You get only fleeting views of Yves Saint Laurent (Gaspard Ulliel) sketching designs and perfecting his fashions on his models—no mannequins in his house, only living bodies—in Bertrand Bonello’s biopic. In fact, most of the familiar beats are either trimmed or completely snipped out of this languorous, luxurious film.
Bonello focuses on just a few years of Saint Laurent’s life: 1967 through 1975, the height of his success and influence in the fashion world. There’s no backstory, no rising through the ranks, no breakthrough moment where he comes into his own. He’s already running his own fashion house when we jump into his life.
