do for the brand.\"<\/p>\n
But on a Jakarta-Bali flight a couple of days later, I
\nhappened to sit next to a couple of cool brothers whose prominent
\nsocialite mother also attended the same show.<\/p>\n
\"Oh, what did she think of it?\"<\/p>\n
\"She left five minutes into the show. She said she was bored.\"<\/p>\n
Maybe she's got a point. The event was standard; the setting
\nof the fashion show was blah and, unfortunately, didn't
\naccentuate the beauty of the luxurious fabrics, the precise cut,
\nthe perfect finishing, the brilliant concept and first-class
\nquality.<\/p>\n
In fact, it was so far from the image that the house stands
\nfor. Also, except for Catherine Wilson, the models weren't quite
\nup to par to carry the clothes. I found myself suddenly missing
\nthe usual pack of supermodels' familiar faces.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it was all too modest for its own good. Tom Ford
\nwouldn't have approved.<\/p>",
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