Lights, Camera, Collection! YSL's Digital Debut

If Yves Saint-Laurent’s Fall 2008 men’s wear collection debuts on a video instead of on the catwalk, does it exist? According to Stefano Pilati, the YSL designer behind the forthcoming threads, the answer is a resounding “yes.” The Daily reports today that instead of unveiling the collection in the tradition way—elevated walkway, lots of cameras, Anna Wintour in the front row—Mr. Pilati has decided to show it off on the big screen.

A representative for the fashion label said, “[the designer’s] idea is to make the experience of seeing a collection more intimate, to reduce the distance between the viewer and the collection.”

The video installation, created with directors Sarah Chatfield and Chris Sweeney of the London-based music video production company Colonel Blimp, will premiere this Wednesday in Paris alongside “customized showrooms of product.” Even more unconventionally, the video features British actor Simon Woods as the collection’s only model—a protagonist of sorts.

And below, watch last year's show more traditional show.