Yves St. Laurent was a French fashion designer. He was also known as Yves Saint Laurent, Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent, Yves Mathieu Saint Laurent, and Henri Donat Mathieu.
Yves St. Laurent is best known for having introduced menswear in general and pants suits in particular to women’s fashion. He also introduced a line of fragrances. His fashion designs were influenced by 1940’s era menswear, the paintings of Pablo Picasso, the designs of Coco Chanel, and other influences. He popularized the pea coat, the trench coat, the safari jacket, and the peasant look. He maintained long term friendships with high profile artists such as artist Andy Warhol, actress Catherine DeNeuve, and dancer Rudolph Nureyev. In 1985 he was made a Chevalier of France’s Legion of Honor, one of France’s most distinguished awards.
Yves St. Laurent was born on August 1, 1936 in Oran, Algeria. He was the son of a wealthy lawyer and a homemaker. As a child he was introspective and sensitive, and his favorite activity was designing miniature stage sets and costumes. He earned a secondary baccalaureate degree from the Lycee d’Oran in 1954, but was not interested in pursuing the law degree which his father had hoped he would achieve.
Having won a prestigious prize in a fashion design conference in 1953, he was encouraged to go to Paris with his fashion and costume design sketches and a letter of recommendation to the then-editor of the French edition of Vogue magazine. This editor eventually introduced Yves St. Laurent to the fashion designer Christian Dior. He began working at the House of Dior in 1955, at the age of 19. During his affiliation with Dior, he met a number of other prominent designers.
In 1957, at the death of Dior, Yves St. Laurent became chief designer of the House of Dior. With his partner, businessman Pierre Berge, Yves St. Laurent is credited with saving the House of Dior from ruin. He was removed from his post at Christian Dior in 1960.
After a period of costume work for several Paris theatre productions, Berge and St. Laurent started a new design house, whose first St.Laurent haute couture collection debuted in 1962. Actress Catherine DeNeuve popularized his look. His fragrances were introduced in 1960 (“Y”), 1971 (“Rive Gauche”), and 1978 (“Opium”). In 1971, St. Laurent and Berge moved to ready- to- wear, following a common trend in Paris among a number of fashion houses. This trend was an effort to market to customers of more moderate incomes, since the clothing was mass-produced.
In spite of his ill health, Yves St. Laurent’s business went public in 1989. The stress of the transition damaged his health further, and the company was sold in 1993. He continued to design for both the haute couture and ready- to- wear lines through the 1990’s. He died June 1, 2008 at his home in Paris of brain cancer. He was 71 years old.
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