Yves Saint Laurent may have gotten his head start for his eponymous label in couture, but the thing which truly put YSL on the map was the full pret-a-porter line, and he was the first couturier to do so. With the pret-a-porter line and also having popularized the beatnik look, it seems as if Yves Saint Laurent is not about residing in the ivory towers of laboriously theatrical couture– and even in the hands of Creative Director Stefano Pilati today, YSL has been making their work more accessible while miraculously maintaining its spirit of luxury. Aside from the Manifesto tote bags which have been one of the most coveted freebies in the fashion world, YSL has also been dipping their toes (by now, immersing their entire feet, if that’s a viable metaphor) in the luxury sneaker market.

Mind you, the luxury sneaker market is quite a saturated one and there are countless designers who execute it to near flawless perfection. Maison Martin Margiela, Lanvin, Kris Van Assche are just a few to name amongst many, including Gucci who had taken to immersing itself with the downtown culture and enlisted the help of producer/musician/DJ Mark Ronson to expand their clientele.

This can be said about everything in life. Once time passes, and something has happened, there is no way back. One can attempt to fix or erase the traces, but the fact of occurrence is something irrevocable. There is nothing quite as fitting as the act of tattooing, to really convey the feeling of “No Way Back”. In preparation for YSL’s Spring/Summer 2010 Men’s Runway Show in Paris, Creative Director Stefano Pilati has commissioned Amsterdam-born, USA based photographer and filmmaker, Ari Marcopoulos, to create a short film featuring tattoo legend, Mark Mahoney, named “No Way Back”.