“Yves Saint Laurent lived for women,” said Pierre Niney, the French actor who plays the unbearably shy, gay, puritan-turned-partier and spiraling genius that was Yves Saint Laurent. The term prodigy gets thrown around a lot, but Yves was exactly that, a design prodigy, so-called fashion’s “Little Prince” who redefined what women could wear, and therefore who they could be, throwing out the soft, flowery, structured dresses of Dior’s 1950s woman (Charlotte Le Bon) for the cool, angular slacks of the liberated 1960s woman (Marie de Villepin). The clothes, originals from the YSL archive, are the heart of the film: green fox fur, Moroccan-inspired headpieces, the iconic Mondrian dress. Swoon.
We talked to Pierre Niney about what it was like to play the sensitive bundle of nerves and charm that was YSL, and whether you can ever leave a role like that behind. Plus, check out our exclusive preview clip below in which Yves and his lifelong love and business partner, Pierre Bergé (the one cool-headed character in Laurent’s life) decide to start the legendary line.
AUSTEN ROSENFELD: Can you tell me about your preparation for the role of YSL?
PIERRE NINEY: I didn’t know that much about Yves Saint Laurent before I started my preparation. I was familiar with his silhouette, his glasses, and a certain idea of the perfection on his work. But nothing more. Therefore, I really needed the five months of preparation with three different coaches, which allowed me to learn and deeply understand him and his life. I worked with a drawing coach to be able to draw for real on the movie, [to] get as close as possible to his style. A physical trainer, to do a proper evolution of the body through the film, and a stylist. I watched and read everything I could about him and his life, and I listened to his voice for more than three hours everyday. And, I had a priceless and rare access to the archives, dresses, and places, thanks to the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent. I met his closest co-workers and friends to see and understand the public persona, as well as the person he was behind closed doors.
What’s your own relationship to fashion?
I didn't know much about fashion before the five months of preparation I did for the part. I went to some fashion shows for my last movie, It Boy, where my character was having a love affair with a fashion journalist, but nothing more. Now, after five months of daily work with a stylist, observing how a fashion house runs, having gone backstage on various fashion shows and having intensively studied the archives, my outlook has changed significantly. When I see a dress, I realize the inspiration, the craftsmanship, and the patience gone into the creation. I am not a fashion addict, though. I like quality of course. And, I like to mix styles and items. A haute couture jacket and a good pair of sneakers, for example!
In your opinion, what caused YSL to shift to the world of partying and self-destruction? Do you think great artists always have a dark side?
He wanted to feel alive. He was scared of being bored. And, danger was to some point synonymous [with] emotions and strong feelings for him. What you discover in the movie is the fact that he was diagnosed manic-depressive at the age of 22. That also explain this lack of balance and maybe why he delved so far into self-destruction, drugs, medicine, and sex addictions.
I personally don't think an artist necessarily has to be desperate to create. Happy creative people exist, of course. But, there is a strong link between pain and creation, for sure. To me, it's because ma
We talked to Pierre Niney about what it was like to play the sensitive bundle of nerves and charm that was YSL, and whether you can ever leave a role like that behind. Plus, check out our exclusive preview clip below in which Yves and his lifelong love and business partner, Pierre Bergé (the one cool-headed character in Laurent’s life) decide to start the legendary line.
AUSTEN ROSENFELD: Can you tell me about your preparation for the role of YSL?
PIERRE NINEY: I didn’t know that much about Yves Saint Laurent before I started my preparation. I was familiar with his silhouette, his glasses, and a certain idea of the perfection on his work. But nothing more. Therefore, I really needed the five months of preparation with three different coaches, which allowed me to learn and deeply understand him and his life. I worked with a drawing coach to be able to draw for real on the movie, [to] get as close as possible to his style. A physical trainer, to do a proper evolution of the body through the film, and a stylist. I watched and read everything I could about him and his life, and I listened to his voice for more than three hours everyday. And, I had a priceless and rare access to the archives, dresses, and places, thanks to the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent. I met his closest co-workers and friends to see and understand the public persona, as well as the person he was behind closed doors.
What’s your own relationship to fashion?
I didn't know much about fashion before the five months of preparation I did for the part. I went to some fashion shows for my last movie, It Boy, where my character was having a love affair with a fashion journalist, but nothing more. Now, after five months of daily work with a stylist, observing how a fashion house runs, having gone backstage on various fashion shows and having intensively studied the archives, my outlook has changed significantly. When I see a dress, I realize the inspiration, the craftsmanship, and the patience gone into the creation. I am not a fashion addict, though. I like quality of course. And, I like to mix styles and items. A haute couture jacket and a good pair of sneakers, for example!
In your opinion, what caused YSL to shift to the world of partying and self-destruction? Do you think great artists always have a dark side?
He wanted to feel alive. He was scared of being bored. And, danger was to some point synonymous [with] emotions and strong feelings for him. What you discover in the movie is the fact that he was diagnosed manic-depressive at the age of 22. That also explain this lack of balance and maybe why he delved so far into self-destruction, drugs, medicine, and sex addictions.
I personally don't think an artist necessarily has to be desperate to create. Happy creative people exist, of course. But, there is a strong link between pain and creation, for sure. To me, it's because ma