Interested in learning how the other half lives? If you said yes, then you should check out L’Amour Fou (Crazy Love) a new documentary film about the possessions of legendary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his lover of 50 years, Pierre Berger. The film opened in theaters over the weekend in a limited capacity.
Shot in gorgeous black and white, Fou was made by Pierre Thoretton and takes us on a tour, of sorts, into the life and art objects collected by lovers Saint Laurent and Berger (who decided to sell everything after YSL’s death) as they are packed and shipped for auction at Christie’s where they will raise over 500 million Euros.
At times sad and haunting, Thoretton’s 98-minute-long film is a testament, thanks to the 10 two hour interviews Berger granted to Thoretton, to the love and relationship of the two men who met at the funeral of Christian Dior, whom YSL replaced as creative director after the brands namesake died in 1957.
Though strangers at the time, YSL and Berger are identified in photographs a short distance away from one another in Dior’s funeral procession. Soon after, the men join forces financially and romantically after YSL is let go from Dior and the upstart designer is tasked to launch his own line, inexplicably changing women’s fashion in the process. The concept Ready To Wear (pret-a-porter) was created by YSL.
Interspersed throughout the film are photographs, moving images and interviews of YSL as a young man, stories behind some of the objects and paintings the men collected, such as a portrait of YSL without his glasses by Andy Warhol and a Q&A with YSL where he answers questions about himself, stream of conscious-like.
Over-all L’amour Fou is an interesting study of a fascinating couple as well as a portrait of one of the 20th century’s most gifted designers. You will not be disappointed.
Above: Lovers YSL and Berger.
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YSL.
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YSL.
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YSL with a model.
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YSL.
