Saint Laurent and Berge took both art

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut hermes wallet black& paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Queen retrospective at Manhattan's Metropolitan Museum of Art a couple of years ago, and the eagerness of museums to snap up dresses from Mary Katrantzou, whose meticulous, imaginative manipulation of patterns into elaborate complex dresses holds its own alongside many art installations and probably has as much to say about society. Yves Saint Laurent was the first modern designer to engage fully with art by transferring Mondrian's squares onto his sheath dresses in the Seventies. It was a brilliant ambush, not least because the squares added vitality and spatial interest to those simplistic looking cylindrical dresses, and the dresses in turn gave Mondrian's work a new 3-D lease of life. Last weekend at a Sotheby's dinner to launch its Contemporary Auction, I met Alain Tarica, the man who helped Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge form their art

 collection. Saint Laurent and Berge took both art and Saint Laurent's work very seriously (they ultimately acquired fi, the Persian Gulf's shopping paradise. Brightly patterned headscarves come from Turkey, sequined tunics from Syria. To follow the West's changing hemlines, trend-obsessed Iranians tune their televisions to Fashion TV, the international channel devoted exclusively to style. Housewives have made small fortunes hauling back the latest styles from Europe and the United States. Unlicensed vendors hermes kelly 32cmsend text messages via cell phones to alert loyal customers to coveted new cargo of Calvin Klein watches and Hermes scarves. "When I go on a trip to Paris, Germany, Sweden, I always buy a lot of clothes Crawford says

it has reserved a significant portion of its bag order for the top-handle shape and is exclusively launching Delvaux and Mark Cross this autumn and next spring respectively. “For the Chinese, there is a return to the sophisticated and ladylike styling in handbags,” says Irene Yu, divisional merchandise manager of designer footwear and handbags at Pedder hermes card caseGroup, Lane Crawford’s parent company. She recently purchased a Delvaux Brilliant MM (£2,450) herself because “its simplicity means that it works with different styles, and transcends age”. The lack of a shoulder strap can, of course, create problems: the too-heavy-to-hold issue that can come with cramming too many things inside. Amanda Harlech, who rotates between her Fendi Peekaboo £1,773-£2,933) and Anna bag (£1,869) says self-editing is key when it comes to top-handle bags. “Laptop and books have to go into a rucksack if you are travelling and make-up is redu