The Yves Saint Laurent brand was built on cutting edge design, flair, style and elegance. These qualities were spotted in Saint Laurent at an early age. At the tender age of 21 he was made chief designer at he house of Dior.
His first collection shook the fashion world to its core and propelled Laurent into the media spotlight. In many ways that first collection set the style for, what we now call, 50’s fashion with subtly flared dresses and trousers.
After only 3 years Yves St Laurent had to take charge of the fashion house after the death of Dior. St Laurent never looked back, collection after collection wowed public and professional alike. His famous trouser suits and highly coloured ethnic prints are now iconic fashion statements.
However, not everything in his life was happy. As a young schoolboy he was mercilessly bullied, to such an extent that he suffered mental and physical ill health for much of his life. Because of his mental state he rarely appeared in public.
Yves St Laurent’s death has left the fashion world in mourning. The editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman, said he had helped bring fashion to the people:
“Before that people had small salons for rich people.
“Saint Laurent brought it to the people.
“He was young and groovy. Pop stars were hanging out with him and younger generations related to him.”
The French President Nicolas Sarkozy also gave praise to French fashions favourite son, paying tribute to Saint Laurent’s “creative genius…the first to elevate haute couture to the rank of art and that gave him global influence”. He went on to say YSL ‘understood what women really wanted’
“Yves Saint Laurent infused his label with his creative genius, elegant and refined personality… because he was convinced that beauty was a necessary luxury for all men and all women,” he added.
Speaking on French radio, Pierre Berge said his former partner had empowered women.
“In this sense he was a libertarian, an anarchist and he threw bombs at the legs of society,” he said.
“That’s how he transformed society and that’s how he transformed women.”
Famous French embroiderer Francois Lesage, who worked 40 years with the designer, said he was “devastated” by news of his death.
“I have never known a designer who would give so much thought to something when it was proposed to him,” he told French TV.
“It is a great grief for me.”
Today the fashion world is in morning; tomorrow YSL creations will bring joy back to millions.
Yves Saint Laurent may be dead, but every time we time see an Yves Saint Laurent dress or trouser suit, or even the scent of a Yves Saint Laurent perfume, we will be reminded of this great designer.
