{"id":319304,"date":"2026-03-03T08:58:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T08:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/319304\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T08:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T08:58:13","slug":"paloma-picasso-on-personal-style-yves-saint-laurent-and-helmut-newton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/319304\/","title":{"rendered":"Paloma Picasso on Personal Style, Yves Saint Laurent and Helmut Newton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tPARIS \u2014 More than five decades after inspiring one of Yves Saint Laurent<\/a>\u2019s most famous collections, Paloma Picasso<\/a> has lost none of her power to fascinate.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe jewelry designer, best known for her longstanding collaboration with Tiffany & Co., will join fashion historian Olivier Saillard<\/a> on stage for what promises to be a highlight of his upcoming two-week residency at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOn March 13 and 14, they will discuss how Picasso\u2019s penchant for vintage fashion influenced Saint Laurent\u2019s spring 1971 collection, which caused a scandal<\/a> because of its references to a dark chapter of history, the Nazi Occupation of Paris during World War II. She was also close to Karl Lagerfeld<\/a>, wearing dresses from both designers for her wedding in Paris in 1978. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tPaloma Picasso and Rafael Lopez-Cambil wedding and party in Paris, 1978. Fairchild Archive<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWWD<\/p>\n

\n\tWith the launch of her eponymous fragrance in 1984, Picasso became a global icon, known for her signature red lip and use of bold shapes and vibrant colors in her designs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPeople who work in fashion are all a little in love with Paloma Picasso,\u201d Saillard said. \u201cShe represents a strength of character and a very strong iconography. She is this face. She is this red.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn an interview with WWD, Picasso talked about how she developed her signature style, revealed her go-to wardrobe pieces, and told the story behind the iconic Helmut Newton portrait that\u2019s still pinned to the mood board of designers today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: How long have you known Olivier Saillard<\/a>?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tPaloma Picasso: For a long while I wasn\u2019t living in Paris, so it\u2019s only been three years. I first met him in Arles [France] because he has a house there. I often go down for the photo festival, and last summer there was an exhibition about Yves Saint Laurent<\/a>. We ended up having dinner together a few times.<\/p>\n

I knew about his performances because he often works with Violeta Sanchez, who used to model for Saint Laurent. That came about because I\u2019d cast her in a play. Yves saw her and said, \u201cShe\u2019s wonderful. Can I bring her in for a fitting?\u201d I said I would ask, and that\u2019s how she became a couture model. She ended up doing a ton of photos with Helmut Newton, too.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnyway, she\u2019s been collaborating with Olivier for years, but I\u2019ve never seen any of his projects. Recently, I came across a film of one of his performances with Tilda Swinton, which gave me an idea of what I was in for. I think Olivier\u2019s brilliant, so I actually said yes before we even discussed the details.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: From what I understand, you won\u2019t be performing with him, but rather sitting down for a conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: I\u2019m a terrible actress, but I\u2019m pretty good at answering questions. Every time I\u2019ve done TV interviews \u2014 mainly in the U.S. \u2014 they said to come back anytime.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSo I\u2019m not too worried.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: Are you comfortable speaking in public?<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: Yes. Although I\u2019ve been roped into conferences a few times, I generally avoid giving talks. I really hate it, but I\u2019m fine with interviews. I can handle that. I find it hard to organize my thoughts in advance, so whenever I have to speak in front of an audience, I do it without a safety net. I don\u2019t prepare anything and I just dive straight in.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Paloma<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tPaloma Picasso attends the 10th year celebration of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume exhibition in New York in 1981.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDustin Pittman<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: You were the muse for Saint Laurent\u2019s 1940s-inspired collection because you wore a lot of vintage clothes at the time. How did you get into that?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: I was still at school, and whenever I wasn\u2019t studying, I liked to spend evenings watching classic movies at the Cin\u00e9math\u00e8que. I got into fashion through Hollywood, because the movies of the \u201930s, \u201940s or early \u201950s inspired me to develop a look that felt right for me. I remember I was around 13 when I first tried on red lipstick in front of the mirror. I just thought I looked completely ridiculous. I took it off right away. I tried again a year later, but it still didn\u2019t work. In the end, I waited until I was 17 before I started wearing red lipstick, which was absolutely not fashionable at the time. I would spend almost every Sunday at flea markets, picking up vintage clothes to put together these \u201940s-inspired ensembles. I have broad shoulders, so I almost don\u2019t need shoulder pads \u2014 they\u2019re naturally padded already. So that silhouette really works for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: Did people think you were weird?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: Some people definitely found it odd. I was living with my grandmother at the time, and if I was going out at night wearing a hat or something a little extravagant, she was always supportive, but she\u2019d beg me to take a taxi home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tShe was probably thinking, \u201cThis is all very well, but it might cause a bit of a commotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: Were you inspired by any actress in particular?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: Ava Gardner spoke to me the most. There were all these amazing blondes too \u2014 though everyone knows three-quarters of them were not real blondes \u2014 but the fake blonde look is not my thing. I\u2019m a brunette, and I will remain a brunette.<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: Today, vintage shopping has become a global trend. Should we give you credit for kickstarting it?<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: I probably wasn\u2019t alone in going to these vintage shops, but in those days, there were far fewer of them. The trend started in the \u201860s, blossomed in the \u201870s and \u201880s, and now it\u2019s back in full force. At that age, I wanted to stand out because I felt different. Being half Spanish and half French meant I was pulled in different directions and didn\u2019t fit into any group, so I had to create my own mood and style. I tried making my own clothes, but I wasn\u2019t very gifted at sewing. Mixing old and modern clothes in new combinations allowed me to create a unique look.<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: How has your personal style evolved over time?<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: It\u2019s become much simpler, because in those days, I wasn\u2019t working yet. My style was my main focus of attention. Putting together outfits was a full-time job and in the \u201970s and \u201880s, there were theme parties, so getting dressed was a creative outlet.<\/p>\n

