Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent was maybe the greatest figure with fashion in the French scene in the 20th century. Caroline Rennolds Milbank gave Yves Saint Laurent the greatest tribute of all time in her book Couture in 1985. She said that the most consistently influential and celebrated designer in maybe the last twenty five years, Yves Saint Laurent is to be given credit for not only the spur of the rise of couture from the 60s but also it was him who rendered ready to wear clothing a thing of repute.
Yves Saint Laurent was the president of a company which dealt with insurance’s son. He got his ardent sense of fashion from his mother. He was born in Oran, Algeria and started studying fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture but soon left it since the prescribed syllabus frustrated him. He then left home by the time he was 17 and went to work under Christian Dior, the French Designer. Christian Dior died in 1957 so Yves Saint Laurent got the break of his life at the young age of 21 where it was up to him to stop he label from going bankrupt. He was responsible for resurrecting the company a major possibility of the company being ruined financially.
But soon after this success, he had to go work in the army since the Algerian War of Independence broke out. But just 20 days into it and he had to be put into a mental hospital since being hazed by the other soldiers stressed him out and got to him. He underwent intensive psychiatric treatment for nervous breakdown which included electroshock therapy. Because of this nervous breakdown, he was released from Dior in 1962 and so he consequently went on to start his very own label which he called YSL and was financed by Pierre Bergé, his companion. The couple ended their romantic relationship in 1976 yet they continued to be business partners.
In the 60s and 70s, fashion trends like the beatnik look tight pants, thigh high boots, and safari jackets for not only men but women as well got popularized. His women’s tuxedo suit, Le Smoking, released in 1966, is something the world will always remember. Wearing silhouettes which were worn in the 20s, 30, and 40s got mainstream. He started Rive Gauche in 1966 with which the idea of wearing ready to wear clothes became popular and a privilege at the same time. It totally democratizes fashion.
Not only this, but he was the very first designer to have dark skinned models on the ramp. He had muses on whom he designed his clothes. Among them were Lolou de la Falaise and Betty Catroux. Lolou de la Falaise was the daughter of a model who was Anglo-Irish and a French marquis. Betty Catroux was half Brazilian, a diplomat’s fille, and a decorator’s wife. He had many other muses, some whose death wee caused by drug overdoses, and some of anorexia.
He was the first designer to be honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art while they were alive. He then was given the Legion d’Honneur in 2001 by Chirac. He soon retired and became a recluse till he died at the age of 71 on June 1, 2008. His unique sense of style incorporated in his fashion will always be remembered.
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