Yves Saint Laurent (designer)

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (1 August 1936 – 1 June 2008),<ref>"Yves Saint Laurent Dies – Yves Saint Laurent Has Died in Paris Aged 71" Template:Webarchive. Agence France-Presse (via Nine News). (2 June 2008). Retrieved 12 June 2010.</ref> better known as Yves Saint Laurent (Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPA) 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.<ref name="telegraph_UK_obbit">Template:Cite news</ref>

Saint Laurent's designs often combined elements of comfort and elegance. He is credited with having introduced the "Le Smoking" tuxedo suit for women, and was known for his use of non-European cultural references and diverse models.<ref name="Yslbptr">Yves Saint Laurent's body put to rest Template:Webarchive Fashion Television.</ref> Fashion historian Caroline Milbank called Saint Laurent "the most consistently celebrated and influential designer of the past twenty-five years", adding that he "can be credited with both spurring the couture's rise from its 1960s ashes and with finally rendering ready-to-wear reputable".<ref name=Goodreads>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1983, Saint Laurent became the first living fashion designer to be honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a solo exhibition.

Throughout his couturier career, Saint Laurent received multiple awards for his work. He is a recipient of the 1982 International Fashion Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the 1985 Oscar de la mode, and the 1999 Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award at the CFDA Fashion Awards.

Early life and education

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent was born on 1 August 1936, in Oran, Algeria,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> to French parents (Pieds-Noirs) with some Spanish heritage, Charles and Lucienne Andrée Mathieu-Saint-Laurent.<ref name="biobio2">Template:Cite web</ref> He grew up in a villa by the Mediterranean with his two younger sisters, Michèle and Brigitte.<ref name="biobio2" /> As a child, he liked to create intricate paper dolls, and by his early teen years, he was designing dresses for his mother and sisters.<ref name="Yves Saint Laurent2">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1953, Saint Laurent submitted three sketches to a contest for young fashion designers organized by the International Wool Secretariat. Saint Laurent won first place. Subsequently, he was invited to attend the awards ceremony held in Paris in December.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During his stay in Paris, Saint Laurent met Michel de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue magazine and a connection to his father. De Brunhoff was impressed by the sketches that Saint Laurent brought with him and suggested he should become a fashion designer. Saint Laurent enrolled in a course of study at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture,<ref name=":02">Template:Cite web</ref> the council which regulates the haute couture industry and provides training to its employees. Saint Laurent graduated at the top of his class. The same year he graduated, he entered the International Wool Secretariat competition again and won, beating his friend Fernando Sánchez and Karl Lagerfeld.<ref name="alice2">Rawsthorn, Alice (1996). Yves Saint Laurent: A Biography. Nan A. Talese/Doubleday (New York City); Template:ISBN</ref>

Career

The Dior years

Shortly after his win, he brought a number of sketches to de Brunhoff, who recognized close similarities to sketches he had been shown that morning by Christian Dior.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Knowing that Dior had created the sketches that morning and that the young man could not have seen them, de Brunhoff sent him to Dior, who hired him on the spot on June 20, 1955.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

"Dior fascinated me," Saint Laurent later recalled. "I couldn't speak in front of him. He taught me the basis of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I never forgot the years I spent at his side." Under Dior's tutelage, Saint Laurent's style continued to mature and gain even more notice.<ref name="Yves Saint Laurent3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Although Dior recognised his talent immediately, Saint Laurent spent his first year at the House of Dior on mundane tasks, decorating the studio and designing accessories. Eventually he was allowed to submit sketches for the couture collection. With each passing season, more of his sketches were accepted by Dior.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Some Dior collections from this period contain themes that would appear in Saint Laurent's independent work years later, such as the smock tops and safari jackets in Dior's 1957 "Libre" line.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In August 1957, Dior met with Saint Laurent's mother to tell her that he had chosen Saint Laurent to succeed him as a designer. His mother later said that she had been confused by the remark, as Dior was only 52 years old at the time. She claimed both she and her son were surprised when Dior died at a health spa in northern Italy of a massive heart attack in October 1957.<ref name="alice3">Rawsthorn, Alice (1996). Yves Saint Laurent: A Biography. Nan A. Talese/Doubleday (New York City); Template:ISBN</ref>

