He was a living myth. Yves Saint Laurent passed away yesterday, at the age of 71, in Paris.
Yves Saint Laurent remains one of the most influential figure of 20th century fashion, widely considered the last of a generation that included Christian Dior and Coco Chanel.
When he first asked to meet Michel de Brunhoff, the powerful man behind Vogue Paris, he looked like a litterature student of Saint Germain. “He showed us his sketches and we could expect a talented designer but certainly not a trendsetter. He was from Oran says Edmonde Charle-Roux, and what we saw in his notebook was almost what Dior was to present a few days later. Impressed by his talent, Michel de Brunhoff introduced then the young designer to Christian Dior. Saint Laurent was only 18 years old but he already knew that he would dedicate his life to fashion.”
Yves Saint Laurent remains one of the most influential figure of 20th century fashion, widely considered the last of a generation that included Christian Dior and Coco Chanel.
When he first asked to meet Michel de Brunhoff, the powerful man behind Vogue Paris, he looked like a litterature student of Saint Germain. “He showed us his sketches and we could expect a talented designer but certainly not a trendsetter. He was from Oran says Edmonde Charle-Roux, and what we saw in his notebook was almost what Dior was to present a few days later. Impressed by his talent, Michel de Brunhoff introduced then the young designer to Christian Dior. Saint Laurent was only 18 years old but he already knew that he would dedicate his life to fashion.”
In fact a year later, Christian Dior engaged him as his assistant. After his death at 57, Saint Laurent became the head of the Dior fashion house situated Avenue Montaigne.
Pierre Bergé was his ultimate and complete partner. Head of the strategy of the Saint Laurent’s empire, Bergé helped him become a fantastic colorist introducing him to artworks by Van Gogh, Picasso, Braque, Warhol, and Mondrian. These artists revealed him the beauty of colors. («I only believed in black»)
Later, Bergé and Saint Laurent would become art patrons, building their own Foundation, sponsoring a lot of exhibitions and financing the National Gallery in London for example; two rooms now have his names. For Saint Laurent not only is fashion an art, it is also a show. Saint Laurent designed suits for Catherine Deneuve in “Belle de Jour” and we all remember his collection dedicated to the Russian ballets.
From the first YSL tuxedo and his trim pantsuits to see-through blouses, safari jackets and glamorous gowns, Saint Laurent created instant scandalous classics that remain stylish decades later.
When the designer announced his retirement in 2002 at the age of 65, it was mourned in the fashion world as the end of an era. His ready-to-wear label, Rive Gauche, which was sold to Gucci in 1999, still has boutiques around the world.
«Chanel liberated women, Saint Laurent gave them power» Pierre Bergé.
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