MUSE, 2005
MONOGRAM, 2013
SAC DE JOUR, 2013
Monogram bag, Yves Saint Laurent, Marie Claire France, Spring/Summer, 2014.
Jacob Sadrak + Carrol Cruz/Thelicensingproject.com
The signature logo of the house of Yves Saint Laurent was created in 1961 by artist Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron, also known as “Cassandre,” who intertwined serif and sans-serif letters to elegant effect. That monogram is “as synonymous with—as significant to—20th-century style as T. S. Eliot’s is with literature,” wrote journalist Olivia Barker in USA Today in 2008.
Curiously enough, the early hit handbags did not feature the famous logo. The Muse—a sleek, oversized take on the traditional bowling bag—has a subtle Y-shaped panel stitched on the side instead. The Muse Two, which appeared three years later, in 2008, is a chic, utilitarian rectangular satchel with a front flap and a circular gold closure. Speaking to the New York Times that year, creative director Stefano Pilati explained the repurposing of the bag’s name despite the very different styles: “Customers seem to like to ask for bags by name, but I don’t really like to name my bags—they are not children or pets.”
In 2012 Hedi Slimane became creative director, ushering in a sea change for the company. He revamped the stores, chose to work from his hometown of Los Angeles rather than move to the firm’s Paris headquarters, and restored the long-forgotten blocklike Helvetica logo, introduced by Monsieur Saint Laurent himself for the ready-to-wear Rive Gauche line launched in 1966. The revival logo appeared on one of Slimane’s debut handbags, the Sac de Jour, a seductively spare and modern style reminiscent of the Hermès Birkin, with practical compartment dividers and expandable, pleated sides. The Sac exuded a cool allure, and the brand surged in popularity: Joan Jett and Courtney Love sat front and center at the runway shows, Joni Mitchell and Marilyn Manson starred in ad campaigns, and countless hip-hop artists invoked it in song.
Despite widespread public misconception, Slimane did not do away with the original Mouron logo. It continued to be used with fragrances and accessories such as the Monogram bag. While the style comes in numerous versions—from a ladylike crossbody with chevron quilting to a glamorous gold-tassel clutch—the highlight is the original YSL logo prominently displayed on the front, both a status marker and beautiful design element. With its rock-and-roll edginess, the Monogram has given the storied logo a renewed sense of currency for a new generation. Slimane left the company in 2016, yet Saint Laurent continues to be a cult favorite, bridging the worlds of high fashion, pop culture, and music.
“My YSL bag deserves a seat all of its own.”
—SARAH HOLDEN, Daily Mail, July 16, 2007
Monogram bag, Yves Saint Laurent, Fall 2014.
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Monogram bag, Yves Saint Laurent, New York City, 2015.
Ian Bartlett/TheLicensingProject.com
“What makes a good bag?”
Judith Van den Hoek
“You gotta have it or you’ll die!”
—TOM FORD, from Purse Pizzazz by Marie Browning, 2005
Vogue cover, illustrated by Carl Oscar August Erickson, January 1947.
Carl Oscar August Erickson/Condé Nast via Getty Images