Photo : YSL/ Attribune
08 January 2022, Saturday | NIAS Europe Daily Brief #93
IN FOCUS
By Joeana Cera Matthews
France: Celebrating 60 years of Yves Saint Laurent
The Legacy
On 29 January 2022, the design house, Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), will complete 60 years in the fashion industry. The first-ever YSL show was on 29 January 1962. Founded by the late fashion designer and named after him, Yves Saint Laurent entered the haute couture industry succeeding the already established fashion house, Christian Dior, in December 1961. He worked with his life and business partner Pierre Bergé. In 2002, the duo established the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation to conserve and promote the couturier’s work.
A Tribute
As a tribute to the late designer, six leading museums in Paris, including the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, will hold exhibitions marking the 60th anniversary of the design house’s first collection. The exhibition, scheduled from 29 January to 15 May, will see different features of the designer’s work. It is expected to showcase the inspirations of Saint Laurent including 20th-century greats like Picasso, Matisse and Mondrian. The curator of the multi-centre event, Mouna Mekouar justifies the need for such a tribute. She says: “We didn’t want to put the clothes in a room, we wanted them there among the permanent collections. In this way visitors will rediscover those collections at the same time as paying homage to Yves Saint Laurent. It’s like a cultural archipelago.” In fact, the couturier himself had stated: “Always influenced by painting, I owe my July 1966 collection to American painters like Wesselman, Roy Lichtenstein. All my dresses were lit with landscapes, moons and sunlight.” The Guardian reported a total of 50 creations and 300 designs to be on display during the exhibition.
President of the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation, Madison Cox, commented on the upcoming event, stating: “To me, Yves Saint Laurent has always been cutting-edge and innovative, talking about how to see fashion in different ways, how to project fashion in different ways, and also how to look back at his work and how to make it relevant, in a sense. And I felt that there was something else that could be said about Saint Laurent and his relationship with art.” The YSL display will build on the peculiarities of the permanent collections showcased in the respective museums. Cox elaborates: “So we’re not taking an empty temporary exhibition space and filling it, but we’re actually placing the Saint Laurent designs within the permanent art galleries.”
However, contrary to popular understanding, there will be no presentation of clothes. Instead, the process of building an haute couture piece from scratch will be the speciality of the display. Cox explained: “I think it’s interesting also for the public to see, what is the process from a simple sketch with an HB pencil to almost the finished product, which is a toile, or a muslin dummy, that was produced for each item.” This effort, he believes, will also give an opportunity for the works of the seamstresses, the hat-makers, the shoe-makers and everybody else who were part of creating a “maison de couture” or fashion house. The exhibition, as a whole, is expected to provide a new perspective into the couturier’s work.
References:
Kim Willsher, “The art of Yves Saint Laurent: design house marks 60th anniversary,” The Guardian, 01 January 2022.
Danielle Moreira, “Yves Saint Laurent - 60 years that unite 6 iconic museums,” L’Officiel, 24 November 2021.
Joelle Diderich, “Yves Saint Laurent to Mark 60th Anniversary at Six Paris Museums,” Women’s Wear Daily, 21 October 2021.
“Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent,” Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, n.d.
IN BRIEF
By Padmashree Anandhan and Ashwin Dhanabalan
THE CZECH REPUBLIC
The country's push to phase out coal by 2033
On 07 January, the new centre-right government of the Czech Republic released a programme deciding to phase out the use of coal by 2033. The government's stand on the issue aligns with its support for nuclear and gas energy as part of its future energy investments. The programme further said: "We will create conditions for an energy transformation and the development of coal regions so that a shift from coal will be possible by 2033." In 2020, the Czech Republic used 43 percent of coal for its energy generation while only 37 percent was produced via nuclear plants. The country's dependence on coal has made the government push towards cleaner sources of energy. As reported by Reuters: "The Czech Republic had pushed for nuclear power and gas to be included in the European Union's hotly-debated green investment plan, whose proposed rules were circulated on the last day of 2021." ("New Czech government sees coal exit by 2033, backs nuclear power," Reuters, 07 January 2022)
POLAND
Kaczyński confirms the acquisition of Pegasus by the country
On 07 January, Poland's ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) Chairman Jarosław Kaczyński confirmed the acquisition of Pegasus spyware by the country. He also clarified that it was not used against opposition politicians in the 2019 elections and said: "the opposition's stories about the use of Pegasus for political purposes are utter nonsense." Member of the Sejm party Krzysztof Brejza noted his phone was hacked about 33 times before the elections, and his texts were leaked to news channels. Amnesty's Poland Director Anna Błaszczak in a statement, mentioned: "These findings are shocking but not surprising. They raise serious concerns not only for politicians but for the civil society in Poland in general particularly given the context of persistent and serious concerns over the government's record on human rights and the rule of law." The opposition has compared the use of Pegasus to the Watergate scandal in the US, calling it "Poland’s Watergate". ("Poland: Top leader admits government bought Pegasus spyware," Deutsche Welle, 07 January 2022; Zoysia Wanat, "Poland's Watergate: Ruling party leader admits country has Pegasus hacking software," POLITICO, 07 January 2022)