Yves Saint Laurent trapeze dress for Dior, 1958

In 1957, at 21 years old, Saint Laurent became the head designer of the House of Dior. His spring 1958 collection almost certainly saved the enterprise from financial ruin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The simple, flaring lines of his first collection for Dior, called the Trapeze line,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a variation of Dior's 1955 A-Line,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> catapulted him to international stardom. Dresses in the collection featured a narrow shoulder that flared gently to a hem that just covered the knee.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Later collections for the House of Dior featuring hobble skirts (fall 1959) and beatnik fashions (fall 1960) were savaged by the press.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1959, he was chosen by Farah Diba, then a student in Paris, to design her wedding dress for her marriage to the Shah of Iran.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1960, Saint Laurent was conscripted to serve in the French Army during the Algerian War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Saint Laurent was in the military for 20 days before the stress of hazing by fellow soldiers led to him being admitted to a military hospital. There he received news that he had been fired from Dior and replaced by Marc Bohan.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This exacerbated his condition, and he was transferred to Val-de-Grâce military hospital, where he was given large doses of sedatives and psychoactive drugs and subjected to electroshock therapy.<ref>The Biography Channel – Yves Saint Laurent Biography Template:Webarchive</ref> Saint Laurent himself traced the origin of both his mental problems and his drug addictions to this time in hospital.<ref name="alice3" />

The YSL years

1965 Mondrian dresses

After his release from the hospital in November 1960, Saint Laurent sued Dior for breach of contract and won. After a period of convalescence, he and his partner, industrialist Pierre Bergé, started their own fashion house, Yves Saint Laurent or YSL, with funds from American millionaire J. Mack Robinson,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> cosmetics company Charles of the Ritz, and others.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A number of Dior staff joined him at his new enterprise.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

His debut collection, presented for spring 1962, was noted for its suits<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and included early examples of the cut-outs that would be popular in fashion in a few years,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but it received mixed reviews.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His second collection, for fall 1962, was celebrated as his best since his 1958 Trapeze collection for Dior.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Fashion writers ranked the collection with that of Givenchy as among the best in Paris.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It featured India-inspired evening dress, a mostly dark, rich color palette,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> couture adaptations of traditional pea coats and fishermen's smocks (a theme seen as early as 1957 in his work for Dior),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and a refinement of the bohemian influences seen in his fall 1960 Dior collection, evoking in a number of journalists' minds Paris's Left Bank.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

1965 knitted wedding dress

In the 1960s, Saint Laurent introduced or contributed to fashion trends such as the beatnik look (1962),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> pea coats (1962),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> smock tops (1962-63),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> thigh-high boots (1963, via his chosen shoe designer Roger Vivier),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the Le Smoking women's tuxedo suit (1966),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nytimes.com2">Template:Cite journal</ref> platform shoes (1967, courtesy of Roger Vivier),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and safari jackets for men and women (1967).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Throughout the 1960s, Saint Laurent followed the international youth culture taking shape, a tendency already evident in his fall 1960 Dior collection. Like designers and others of the period, he kept an eye on the pace-setting streets of London<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and also on the hippie movement emanating from the US.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He responded to the spare precision of André Courrèges's groundbreaking 1964 and '65 Space Age designs with the now-famous stark, geometric shift dresses of his 1965 Mondrian collection<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> but faltered a bit with the slightly passé Pop Art dresses in his autumn 1966 line.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

He was the first French couturier to come out with a full prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) line; although Alicia Drake credits this move with Saint Laurent's wish to democratize fashion;<ref name="drake2">Drake, Alicia. The Beautiful Fall: Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris. Little, Brown and Company, 2006. p.49.</ref> othersTemplate:Who point out that other couture houses were preparing prêt-à-porter lines at the same time – the House of Yves Saint Laurent merely announced its line first. The purpose of the prêt-à-porter line was to provide a wider range of fashionable styles being available to choose from in the market, as they were affordable and cheaper.

