Hamish Bowles Puts Personal Collection of Yves Saint Laurent on View in Stunning Exhibition

In the words of Madison Cox, President of the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, “For decades now, I’ve known of Hamish’s deep passion for fashion, his vast expertise, unique eye, knowledge of the craft of making clothes and his ever-expanding collection… including of course, Yves Saint Laurent.”

“I think it very interesting to delve into the mind of a collector who often brings their own passions, enthusiasm if not fetishes when it comes to collecting,” Cox tells Galerie.

To truly understand “The Hamish Bowles Collection,” it is important to go back to the beginning. “My collection started when I used to go with my mother to junk shops and antique shops,” explains Bowles. “I was 6 or 7 at the time. I would buy some pieces that were in my price range… there were guinea purses and smocked caps, that sort of thing.” The collecting bug had taken hold and by his tween years, he was fascinated with fashion. “I bought my first British Vogue when I was 10!” He bought his first YSL—a couture dress, no less—in 1969.

To fully express the beauty and importance of this collection, Bowles collaborated with Anglo-Irish opera director Patrick Kinmouth, more known for his stage and live performances than museum shows. The exhibition highlights three key periods of YSL: the early years for Christian Dior 1958-1960; couture from the 1960s to the 1990s; and the genius of Rive Gauche and ready-to-wear.

This is not a retrospective nor a backward-facing show, but more of an invitation to immerse oneself in the world and passion of a collector who wants visitors to “see Saint Laurent as a designer who was not only creating fantasy and razzle-dazzle, but also had a keen eye for modernity.”

“As a collector, I have been drawn more to the pieces that signaled his strength as a designer, who could allow his women to feel full of confidence, some low-key pieces that are wonderful on the body, for instance,” says Bowles. “Yves was in the vanguard of fashion, always experimenting with something new, but his clothes always are essentially beautiful, capturing the mood, in the air,” Bowles explains. And he did it, with elements of glamour and mystery.

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