Top image: Yves Saint Laurent and Loulou de la Falaise with Betty Catroux and François Catroux, 1970. © Jack Nisberg/Roger-Viollet/The Image Works

Some people are luminous, and by looking at a photograph of Loulou de la Falaise, you get an impression not only of her impeccable style, but also of her personality. Widely renowned as Yves Saint Laurent’s muse from the early 70s, Loulou’s friend and colleague, Ariel de Ravenel, has compiled a book with Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni – the first of its kind – to honour the fashion icon who would light up a room, even if she wasn’t wearing haute couture.

The vivacious and spirited Loulou is often seen donning in eccentric fabrics, jewellery, and the androgynous chic style epitomised in YSL’s 1966 women’s tuxedo Le Smoking, a silhouette with a lasting impact that continues to leave its mark on menswear as well as womenswear today – not to mention the overwhelming sense of bohemian, beatnik effervescence that oozed from Saint Laurent’s SS15 Psych Rock collection for men and women – by whom, along with fellow muse Betty Catroux, the clothes were inspired. Artistic and ambitious, she worked alongside Yves Saint Laurent designing his jewellery and accessories for three decades, before launching her own ready-to-wear and jewellery line. 

The book features 400 photographs from the likes of Helmut Newton to Bettina Rheims, interviews with Diane von Furstenberg, Christian Louboutin, and Oscar de la Renta, to name a few, with the introduction written by Pierre Bergé. Ariel explains how Loulou believed fashion should be fun, and although she’s known for her style, it’s something that was born from an incredible character, and that’s why she’s so eminent, remembered, and influential today. 

Clementine Zawadzki: The book is beautifully composed and really conveys how there was more to Loulou than just being revered for her fashion sense. How did you go about illustrating this?
Ariel de Ravenel: Loulou certainly was a lot more than that, and that was the whole point of doing this book. I mean, just starting with her heritage and family, and then her having such a wild and remarkable life. It’s incredibly rich and interesting. She was born into this rather extraordinary family. Loulou lived in New York in her early teenage years with her mother, and then moved to London to live with her grandmother, where she met her husband and married at a young age. She was a very extraordinary person to start with. Having worked with Yves Saint Laurent only enriched everything that was already within her, hence her becoming such an extraordinary icon. The reason he was so much in love with the way she looked had so much to do with the way she was. She had such a very striking style and personality. It’s about knowing who Loulou really was, hence the choice of the cover. It’s not the most obvious photograph, but I think it was more interesting to go into the fact Loulou was someone so special.

CZ: Do you think style is more about attitude, rather than what is considered fashionable or on trend?
AR: I think Loulou had an extremely strong sense of style, and of course a very personal style. Quite frankly, it was effortless. She always looked very feminine. Loulou considered herself a little like a tomboy, but she would always be incredibly graceful, very poetic, and very glamorous. Even if she wore something considered to be boyish, she would always make it look sophisticated.

CZ: What is it that made Loulou daring?
AR: Oh, she was daring! You always got the impression that she wasn’t frightened of anything. So, she was daring in her way of dressing, and in her life too.

CZ: Was it a surprise at the time for Loulou’s style to become so iconic? Do you think she was aware of the impact she was having and would have?
AR: I don’t think anybody ever realises it, and the term icon is something that’s only become important very recently. You didn’t hear about icons before. There were these amazing women, but the word icon wasn’t used. I think another good example is Kate Moss, because it’s not just the way she dresses, but it’s also her persona. You have all these It Girls, and everybody wants to become iconic these days, but it’s not something that happens overnight. The word is used very easily, but Loulou really was one.

CZ: What can you tell me about Loulou’s designs?
AR: Loulou was extremely passionate about her work, but I don’t think she ever realised just how extremely hard she worked. I think it must’ve been incredible to work within that company, because of all the wonderful personalities. The sheer fact of going to work everyday alongside Yves Saint Laurent in the studio and working with the best people. Loulou really dressed for Yves Saint Laurent everyday, going into the office. She really wanted to look her very best, and I’m sure that was part of why she inspired him so much. There’s that wonderful handwritten text opposite the iconic photograph by Jean-Pierre Masclet (which is really the iconic picture of Loulou standing while smoking a cigarette) and when you read through that, it really does show just how they understood each other so well.

CZ: Can you tell me about when you met Loulou?
AR: I met Loulou very early when she first came to Paris, and I was working for Vogue at that time, and she was brought into the studio by Fernando Sanchez. She was the most stylish and fun person I could imagine. We moved very much in the same circles, went out together, and had lots of friends in common. It was really just quite natural that we would become close. When Yves Saint Laurent retired, and Loulou started her own company, she asked me if I’d like to help her start it, which I did of course. It all happened very organically, and then at one point we became very much inseparable, because we moved onto other projects together too, and it was very much just the two of us.

CZ: What was Loulou’s designing style like?
AR: It was all very quick. She was very quick with her decisions. She was very quick in knowing what she wanted. She had an extraordinary sense of colour. She was a genius with jewellery. I know nobody who could put things together like that and make it look incredible. She was never scared to use components people probably wouldn’t have used before. She loved nature, and was really inspired by flowers, insects and birds, even by a piece of wood. No material was taboo and everything was usable. That’s why her jewellery was crafted so beautifully.

CZ: I think what was very outstanding about Loulou is how she never looked overdone.
AR: Never, and nobody else could do it that way. That’s why she’s so inspiring, particularly the way fashion is going this coming season, and everything reminds you of Loulou. What was so wonderful is that I think she also surprised Yves Saint Laurent with the way she wore his clothes. It just didn’t look the same on her as it did on anyone else.

CZ: What was it like to be approached to compile a book about your friend and colleague?
AR: It was a huge responsibility. There’s absolutely no question that what made it easier, or even possible for me, was the fact Loulou’s husband and her daughter, and Pierre Bergé, really entrusted me totally.

CZ: Pierre Bergé wrote the introduction to the book. How did that come about that he wrote the introduction?
AR: They were very close, absolutely. There was a huge amount of love and respect, and it was a very long lasting collaboration. They were like family. They travelled together, and from the time I’ve worked with designers, I tend to spend a lot of time with them, that’s the way it happens. You become incredibly close. It’s a very bonding business.

CZ: I understand you were approached about this book soon after Loulou’s passing. Was this a cathartic process in a way?
AR: Oh, of course. It was wonderful to have Natasha working on this, because she knew many of the people too, and interviewed lots of people, and wrote this wonderful copy, and gathered some amazing quotes, which we had a wonderful time being able to work into the pages with the pictures, and I think they enhance each other very much. It makes it lively and it brings Loulou to life, which I think is what we wanted. The art director I worked with was also wonderful, and is a friend and knew Loulou, and everyone involved absolutely adored her, and I think that’s what made the book what it is. She loved life, and that’s what we wanted to bring to the book, and I hope we achieved it.

CZ: What is your fondest memory of Loulou?
AR: I think being in the kitchen with her in the country. She was a fantastic cook, and she could whip up a meal in no time, with a glass of wine, and we’d just hang out in the kitchen and chit-chat about work, and I’d help her chop. She loved her country house, and her family, and it’s those moments that are the most precious.

Loulou de la Falaise by Ariel de Ravenel and Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni is out now via Rizzoli