The first of the company's Rive Gauche stores, which sold the prêt-à-porter line, opened on the rue de Tournon in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, on 26 September 1966. The first customer was Catherine Deneuve.<ref name="alice4">Rawsthorn, Alice (1996). Yves Saint Laurent: A Biography. Nan A. Talese/Doubleday (New York City); Template:ISBN</ref> He designed the costumes for Deneuve in films such as Belle de Jour, Heartbeat, and Mississippi Mermaid.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Le Smoking evening trouser-suits

In 1967, Éditions Tchou published a book by Saint Laurent, La Vilaine Lulu (The Villain Lulu), a collection of comic strips featuring a cruelly mischievous little girl named Lulu that the designer had been sketching since 1956, when he had been inspired by a costume worn by one of Dior's colleagues. The child engages in pranks ranging from abusing hospital patients to defiling André Courrèges's pristine white salon with black paint.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The revolutionary societal movements of the time<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> transformed Saint Laurent's thinking and he began to base his work more on what women were actually wearing than on abstract ideas in his head.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A number of his designs were inspired by women's lives in the sociopolitical climate of the time,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> particularly the trousers he showed in 1968 after witnessing the epochal French uprisings of that year.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Saint Laurent is often said to have been the main designer responsible for making women wearing pants more widely acceptable,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> after André Courrèges made the first strides in that direction in 1964.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The social transformations of the late 1960s also influenced how Saint Laurent himself dressed, as he wore more relaxed clothes reflecting the era's youth movements and let his hair grow.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His new personal wardrobe led to him presenting his first men's ready-to-wear collection in 1969.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In September 1968, Saint Laurent opened first Rive Gauche store in the United States on Madison Avenue in Manhattan.<ref name=":0" /> While in New York, he attended the exhibition of his costume sketches for ballet and theatrical productions at the Wright Hepburn Webster Gallery.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> During this trip Saint Laurent and his entourage were denied entry to Trader Vic's because the women were wearing pants.<ref name=":2" />

In 1971, he posed for a natural-looking nude photograph as part of the advertising campaign for his Pour Homme men's fragrance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 1970s, Saint Laurent came to be considered the most prominent designer in the world,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> adapting his designs to modern women's needs.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Though Karl Lagerfeld<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Jean Muir<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> occasionally approached him in critical appraisal and popularity, Saint Laurent remained the strongest influence on fashion throughout the decade, an era when the societal advances of the 1960s required designers to defer to the public's demands for practicality and comfort.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Even in his sometimes lavish Russian peasant collections of the middle of the decade,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the clothes themselves remained comfortable and wearable.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

1968 "Safari" jacket for the Rive Gauche boutique

His controversial spring 1971 collection was inspired by 1940s fashion. Some felt it romanticized the German occupation of France during World War II, which he did not experience, while others felt it brought back the unattractive utilitarianism of the time.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref> The French newspaper France Soir called the spring 1971 collection "Une grande farce!"<ref name="alice4" />

His spring 1971 couture collection marked other changes. Now that the liberatory trends of the 1960s and early '70s had become established, with women released from constricting undergarments and free to wear trousers in all settings and men also free to be more casual in their dress, advances aided in no small part by Saint Laurent, he shed some of the less appealing aspects of the youth culture of that period, particularly after losing a couple of young friends to the drug experimentation of the time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> While still exhibiting the pervasive relaxed, casual look, by 1972 he had begun to cut his hair and shave again and discarded the well-worn jeans and shoelessness.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Saint Laurent had nurtured ready-to-wear to the extent that it now eclipsed the haute couture in prominence.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1971, amidst heavy criticism of his 1940s-themed collection, he threatened to end his couture services entirely.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Instead, Saint Laurent and a few others declared in early 1972 that they would now show their couture pieces with their prêt-á-porter,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> but soon Saint Laurent began to worry publicly that the craftsmanship of the couture might be lost,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as well as the livelihoods of those who depended on him,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and he decided to carry on holding separate couture presentations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

While the prêt-à-porter line became extremely popular with the public<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and eventually earned many times more for Saint Laurent and Bergé than the haute couture line, Saint Laurent's decision to continue producing haute couture lines resulted in some landmark collections as well during the 1970s, most famously the fall 1976 Russian Peasant collection, which brought the popular peasant silhouette of the time to a peak of exotic luxury,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but also his spring 1978 Broadway Suit presentation,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which inspired the fashion industry to move toward wide, padded shoulders.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> However, Saint Laurent, whose health had been precarious for years, became erratic under the pressure of designing two haute couture and two prêt-à-porter collections every year.

