Description
Filmed over the course of three years, this portrait of fashion colossus Yves Saint Laurent’s final show was suppressed right after its first and only public screening at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival. The film was blocked by YSL’s business (and on-and-off romantic) partner Pierre Berge, who objected to the couturier’s portrayal as frail and not quite all there, and to his own depiction of being the behind the scenes mastermind. (The dynamic between the two is said to have inspired Paul Thomas Anderson’s depiction of Daniel Day-Lewis and Lesley Manville’s characters in Phantom Thread.) Fortunately, Berge relented in 2015 (he died in 2017), and thus Celebration is finally available. Director Olivier Meyrou’s Celebration presents an opulent and immersive behind-the-scenes look at haute couture designer Yves Saint Laurent’s final show and is a priceless addition to our understanding of the man, the myth, la marque, that is Yves Saint Laurent.
Reviews
“What this film most reveals is the price he(Pierre Bergé) and Mr. Saint Laurent paid along the way — which is exactly what both tried to hide. In the end, Mr. Meyrou takes no pity on the titanic executive.” —New York Times
“It’s the film Mr. Bergé never wanted anyone to see, and the story of how it finally came to light reveals just how obsessed fashion is with its own mythology, and what is revealed when the curtain is raised.” —New York Times
“Essential viewing!” —Variety
“It’s a priceless addition to our understanding of how Yves Saint Laurent — the man, the myth, la marque — operated.” — Variety
“’Celebration’ offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look of Yves Saint Laurent’s last few years of genius.” — Vogue
Festivals
IDFA
True/False film festival
Seattle International Film Festival