\n\tTo be honest, I no longer read fashion magazines and I don\u2019t spend a lot of time shopping for clothes. I might have a favorite item copied, and I wear a lot of things that I\u2019ve had for 30 or 40 years. So sometimes, I\u2019m my own vintage inspiration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: Olivier Saillard has described his Living Museum of Fashion at the Fondation Cartier as a tribute to everyday clothes. What is your go-to wardrobe staple?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: A black turteneck. I wear a fine cotton version by John Smedley year-round, and in winter, I like a black turtleneck sweater.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve been at Tiffany for 45 years \u2014 which is scary \u2014 and I find that jewelry looks great with a black sweater. So if I really want to showcase a piece, a black backdrop is perfect.<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: What is the oldest piece in your wardrobe?<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: I\u2019ve found that coats really stand the test of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI have some beautiful Saint Laurent haute couture coats and a lot of things from Geoffrey Beene, who is long gone \u2014 but he was such a marvelous designer. There are some pieces from other designers too, like Karl Lagerfeld \u2014 not so much from his Chlo\u00e9 era, but old Chanel.<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: Simon Porte Jacquemus closed his fall 2026 collection, shown at the Picasso Museum in Paris, with a look inspired by Helmut Newton\u2019s famous portrait of you. Can you tell me about that shoot?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: At the time, I\u2019d known Helmut for around two years. I was designing jewelry for Zolotas, so it was a very, very long time ago. Sometimes the date is given as 1974, but it was 1973, in fact. I was showing my jewelry at the Byblos hotel in Saint-Tropez. I was very close to Karl at the time and he knew I was going down there, so he told Francine Crescent [who was then editor in chief of French Vogue]. Helmut had been talking about finding an opportunity to photograph me, and the stars aligned.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe funny thing is, I had seen Helmut a few weeks before. I got to Saint-Tropez a week before him, and being half Andalusian, I was very tanned by the time he arrived. On top of that, I had cut my hair. The day before the shoot, he had a meltdown, saying, \u201cThis is terrible, what am I going to do, how could you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Paloma<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tPaloma Picasso celebrates the launch of Paloma Picasso the fragrance in Atlanta in 1985.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWWD<\/p>\n

\n\tAnyway, the next day rolls around, and I\u2019m putting together my dress, which was made of three sections. There was a black silk jersey skirt and the top was made of two pieces of triangular fabric that were tied with knots. I put the first triangle over one breast, and went to put the second triangle over the second breast, but Helmut said it looked better before, so he asked me to take it off. We still needed something to hide the breast, so out came the whiskey glass. It was a bit early for a drink, so I didn\u2019t have the whiskey, but we used it as a prop. I have to say the photo is really beautiful and iconic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI feel like Helmut shot the definitive portrait of me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: As a designer yourself, how comfortable are you with the role of muse?<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: I think the two can perfectly coexist. As a child, I was represented in portraits by my father [Pablo Picasso] and my mother [Fran\u00e7oise Gilot] so I never felt it was particularly odd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWWD: As someone who has developed an instantly recognizable style, do you have any advice for young people who are still searching for their look?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tP.P.: You need to figure out what you like and don\u2019t like about yourself, because that is key to feeling comfortable in your skin. We all have ridiculous obsessions. You might think your ears are too big, or that you have ugly hands, or goodness knows what. So knowing what you want to spotlight or gloss over is the foundation of style.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI recommend cherrypicking in the fashion around you the clothes that are in tune with how you feel inside. I think that\u2019s the key to success.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS \u2014 More than five decades after inspiring one of Yves Saint Laurent\u2019s most famous collections, Paloma Picasso…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[146,85,46,158921,158934,60689,78237],"class_list":["post-319304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-olivier-saillard","tag-paloma-picasso","tag-tiffany-co","tag-yves-saint-laurent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}