In 1976, Saint Laurent and Bergé ended their romantic relationship but remained business partners.<ref name="glbtq2">Template:Cite news</ref> Saint Laurent increasingly turned to alcohol and drugs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At some shows, he could barely walk down the runway at the end of the show, and he had to be supported by models.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1988 "Homage to Vincent Van Gogh" jacket, embroidered by Lesage

Saint Laurent is credited with initiating in 1978 the prominently shoulder-padded styles that would characterize the 1980s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He then relied on a restricted set of looks based largely on big-shouldered jackets and narrow skirts and trousers<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> that wouldn't vary much for a decade,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> resulting in some fashion writers bemoaning the loss of his former inventiveness<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and others welcoming the familiarity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Where in the 1960s and '70s his work had reflected the democratizing trends of the time,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> during the 1980s his work conformed more to the tastes of the wealthy<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as social inequality increased in society.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His broad-shouldered wardrobe basics now seemed geared more to the ladies-who-lunch set<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> than the liberated, casual young women he had been inspired by in the earlier 1970s, and his work was now often grouped with that of Givenchy,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, and similar designers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He was noted in the early 1980s for his short, slim, sleek black leather skirts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After helping bring ready-to-wear to mass acceptance earlier in his career and nearly abandoning haute couture in the early 1970s, during the 1980s, with the nouveaux riches in ascendance and demanding showpieces,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> he refocused on his couture lines, to the extent that observers felt that his prêt-á-porter was being neglected.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was one of the last designers to give up big shoulder pads at the end of the eighties.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After a disastrous 1987 prêt-à-porter show in New York City, which featured US$100,000 jeweled casual jackets only days after the "Black Monday" stock market crash, he turned over the responsibility of the prêt-à-porter line to his assistants. Although the line remained popular with his fans, it was soon dismissed as "boring" by the press.<ref name="alice4" />

In 1993, the Yves Saint Laurent business was sold to Sanofi.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He became increasingly reclusive, but continued to design the couture collection until 2002.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Muses

Saint Laurent's studio, with a toile for a Safari jacket

A favorite among his female clientele, Saint Laurent had a number of muses that inspired his work. Among them were: French model Victoire Doutreleau,<ref name="kennedy2">Template:Cite news</ref> who opened his first fashion show in 1962;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Loulou de la Falaise,<ref name="kennedy2" /><ref name="elsa2">Template:Cite news</ref> the daughter of a French marquis and an Anglo-Irish model, who became the jewellery designer for the brand;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Betty Catroux,<ref name="kennedy2" /><ref name="elsa2" /> the half-Brazilian daughter of an American diplomat, who Saint Laurent considered his "twin sister";<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> French actress Catherine Deneuve;<ref name="kennedy2" /><ref name="elsa2" /> French model Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who inspired the Le Smoking suit;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> American-French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, who also inspired the Le Smoking suit;<ref name="nytimes.com3">Template:Cite journal</ref> Warhol superstar Donna Jordan, who inspired his spring 1971 collection;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mounia,<ref name="kennedy2" /><ref name="elsa2" /> a model from Martinique who was the oft-used bride at his fashion shows; Kenyan model Khadija Adam Ismail;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Lucie de la Falaise,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a Welsh-French model and niece of Loulou, who was the bride in his fashion shows in 1990–1994; jewellery designer Paloma Picasso;<ref name="kennedy2" /><ref name="elsa2" /> Dutch actress Talitha Getty;<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> American socialite Nan Kempner,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who was named ambassador for the brand;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Italian model Marina Schiano,<ref name="kennedy2" /><ref name="elsa2" /> who managed the YSL boutiques in North America; French model Nicole Dorier,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who became the director of his runway shows,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and later, the "memory" of his house when it became a museum; and French model Laetitia Casta,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who was the bride in his fashion shows in 1998–2001.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Death

Saint Laurent died on 1 June 2008 of brain cancer at his residence in Paris.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to The New York Times, a few days prior, he and Bergé had been joined in a same-sex civil union known as a Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) in France.<ref>France Salutes the Ultimate Couturier New York Times.</ref> When Saint Laurent was diagnosed as terminal, with only one or two weeks left to live, Bergé and the doctor mutually decided that it would be better for him not to know of his impending death. Bergé said, "I have the belief that Yves would not have been strong enough to accept that."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He was given a Catholic funeral at Église Saint-Roch in Paris.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The funeral attendees included the former Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi, Bernadette Chirac, Catherine Deneuve, and President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in Marrakesh, Morocco, in the Majorelle Garden, a residence and botanical garden that he owned with Bergé and often visited to find inspiration and refuge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Bergé said at the funeral service (in French): "But I also know that I will never forget what I owe you and that one day I will join you under the Moroccan palms."

