Loulou De La Falaise Peiying wu|Style Icon Project|FASM 215
Who is Loulou de la Falaise? Loulou de la Falaise was a French icon and an enduring muse to Yves Saint Laurent. With her unstudied style and indefatigable spirit, she also represented everything that is brilliant about fashion.
Loulou’s Background - Born: May 4, 1948 in England; - Sent to Foster Care: 1950-1955; - Boarding School; - Moved to NYC, late 1960s; - Modeled for American Vogue; - Designed printed fabrics for Halston; - Worked as junior editor at Queen; - Joined Saint Laurent’s firm, 1972.
How Loulou Became a Style Icon - Loulou was first woman in history to actually get a paid job as a Muse, in the early 70s’. - Loulou was Yve’s creative right hand, Muse, alter ego and the designer of all the flamboyant accessories that were a crucial component of the YSL “look”. - For 30 years, until his retirement in 2002,Yves relied on Loulou to inspire him, make him laugh and talk him off the ledge.
Why Loulou Became a Style Icon - Loulou was not simply Yves’s most colorful collaborator, but one of the most vivid female fashion personalities since Coco Chanel. - Loulou didn’t dress up to wow the paparazzi, but rather to delight herself, surprise her friends and, most crucially, impress Yves. - Loulou had fearless style, providing a walking embodiment of what real style—personal, quirky, unexpected, inspiring—could be.
Loulou’s Style • Loulou’s unique style includes colorful material, rich prints and heavy accessorizing. • Her style was joyful, happy, full of life, exploring cultures and materials. • Famous for her untamed spirit expressed with a lot of fantasy details and a specific sense of humor in a fresh, city version, with a touch of feminine chic.
Signature Look - Wearing many scarfs on her head in a turban-knot; - Combining statement jewelry in courageous looks; - Short hair and a deep smile.
• Loulou developed a unique bohemian deLuxe look, combining elements from the Anglo-Irish aristocracy and the eternal chic of Parisian woman.
Loulou’s Influence One of her great contributions was to bring to Paris all the fun that existed in London's 60s and all the transgression and hedonism of New York by Halston and Warhol. The New Yorker declared her to have "always been the quintessential Rive Gauche haute bohémienne.”
• Cover of The Untold Story of Loulou de La Falaise and the House of Saint Laurent, a new oral history written and compiled by Christopher Petkanas, who knew de la Falaise in the '80s, and reunited with her in 2010.
• Heiresses, countesses, models, movie stars and fashion editors wanted to look like Loulou. Stylists designed their looks in tribute to Loulou.
Many elements she made famous back then are actually still cool today, like the turbans and colorful scarfs wrapped around the head.
Her eclectic style and atypical approach left a strong trace in the development of fashion, and continues to inspire fashion designers.
• Balmain Fall/Winter 2015 Ready-to-Wear.
Loulou’s Lifestyle
• She was impish and fun, never condescending or snappy. She looked artistic, and sounded worldly and intelligent in either English or French.
• She loved all-night parties, didn’t exercise and smoked, drank and took drug in a way that was pretty ubiquitous in those stylish Parisian circles.
 "Accessories play an important role in our stressful lives, so if you go out to dinner and you do not have time to get in and change, you can take off your jacket and put a jewel in. It's a lot easier than wearing a Evening dress in the subway! "
-Loulou de la Falaise
"For me, a muse is someone who looks glamorous but is quite passive, whereas I was very hard-working. I worked from 9am to sometimes 9pm, or even 2am. I certainly wasn't passive."
-Loulou de la Falaise
Bibliography • Brancia, A. (1970, January 01). LOU LOU THE MUSE. Retrieved from http://www.scostumista.com/ 2015/09/lou-lou-muse.html • Eckardt, S., & Eckardt, S. (2018, April 25). The Ever Stylish Loulou de la Falaise Was Far More Than Just Yves Saint Laurent's Muse. Retrieved from https://www.wmagazine.com/gallery/loulou-de-lafalaise-yves-saint-laurent-muse • García, L. (2014, October 29). Loulou de la Falaise, la musa más creativa de la historia | Actualidad, Moda. Retrieved from https://smoda.elpais.com/moda/loulou-de-la-falaise-la-musa-mas-creativa-dela-historia/ • Luna:ritmica, |. (2015, July 29). The Muse // Loulou de la Falaise, the free-spirited bohemian. Retrieved from https://lunastudio.moda/2015/07/28/the-muse-loulou-de-la-falaise-the-freespirited-bohemian/ • McEvoy, M. (2017, December 20). Loulou de la Falaise: The Real Deal. Retrieved from https:// www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/t-magazine/loulou-de-la-falaise-yves-saint-laurent-muse.html • O. (2014, October 22). Loulou de la Falaise : La femme modèle. Retrieved from https:// o.nouvelobs.com/mode/20141022.OBS2790/loulou-de-la-falaise-la-femme-modele.html