21 - Steven Meisel (1954-) - Yves Saint Laurent, Opium. December 2000. 175x118.5 cm. Original poster, offset print, unmounted. Condition A-, very slight creases at the edges of the margins, light scattered spots.

Steven Meisel (1954-) - Yves Saint Laurent, Opium. December 2000. 175x118.5 cm. Original poster, offset print, unmounted. Condition A-, very slight creases at the edges of the margins, light scattered spots. While the fragrance itself is already an icon of the brand, this poster is likely one of the most remarkable to have promoted it. At the initiative of the brand’s then-artistic director, Tom Ford, Meisel created this sensual and erotic image, evoking the posture of 19th-century opium smokers in a hallucinogenic trance, as well as the seductive redheaded prostitute with diaphanous skin, adorned with lavish jewelry who turns men’s heads—just as one might have imagined the demi-mondaines of that era. This campaign marked a major turning point in the career of model Sophie Dahl, who is featured on this poster. And for good reason: the poster was immediately censored in England, deemed too pornographic and linked to the promotion of drugs. That was all it took to turn this scandal into a global sensation. Often attributed to Guy Bourdin, the photograph was in fact taken by Meisel, the American photographer who was no stranger to controversy or nude photography, having also authored Madonna’s book *Sex*. This poster is therefore rare, but it is also one of the most memorable of the 2000s and has since become a vintage icon, considered by some experts as a milestone in the history of advertising, bluntly demonstrating that sex sells and laying the groundwork for the cult of appearance and the Instagram influencer economy on social media. Reference: *All American Ads 2000*, Taschen, 2025.