Personal life

Yves Saint Laurent met Pierre Bergé in 1958. After falling in love, they co-founded the Yves Saint Laurent Couture House in 1961. They remained longtime friends and business partners after their amicable breakup in 1976.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1970, Saint Laurent befriended pop artist Andy Warhol while the latter was filming L'Amour in Paris.<ref name=":3" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Saint Laurent had his portrait commissioned in 1972, and Warhol traveled to Paris to photograph him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During a visit to New York in November 1972, Saint Laurent saw the portrait and remarked, "The colors are marvelous — orange, red, green, and pink."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In February 1974, Saint Laurent hosted a party for Warhol to celebrate his one-man shows at the Musée Galliera and the Galerie Ileana Sonnabend in Paris.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1973, Saint Laurent began a six-month affair with Karl Lagerfeld's companion Jacques de Bascher.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bergé ended their liaison in 1974, accusing de Bascher and Lagerfeld of being responsible for Saint Laurent's mental health issues and his increasing interest in hard drugs and sadomasochism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

During the 1970s, Saint Laurent was considered one of Paris's "jet set".<ref name="drake3">Drake, Alicia. The Beautiful Fall: Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris. Little, Brown and Company, 2006. p.49.</ref> He was often seen at clubs in France and New York City, such as Club Sept, Regine's, Studio 54, and Le Palace, and was known to be both a heavy drinker and a frequent user of cocaine.<ref name="alice5">Rawsthorn, Alice (1996). Yves Saint Laurent: A Biography. Nan A. Talese/Doubleday (New York City); Template:ISBN</ref>

Residences

Majorelle Garden in Marrakech

Saint Laurent and Bergé made their first trip to Marrakech in 1966, which marked the start of a lifelong passion for Moroccan culture.<ref name=":03">Template:Cite web</ref> Saint Laurent once stated, "Everything was black before Marrakech." "I learned color from this city, and I embraced its light, its bold blends, and its passionate inventions."<ref name=":03" /> For multiple years to come, Saint Laurent Berge would return and purchased various properties. They acquired Dar Es Saada in 1974,<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Villa Oasis 45 and Majorelle Garden in 1980,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Villa Mabrouka in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The duplex at 55 Rue de Babylone on the Left Bank of Paris, which Saint Laurent and Bergé purchased in 1970, was highlighted in the May 1972 issue of British Vogue.<ref name=":1" /> French architect Jean-Michel Frank designed the apartment's interior in the 1920s in the Art Deco style.<ref name=":1" /> The apartment featured vases by Jean Dunand, stools by Pierre Legrain, a red lacquer-framed stool by Gustave Miklos, an armchair by Eileen Gray, and sheep chairs by Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1983, Saint Laurent and Bergé bought a neo-gothic villa, Château Gabriel in Benerville-sur-Mer, near Deauville, France.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Saint Laurent was a great admirer of Marcel Proust who had been a frequent guest of Gaston Gallimard, one of the previous owners of the villa. When they bought Château Gabriel, Saint Laurent and Bergé commissioned Jacques Grange to decorate it with themes inspired by Proust's Remembrance of Things Past.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Collections

In February 2009, an auction of 733 items from Saint Laurent and Bergé's collection was held by Christie's at the Grand Palais, ranging from paintings by Picasso to ancient Egyptian sculptures. The proceeds went to HIV and AIDS research.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Before the sale commenced, the Chinese government tried to stop the sale of two of twelve bronze statue heads taken from the Old Summer Palace in China during the Second Opium War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A French judge dismissed the claim and the sculptures, heads of a rabbit and a rat, sold for €15,745,000. However, the anonymous buyer revealed himself to be Cai Mingchao, a representative of the PRC's National Treasures Fund, and claimed that he would not pay for them on "moral and patriotic grounds".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The heads remained in Bergé's possession until acquired by François Pinault, owner of a number of luxury brands including Yves Saint Laurent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He then donated them to China in a ceremony on 29 June 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On the first day of the sale, Henri Matisse's painting Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose broke the previous world record set in 2007 for a Matisse work and sold for 32 million euros. The record-breaking sale realized 342.5 million euros (£307 million).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The subsequent auction, 17–20 November, included 1,185 items from the couple's Normandy villa. While not as impressive as the first auction, it featured the designer's last Mercedes-Benz car and his Hermès luggage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Accolades and legacy

