Erich Biehle - Fashion and Design

Erich Biehle, born in 1941 in Lucerne, began his career at the Abraham silk company, for which he created models for the most influential Parisian couturiers of the post-war period.

He has created fabrics for Yves Saint Laurent, Cristóbal Balenciaga and Hubert de Givenchy, where he also served as creative director in the 1980s. His work focuses on each designer's current collections. The designs he creates fuse shape, color and material to match the current theme of each collection. Biehle's eye for the zeitgeist and his sense of the poetry of everyday life come through vividly in his work.

Givenchy Spring Summer 1992, Couture

Deep colors and movement, produced for Yves Saint Laurent's spring-summer 1990 collection and designed by Erich Biehle.

Hubert de Givenchy, Haute Couture, winter 1985.

Erich Biehle and Yves Saint Laurent worked closely together for decades and, with the collection known as "Ballets Russes", restored haute couture's ability to make people dream.

In 1979, Vogue asked Yves Saint Laurent what his fondest memory was in his thirty-year career. He answers: “The collection inspired by Russia”. It may not have been the most successful, but it was wonderfully received at a time when the world condemned opulence. And she was opulent.

Erich Biehle for Yves Saint Laurent.

In the February 5, 1973 issue of Elle magazine, Yves Saint Laurent himself described his spring/summer 1973 couture collection. Wonderful evening ensembles: The Abraham silk of Erich Biehle's jacket and blouse; Lesage's spectacular embroidered cardigan imitating knitwear. Photo by Tony Kent, Alexander Hairstyles.

“I have a thirst for colors. There are colors that are already a luxury, a celebration. This is the case of this baroque silk with large flowers. And a jacket of this style, to be worn with colored gabardine pants, is a bit of a miracle solution for the evening. The red cardigan is the sophisticated solution: it looks like an Irish knit – ribbed and cabled – but it is made of thousands of beads, embroidered by hand on a muslin background. If a woman can afford one, let her keep it like a treasure: in a few years, no one in the world will know how to work like that. »⁠
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(Abraham silks, Carlotta gabardines, Lesage embroidery).⁠

Pierre Cardin, Haute Couture, winter 1969.

Yves Saint Laurent, “Les Africaines” collection, summer 1967.

Hubert de Givenchy

Yves Saint Laurent

Inspired by his teacher Johannes Itten, who was also a central figure in the Bauhaus movement, Erich Biehle began incorporating geometric figures into his designs. He often mixed geometric patterns with floral designs and used this style in collections for other designers, but for YSL these patterns became a signature.

Michael Kors

Christian Dior

Lanvin

Pierre Cardin

Interior

Design of interior fabrics and wallpapers for Givenchy. Interior design used in the film "Desperately seeking Susan" with Madonna.

Porcellaine collection for Givenchy, made in Japan by Yamaka.