At the new Yves Saint Laurent museum at the Pierre Berge Foundation in Paris, the designer’s famous Le Smoking is the main attraction, literally. It’s the first garment that you see on display upon entering the newly christened museum, which rests in what was Laurent’s maison from 1974 until he stepped down from designing in 2002. Its creation was considered everything from shocking—Le Cote Basque famously turned away socialite Nan Kempner when she arrived wearing it—to ill-fitting and ill-conceived when it debuted in 1966. Looking through today’s lens, while its style endures, it looks rather tame. Saint Laurent may take all the credit for this genderless dressing in men’s formal wear, but he was hardly the first nor the last. In this spirit, CR reflects on women who have favored the penquin suit aka black tie attire.
Marlene Dietrich
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Yves Saint Laurent’s ideas may have been against the grain as a couture proposition, but Marlene Dietrich takes credit for sporting the look some 30 years earlier. While YSL took the tailoring concept and draped and cut it to a women’s figure, Dietrich's were men’s suits that she fit herself. The actress was one of those enigmatic figures of modern showbiz, but existed in a much more mysterious manner (easier in those pre-internet days but that didn’t stop traditional press reporters from hounding her). Her sexuality was another aspect of her mystery. She reportedly had both male and female paramours. She debuted the black-tie attire when she played another cabaret singer in the 1930 film Morocco, in which she kissed another woman. Quelle scandale!
Victor/Victoria
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Maria-the nun-cum-Von-Trapp may be Julie Andrews most famous role from the 1965 movie The Sound of Music, but it was the 1982 Oscar-winning remake of Viktor und Viktoria that left another indelible image. It was one of a cross-dressing cabaret singer, Victor/Victoria, set in Paris in the 1930s nightclub scene. Andrews was afforded classic Hollywood lighting that gave her a Dietrich-effect too. (Perhaps the idea was loosely-based on the German-born actress’s aforementioned role in Morocco.)
Annie Lennox
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Gender-bending reached fever pitch in the 1980s, and no one exemplified it better than Annie Lennox—the more famous half of the English techno-pop-husband-and-wife-duo, the Eurythmics. Though Lennox tended to prefer a simple Men in Black-esque ensemble—in fact, she has primarily been seen only in suits during her 30-plus-year career—she occasionally donned a tux, such as in this photo from 1984. Her closely cropped locks in either bright orange or platinum blonde added to her striking androgynous look. Whether intentional or not, the English singer made a strong case for equality both in the workplace and the wardrobe. Artist and model daughter Tali Lennox may opt for more feminine styles, but still she shares mom’s arresting looks
Janelle Monaé
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Nothing sums up Janelle Monaé's signature black-and-white style better than perhaps the snappy fitted tux she wore in the Grammy-nominated song and video "Tightrope." It doesn’t hurt that the 5-foot-zero recording artist, actress, and Cover Girl looks adorably chic sporting the classically men’s suit. (Double points for the white with black trim version she sported among other places at the Austin Music Hall in 2009.) Reportedly Monae’s inspiration for choosing classic black and white came from her pre-music career as a maid. "I bathe in it, I swim in it, and I could be buried in it,” she once said. “A tux is such a standard uniform, it's so classy and it's a lifestyle I enjoy. The tux keeps me balanced. I don't want to cloud myself with too many colors or I'll go crazy."
Fellow Designers
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YSL may own the category, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others that give the Algerian-born French designer a run for his money. Designers such as Stella McCartney, Tom Ford for Gucci, Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy, and Mr. Preppy Classic himself, Ralph Lauren, have always had a thing for dressing ladies like the lads. The influence and predominance of the look has made it to the red carpet where celebs such as Evan Rachel Wood, who donned an Altuzarra version at last year's Golden Globes. Rihanna also rocked a Dolce & Gabbana tux in 2009, and Angelina Jolie brought it full circle and wore a Hedi Slimane Saint Laurent version to the BFAs in 2014, showing a refreshing change from typical evening dresses.
Courtesy CR Fashion