Rue Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakech

In 1982, Saint Laurent received the International Fashion Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1983, Saint Laurent became the first living fashion designer to be honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a solo exhibition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1985, Saint Laurent was awarded the Oscar de la mode for his "'contribution to the history of fashion.''<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1999, Saint Laurent received the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award at the CFDA Fashion Awards.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2001, Saint Laurent was awarded the rank of Commander of the Légion d'Honneur by French President Jacques Chirac.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2007, Saint Laurent was awarded the rank of Grand officier de la Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2004, Saint Laurent created a foundation with Bergé in Paris to trace the history of the house of YSL, complete with 15,000 objects and 5,000 pieces of clothing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Forbes rated Saint Laurent the top-earning dead celebrity in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2010, the street in front of the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech was renamed the Rue Yves Saint Laurent in his honor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2022, the "Yves Saint Laurent Aux Musées" exhibition was held simultaneously at six Parisian cultural institutions: the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the Musée du Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée National Picasso–Paris, and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, demonstrating the enduring legacy of his work and his lifelong fascination with art.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> This exhibition highlighted his connections to various art forms and his ability to blend fashion with artistic expression.<ref name=":4" />

The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris

Museums

The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris, housed in the old Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, opened its doors in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Through a continuously updated collection display, the museum chronicles his career.<ref name=":04">Template:Cite web</ref> The exhibition space was renovated by stage designer Nathalie Crinière and interior designer Jacques Grange.<ref name=":04" />

The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech, also opened in 2017. Pierre Bergé personally chose the thousands of pieces of apparel and haute couture accessories housed in the 43,000-square-foot structure, which was created by the Paris-based studio Studio KO.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Saint Laurent's childhood home in Oran, Algeria, where he lived until the age of 18, was purchased by the Oran entrepreneur Mohamed Affane. He transformed it into a museum, Résidence Yves Saint Laurent Oran, which opened in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The period furniture was recovered and around 400 sketches by Yves Saint-Laurent are exhibited, along with childhood photos of the designer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In popular culture

Study of Yves Saint Laurent by Reginald Gray, 1976

Films

• 2002: David Teboul's Yves Saint Laurent: His Life and Times<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• 2002: Yves Saint Laurent: 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• 2009: Tout Terriblement<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2010: Pierre Thoretton's L'Amour fou<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 2014: Yves Saint Laurent<ref name="Yves Saint Laurent Biopic Wins Pierre Bergé's Approval">Template:Cite web</ref> by Pierre Niney
• 2014: Saint Laurent<ref>Template:Citation</ref> by Gaspard Ulliel
• 2019: Yves Saint Laurent: The Last Collections<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Television

• 1965: Appeared on 24 October as a "mystery guest" on the American television game show What's My Line?<ref name="10-25-1965 What's My Line">Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Books

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See also

• Yves Saint Laurent (brand)

Further reading

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External links

• ysl.com, official Yves Saint Laurent (brand) website
• Trapèze dresses at Digital Collections at Chicago History Museum Template:Webarchive
• "Yves Saint Laurent, legendary designer and Pied Piper of fashion, dies aged 71", The Guardian: retrospective article
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• Biography of Yves Saint Laurent
• Yves Saint Laurent Biography
• "Yves Saint Laurent shuts its doors" – BBC World 31 October 2002
• "All About Yves" Template:Webarchive – Jim Lehrer 16 January 2002 By Jessica Moore
• "Yves Saint Laurent announces retirement" – CNN 7 January 2002
• "All About Yves: As the incomparable Yves Saint Laurent celebrates his 40th anniversary as a couturier, the world salutes his genius." – Julie K.L. Dam, Time magazine, 3 August 1998.