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About Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) was a French fashion designer who, in 1961, founded his eponymous fashion label. Regarded as one of the foremost fashion designers of the 20th century, he adapted his style to accommodate the changes in fashion.

YSL approached fashion from a different perspective by wanting women to look comfortable yet elegant at the same time. He is credited with introducing the tuxedo suit for women and was known for using non-European cultural references and non-white models.

The Beginning

Born in 1936, in Oran, French Algeria, to French parents, YSL liked to create intricate paper dolls, and by his early teen years, he was designing dresses for his mother and sisters. At the age of 17, Saint Laurent moved to Paris and enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, where his designs quickly gained notice.

Dior

In 1953, Saint Laurent submitted three sketches to a contest for young fashion designers. Saint Laurent won first place. After his win, Christian Dior hired him. YSL took over the house in 1957 after Dior’s untimely death.

His Own House

Saint Laurent and his partner, industrialist Pierre Bergé, started their own fashion house Yves Saint Laurent YSL in 1961.  The couple split romantically in 1976 but remained business partners.  Yves Saint Laurent brought in new changes to the fashion industry in the ’60s and the ’70s.

He opened his pret-a-porter house (ready-to-wear) YSL Rive Gauche in 1967 where he was starting to shift his focus from Haute Couture to Ready-to-wear. Over the years he created many innovative collections based on ethnic cultures like his celebrated Russian collection. Several notable jewelry houses made YSL jewelry including Maison Denez and Monet.  Designers included Robert Goossens and Roger Scemama.

Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008 but his line, now called Saint Laurent is still a major fashion influence with Anthony Vaccarello as creative director.