Debut: Yves Saint Laurent 1962

"Of all the coffee table books that would come to be, none of them capture the monsieur like Debut. Before cameras were common, there was prophetic magic in catching the genesis of genius on film; like meeting the killer before his crime. This book documents Saint Laurent’s first year as an independent designer. After Dior’s sudden death, Yves was appointed to succeed his mentor and lead the house of Christian Dior. Shortly afterwards, his own label Yves Saint Laurent was born. I spent most of my youth idealizing the sixties. In my child’s mind it represented widespread revolution; a spirited overthrowing of convention to usher in what would be, authored by those unheard. The 26-year-old couturier would prove to be a prolific artist before he would ever be a dressmaker. These images tell the story of love for a craft just before it would become a corporation; when the highest return on creativity was the creation itself. It is one of my favorites because it humanizes the heart of a man at the nucleus of the brand." — Recho Omondi