From the yé-yé era to today, how did Sylvie Vartan become a fashion icon?

As she will be honored at the Victoires de la Musique this Friday, February 14, we take a look back at the style of the timeless yéyé idol.  

“Tonight, I will be the most beautiful to go dancing […] I hope that the dress I wanted and that I sewed stitch by stitch will be crumpled…” A refrain that, from 1965, sets the tone: Sylvie Vartan will be a woman of fashion. She was born in 1944 in Bulgaria and began her career in France in 1961. She was only 16 years old at the time. She quickly emerged as a true yéyé, captivating the public with her soft voice, her charisma and her looks that were right on trend. Calf-length pants, crew-neck t-shirts, belts with big buckles, ballet flats… her style was copied by all the young girls of the time.

On stage, she alternates between evening gowns and androgynous tuxedos. She will even be the first singer to wear haute couture on stage. Inspiring designers, Yves Saint Laurent will imagine for her a trouser-jacket set that will defy criticism, while Marc Bohan, then at the creation of Dior, will make her city outfits. Her travels, notably to Japan and the United States, inspire her to create her own brand. Until 1970, she will imagine nine collections in gingham, pastel, romantic flowers… a success that will land her the contract for the 1968 Winter Olympics, competition during which her brand designs the outfits of the hostesses.

An icon that spans the ages 

Sylvie Vartan’s strength? She lives fully in her time and understands its challenges. Her relationship with Johnny Hallyday will inaugurate a new Vartan style, that of leather jackets, fringed jackets and total denim look. The rise of aerobics fashion, at the end of the 1970s, opens the way to leotards, fluorescent tights and wool gaiters. In the middle of the disco era, the ex-yéyé brandishes sequined dresses without overdoing it. She gets closer to the new talents of fashion, like Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier, who dresses her for Tour de Siècle in 1999. A sharp style to which the Palais Galliera will devote an exhibition in 2004: “Sylvie Vartan, revue de mode”. More than sixty years after the beginning of her career, the star still inspires fashion enthusiasts as much as designers. In January 2025, she made a notable appearance at the Stéphane Rolland fashion show alongside Brigitte Macron .