Splendid Wood (2017) : Collection Orientale

The Yves Saint Laurent 1967 Spring-Summer Haute Couture collection was unprecedented. For the first time in the history of Haute Couture, Africa was the chief source of inspiration. It featured new materials: raffia and wood. The exotic beads and small plaques used to make dresses echoed the many-layered jewellery of Arab countries, both revealing and hiding the parts of the body it covered.