ON SET

Behind the Scenes of Saint Laurent

Director Bertrand Bonello talks about his biopic of Yves Saint Laurent.


On Set Saint Laurent
1

“I’m often very disappointed in cinematic depictions of nightclubs. You can hear the dialogue too clearly, or the extras are no good. So I worked hard on those things.” Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

2

“You always hear that Yves transformed women. So I tried to create a scene to incarnate that idea. This client, I feel like she loses 15 years just in the acting. It’s about the way she’s being looked at.” Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

3

“This is before the famous ’76 collection. My costume designer, Anaïs Romand, redid 35 pieces or so. That’s a lot—the budgets in haute couture are much bigger than in the movies.” Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

4

“Gaspard and Louis Garrel, who plays Jacques de Bascher. Yves had many lovers, but this was a little more impassioned. Jacques was a difficult character to cast—this kind of dandy does not exist anymore. Louis gives it a contemporary spin.” Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

5

“I was initially not crazy about casting Jérémie Renier as Pierre Bergé, but when I did screen tests with them together, it just appeared that he was Pierre. The two were actually very close already. When we start the film, Pierre and Yves have already been together as a couple for years, so you have to have that familiarity.” Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

6

“Lea Seydoux as Yves’ muse Loulou de la Falaise. She’s actually very far from Loulou, who was much more excitable. But Lea is a modern Loulou—aristocratic and a fashion icon.” Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.