Yves St Laurent Models His First Men's Collection - 1969

Hugely successful French couturier Yves St. Laurent designed his first collection of ready to wear clothing for men in the fall of 1969.  The clothing was sold exclusively in the Rive Gauche boutiques in New York and Paris. Here, a few of the designs are modeled by St. Laurent himself for Vogue magazine.  The photos were all taken at his home, Dar El-Hansh, in Morocco.

Above: White gabardine suit with flapped pockets, worn with a black cotton voile shirt and striped silk scarf.

 Laced glove leather tunic and corduroy jeans.  The tunic was also available in suede.

The same suit as the first photo, but in pale pink worn with a cotton floral shirt.

Photos by Patrick Lichfield for Vogue magazine, 1969.

Pierre Cardin - Tout Pour L'Homme

Pierre Cardin, 1965

When you think of Mod, you think of Pierre Cardin. He was one of the pioneers of the architectural design lines and cutouts of the mid 1960s. But did you know that Cardin also was a menswear fashion innovator? As early as 1960, Cardin was experimenting with the traditional business suit by removing collars, lapels, and cuffs.

Early Beatle's suit by Douglas Milling in the collection of the Museum of Liverpool.

London tailor Douglas Millings, who made many of the early Beatles stage suits, copied Pierre Cardin's collarless suit for the Fab Four, and the look was an instant success all over the world. Cardin's menswear was also worn by John Steed in the British TV series, "The Avengers".

In 1966, Cardin opened his first menswear store, "Tout Pour L'Homme" at 59 rue du Fauborg Saint-Honoré in Paris.

Pierre Cardin, 1968

Cardin was an innovator in mixing leather, vinyl, and metal with wool for fabulous op-art effects.

Pierre Cardin, 1968

He often designed coordinating men's and women's fashions. Here he uses silver and black vinyl in a pair of Space Age looks from 1968.

Pierre Cardin, 1970

It was Pierre Cardin who introduced the Nehru jacket after traveling to India and Pakistan in the 1960s. He used fancy brocades and other unusual fabrics for men's jackets. He also showed turtlenecks instead of button-down shirts for men.

Pierre Cardin, 1972

Here, Cardin shows wider lapels in a suit coat that extends to midi length.

Pierre Cardin, 1972

A precursor to the look that American menswear manufacturers would ruin in polyester fabric, a Leisure Suit in bright blue wool.

Pierre Cardin, 1972

Another popular look for men in the early 70s - bell bottoms and vertical stripes. Somehow Cardin makes it all work.