Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (1
August 1936 – 1 June 2008), known as Yves Saint Laurent, was an Algerian-born
French fashion designer, and is regarded as one of the greatest names in
fashion history. In 1985, Caroline Rennolds Milbank wrote, "The most
consistently celebrated and influential designer of the past twenty-five years,
Yves Saint Laurent can be credited with both spurring the couture's rise from
its sixties ashes and with finally rendering ready-to-wear reputable." He
is also credited with having introduced the tuxedo suit for women and was known
for his use of non-European cultural references, and non-white models.
In 1953, Saint
Laurent submitted three sketches to a contest for young fashion designers,
organized by the International Wool Secretariat. He won first place and was
invited to attend the awards ceremony in Paris, in December of that
year. While he and his mother were in Paris, they met Michel
de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue magazine. De
Brunhoff, a considerate person known for encouraging new talent, was impressed
by the sketches Saint Laurent brought with him and suggested he become a
fashion designer. Saint Laurent would eventually consider a course of study at
the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the council which regulates the
haute couture industry and provides training to its employees. Saint Laurent
followed his advice and, leaving Oran for Paris after graduation, began his
studies there and eventually graduated as a star pupil. Later that same year,
he entered the International Wool Secretariat competition again and won,
beating out his friend Fernando Sánchez and young German student Karl
Lagerfeld. 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. 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.
Although Dior
recognized his talent immediately, Saint Laurent spent his first year at the
House of Dior on mundane tasks, such as decorating the studio and designing
accessories. Eventually, however, he was allowed to submit sketches for the
couture collection; with every passing season, more of his sketches were accepted
by Dior. In August 1957, Dior met with Saint Laurent's mother to tell her that
he had chosen Saint Laurent to succeed him as designer. His mother later said
that she had been confused by the remark, as Dior was only 52 years old at the
time. Both she and her son were surprised when in October of that year Dior
died at a health spa in northern Italy of a massive heart attack.
In 1957, Saint
Laurent found himself at age 21 the head designer of the House of Christian
Dior S.A.. His spring 1958 collection almost certainly saved the enterprise
from financial ruin; the straight line of his creations, a softer version of
Dior's New Look, catapulted him to international stardom with what would later
be known as the "trapeze dress." Others included in the collection
were dresses with a narrow shoulder and flared gently at the bottom. At this
time, he shortened his surname to Saint Laurent because the international press
found his hyphenated triple name difficult to spell.
In the 1960s and
1970s, the firm popularized fashion trends such as the beatnik look; safari
jackets for men and women; tight trousers; tall, thigh-high boots; and arguably
the most famous classic tuxedo suit for women in 1966, Le Smoking. The 1965
Mondrian collection was particularly renowned. Saint Laurent also started
mainstreaming the idea of wearing silhouettes from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
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 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 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.
Many of his
collections were positively received by both his fans and the press, such as
the autumn 1965 collection, which introduced Le Smoking tailored tuxedo suit.
Other collections raised controversy, such as his spring 1971 collection, which
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. The French
newspaper France Soir called the spring 1971 collection "Une grande
farce!"
In 1983, Saint Laurent became the first
living fashion designer to be honoured by the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a
solo exhibition. In 2001, he was awarded the rank of Commander of the Légion
d'Honneur by French president Jacques Chirac. Saint Laurent retired in 2002 and
became increasingly reclusive, living at his homes in Normandy and Morocco with
his pet French Bulldog Moujik.
Saint Laurent died 1 June 2008 of brain
cancer at his residence in Paris. 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. 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 his impending death. Bergé
said, "I have the belief that Yves would not have been strong enough to
accept that." Saint Laurent was survived by his mother and sisters; his
father had died in 1988.
