Yves Saint Laurent, a Biography

 He has been called The King of Fashion. Innovative in his designs and eccentric in his persona – he describes himself as “the last true couturier” – Yves Saint Laurent, premiere fashion designer of the 20th century, remains true to his mission that art should not only be admired but comfortable.

 A descendent of a wealthy French-colonial family, Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent was born in 1936 in Oran, Algeria. As he grew so did his love for art and fine culture and as a teenager discovered an innate passion for style. In his late-teens he began working for famed designer, Christian Dior and soon thereafter, at the recommendation of Dior, succeeded him as Haute Couture designer in 1957. The following year, in 1958, Laurent unveiled his first collection for Dior which included the trapeze dresses. Immediately after his success with Dior he had a short stint in the military which eventually led him to open his own couture house in 1962.
 
 Since the 1960’s, with the help of his long time partner and lover, Pierre Berge, the Yves Saint Laurent empire has become a world-renowned base for creating landmark originals such as tweed suits, the Mondrian dress, pleated skirts, see-through and peasant blouses and the cross-gender sensation, “Le Smoking” (tuxedos for women).
 
 During this time YSL introduced their first fragrance, ‘Y,’ in 1964 and it has proven to be an enduring success. In 1971, Laurent posed nude in his shocking advertising campaign for ‘Pour Homme,’ YSL’s first fragrance for men. But probably the most popular perfume is ‘Opium’ introduced in 1977.
 
 He feminized the standard shapes of male wardrobe and adapted previously exclusive male clothing for women, setting the standard for fashion throughout the world. This androgynous approach to fashion has awarded him much acclaim and recognition among the world’s finest design critics and has won him numerous accolades from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia, the Musee des Arts de la Mode in Louvre, Paris and from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
 
 But even with all his success, Laurent remains enviously appreciative to the originator of the common blue jean in this playful lament, “I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity – all I hope for in my clothes.

 Sadly the YSL company has encountered many corporate problems and in 2002, its heart and soul, Yves Saint Laurent retired from over 40 years of design. He claims that the industry has become less about art and more about productivity. But he has left an indelible mark on it and has made the YSL name synonymous with excellence and beauty. Since 1999, the Gucci Group has operated YSL as its parent company and has continued to market its fragrances, accessories, cosmetics and ready-to-wear divisions. It’s true that one man can make a difference and Laurent’s legacy is evidence of it. So as it is with his life and work, he says it best in own words, “fashions fade, style is eternal.”