One of the oldest and most picturesque streets in Paris, Rue Aubriot, is today well-known to many thanks to the Austrian-Australian photographer Helmut Newton's shot, where Newton's longtime model, actress Vibeke Knudsen, is thoughtfully standing in the center of the street holding a cigarette while wearing Yves Saint Laurent’s Le Smoking evening tuxedo.

The photograph was part of a large feature in the September issue of French Vogue, dedicated to Yves Saint Laurent's new collection. In all the shots of the series, both black-and-white and color, the model was depicted wearing a Saint Laurent outfit on the night streets. Newton frequently used nighttime city scenes, utilizing the street lighting without any additional equipment. For this particular shot, he and Knudsen didn't even need to travel far from his home, as Newton lived at 51 Rue Aubriot.

By then, Newton was already considered one of the leading fashion photographers in the world. Having moved from Australia to Paris in the 1960s (he was originally an Austrian Jew), Newton soon began working with Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, as well as many fashion houses.

His work often generated almost scandalous buzz. Yves Saint Laurent’s women’s tuxedo, which was revolutionary and scandalous in itself, played a role here. "Rue Aubriot" with its striking androgynous heroine, coincided with the feminist movement gaining momentum at the time.

A year later, two other versions of "Rue Aubriot" were published in Newton's pictorial book White Women. In these, the same model is shown wearing the same Saint Laurent jacket with another nude model.