Pantsuit "City Pants" [Left] Safari Suit [Right]

The May 1968 protests in Paris had a dramatic effect on the values of French society at the time. Yves Saint Laurent used this social movement as his pretext to push on ahead with the Pant Suit for women, something that had been taboo till that moment. Saint Laurent’s caliber as a designer is evident in this new look, which, while "unisex," remained ultimately feminine. The garment on the left, Saint Laurent’s ‘city pants,’ was acclaimed for representing the same functionality as a man’s suit. The safari suit on the right is from the designer’s 1968 Spring Summer collection, the theme of which was "Africa", and in which Saint Laurent reinvented the functional hunting suit and turned it women’s town wear.