Before he was cast as designer Yves Saint Laurent ( YSL ) in director Jalil Lespert's biopic of the same name, French actor Pierre Niney knew little about fashion. During a recent interview, however, the svelte 24-year-old at least felt qualified to judge fashion dos and don'ts.
"What the heck?" he laughed while examining a photo of a primped and manscaped queen in a "lateral flash thong," which pulls a man's junk to one side, leaving the other hip and a good part of the public area bare. It ultimately makes one's groin resemble a grotesque Nike swoosh. "How does it stay on?" Niney said with a laugh, puzzled. "That's gonna be a big 'no!' A fashion no-go!"
The sumptuous Yves Saint Laurent charts YSL's 28-year ascent from the 21-year-old wunderkind tasked with overseeing Christian Dior's fashion house to an icon in his own right; his struggles with crippling shyness, depression, drugs and promiscuity; and complicated, drama-fraught relationship with his partner in love and business, Pierre Bergé ( Guillaume Gallienne ).
Bergé, in fact, served as an advisor to the film, sharing intimate details with Niney and making priceless connections and introductions between Niney and members of YSL's social circle, while affording the production access to archival materials and original clothing items. "We get along pretty well, and he felt confident with us and the project," Niney notes.
The relationship between Bergé and Saint Laurent had previously been touched upon and illuminated to varying degrees in a trio of documentaries, including 2010's L'Amour Fou, and 2002's 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris and YSL: His Life & Times. Meanwhile, this year should see release of a second narrative biopic, directed by Bertrand Bonello and simply titled Saint Laurent, which premiered at Cannes this past May but does not have Bergé's approval.
Asked why he thought Bergé stayed with Saint Laurent despite all the tensions and psychological traumas involvedduring one partially improvised scene, director Jalil instructed Niney and actress Victoire Doutreleau, who plays YSL's muse, to genuinely make Gallienne furious by mocking himNiney stated, "When you understand the love and goodwill that Pierre had for Yves, you understand why he stayed. The other thing is that Pierre is a man who needs to be needed. He felt it was a mission to help this artist, his creative life, to give it to the world. He's such a good businessman and at the same time a protector of artists. Even if it was tough and violent to live with a tormented genius."
A member of Paris' prestigious Comédie-Française state theater company, Niney spent five months intensely preparing for the role, working to get down Saint Laurent's voice, manner, and mindset. He even spent time in a few Paris gay bars that YSL frequented.
The insight Niney ultimately garnered ( plus a prosthetic nose and glasses ) helped bring the man back to life. "I really loved a line that got cut from the movie," Niney said. "Its during the first meeting between Yves and Pierre. Yves was speaking, and at some point Pierre said, 'you speak very low.' And Yves answered, 'I knowit's to force the other person to really listen to me.' His shyness was real, but he learned to use it like a weapon."
Currently shooting the thriller A Perfect Man ( formerly titled The Scarecrow ) in the south of France and playing Philippe Cousteau, son of famed diver Jacques Cousteau, in another biopic, The Odyssey, Niney admitted his connection to YSL has disappeared. In fact, he absconded to Australia following the shoot ( his girlfriend's from Brisbane ) to disconnect and get back into his own head. "I spent so much time in my version of YSL, I had his habits," he admitted, "and it was hard to get out of that voice and body. It took me one month. I went to Australia to be far away from him and close to snakes and sharks."
Yet, thanks to the production, Niney said he maintains an enduring respect and admiration for the rarely acknowledged human side of the YSL fashion house and its creators.
"I like the idea it's a family business first," he said. "At the time it started, it was a really intimate thing. We met a longtime YSL seamstress and she told us, 'I have two kidsand their names are Pierre and Yves."