UKRAINE
Ukrainian court freezes former President Poroshenko's assets
On 07 January, a court in Ukraine ordered the freezing of the assets of former President Petro Poroshenko on charges of high treason. Poroshenko was charged with purchasing coal from the Dunes region that was speculated to fund pro-Russian separatists. He has denied the claims and his party called the decision "illegal, unjust". Poroshenko’s party further stated: "The government, instead of consolidating Ukrainian society to oppose Putin, is fueling internal confrontation. Thus, it recklessly and irresponsibly weakens the front against Russian aggression." Post the annexation of Crimea, Ukraine scrambled for coal and seized many coal mines to fulfil the country's energy demands. Authorities allege that Poroshenko had conspired with pro-Russian leader Viktor Medvedchuk to secure coal purchases from the eastern region. ("Ukrainian court freezes assets of former President Petro Poroshenko," Deutsche Welle, 07 January 2022; Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets, "Ukraine opposition blasts president as court freezes predecessor's assets," Reuters, 07 January 2022)
REGIONAL
NATO foreign ministers meet on Ukraine issue; yet to reach decision
On 07 January, NATO foreign ministers met virtually to discuss the growing Russian military troops at the Ukrainian border. According to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg: “We are ready to engage in arms control with Russia, conventional and nuclear, but that has to be reciprocal…We can't end up in a situation where we have second-class NATO members, where NATO as an alliance is not allowed to protect them. The risk of conflict is real. Russia's aggressive actions seriously undermine the security order in Europe.” The outcome of the discussion shows the existence of tensions in deciding how to handle Russia. The top leaders of the EU have called for larger involvement of the bloc in the security situation of Ukraine but have not disclosed the details of how the involvement will proceed. Meanwhile the West has assured full support to Ukraine in terms of independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. The US has also warned that there will be serious consequences if there are further intrusions from the Russian end. (“NATO won't create '2nd-class' allies to soothe Russia, alliance head says,” Deutsche Welle, 07 January 2022)
Macron meets von der Leyen; discusses Kazakhstan and Russian military build-up
On 07 January, in a press conference, French President Emmanuel Macron and head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen expressed their concerns over deadly clashes in Kazakhstan. Von der Leyen called for the end of violence in the region and Macron said that he would monitor the developments in the upcoming days. Apart from this, they also discussed Russian developments in Ukraine. Macron suggested an EU level dialogue with Russia. According to him: “I continue to ask for a dialogue that is frank, exacting and coordinated, because member states don’t have the same history with regard to Russia, nor the same geography.” (“Macron, EU's von der Leyen call for end to Kazakhstan violence,” France 24, 07 January 2022; Lisa O’ Carroll, “EU must have ‘frank, exacting’ dialogue with Russia, Macron says,” The Guardian, 07 January 2022)
BREXIT
Truss and Coveney meet to discuss Northern Ireland
On 07 January, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney met to discuss the issues of the BREXIT arrangements in Northern Ireland. They also discussed their relationship with the EU and the UN security matters with regard to the crisis in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. An Irish government source stated: “The minister for foreign affairs and the foreign secretary have previously worked together in the agriculture brief, so it was good to have the opportunity early in the new year to meet in person. They had a good and friendly discussion on all matters in their current brief, including Brexit in Northern Ireland, as well as matters of the UN security council.” The two ministers had earlier met in 2014 when they both were responsible for their countries’ agricultural ministries. The discussion comes before the Stormont elections that are to be held in May 2022. (Lisa O'Carroll, “UK and Irish foreign secretaries meet over Northern Ireland Brexit impasse," The Guardian, 07 January 2022)
INTERNATIONAL
Albania: The US sets up Special Force command post in the country
On 07 January, European Command headquarters in Germany’s Stuttgart confirmed the construction of a regional command post for the US special force in Albania. The same was confirmed by the US Special Operations Major General David H. Tabor, who said: “The ability to rapidly move and train within the Balkans, in close coordination with other allied and partner forces, made Albania the best location for this effort.” In response to the efforts of the US, the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has welcomed the set-up of the special force. The special forces are those which are specially trained to deal counter-terrorism and reconnaissance missions, hence, it is still unclear what the US is aiming at by placing its operations in Albania. (“US constructs new special forces regional base in Albania,” Deutsche Welle, 07 January 2022)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicts Russia of a false narrative
On 08 January, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia for its justification for the military build-up at the Ukrainian border as the latter considers Ukraine and NATO to be threatening its security. He added that Russia’s process to weaken the politics, democratic institutions and energy sectors of Ukraine began long ago. According to Blinken: “Next week we’ll reconfirm our readiness to increase transparency, institute new risk-reduction measures and renew efforts to address nuclear and conventional threats to European security… But again, it has to be a two-way street.” (Simon Lewis, “Blinken accuses Russia of 'false narrative' on Ukraine ahead of talks,” Reuters, 08 January 2022)