Historical Figure
Yves Saint Laurent
1936–2008
French fashion designer (1936–2008)
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Biography
Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, better known as Yves Saint Laurent or YSL, was a French fashion designer who, in 1962, founded his eponymous fashion label. He is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century.
Timeline
The story of Yves Saint Laurent, told in moments.
Named head designer at Dior at age 21, after Christian Dior died of a heart attack. His first collection, the "Trapeze" line, was a sensation. He was drafted into the French Army during the Algerian War two years later and suffered a nervous breakdown.
Introduced "Le Smoking," a tuxedo suit for women. Hotels and restaurants turned away women who wore it. The design became a symbol of female liberation. Bianca Jagger wore one to Studio 54. Catherine Deneuve wore one everywhere.
Became the first living fashion designer honored with a solo retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He drew from Mondrian, Matisse, Picasso, and African, Chinese, and Moroccan cultures. His collections redefined what couture could reference.
Died of brain cancer in Paris at 71. He'd retired six years earlier, worn down by decades of depression, drug use, and the pressure of producing two collections a year. His partner Pierre Berge said, "Dior gave women happiness. Saint Laurent gave them power."
In Their Own Words (4)
The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy.
Reported in Gaille, Brandon (July 23, 2013). "List of 38 Famous Fashion Quotes and Sayings". BrandonGaille.com. Retrieved November 15, 2013., 2013
I don't really like knees.
Quoted in The Observer, 3 August 1958., 1958
I have always believed that fashion was not made only to make women more beautiful, but also to reassure them, give them confidence.
As quoted in "50 Days of Everyday Fashion" in Yours magazine.
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.
Artifacts (15)
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