Loulou de la Falaise, V&A

Many know Loulou de la Falaise as a muse to the great designer Yves Saint Laurent, as a style icon in her own right and as a vanguard of fashion. But, in the new book Loulou de la Falaise by Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni and Ariel de Ravenel, this free-spirit of the fashion industry comes across as so much more.

This five-part book covers all aspects of Loulou’s remarkable life, from her louche British family and neglectful mother, her wild years in New York with Andy Warhol and collaborations with famous American designer Halston, to her love of Yves Saint Laurent and untimely death at sixty three.

The V&A is welcoming these two co-authors, both of whom knew Loulou personally, to speak about their friend. Writer Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni knew Loulou when the young designer was making it big alongside Yves Saint Laurant and Pierre Berge in Paris, and Natasha was working as a reporter for Women’s Wear Daily. Ariel de Ravenel was, in turn, a close friend and business partner.

The book is filled with glittering photographs of Loulou throughout her life and testimonies from those who knew and best loved her inclusive and intoxicating character.

This V&A talk is a must, not only for those interested in the life of Loulou and her career as Yves Saint Laurant’s jewellery and knitwear designer, as stylist to the great French actress Catherine Deneuve and mastermind of her own line; but also those interested in the history of fashion and the marks left by a kind and creative mind.