Yves Saint Laurent

skippy · #1 06-02-2008, 04:16 PM

Fashion world mourns death of Yves Saint Laurent

Designer revolutionized women's style

Astrid Wendlandt, Reuters

Published: Monday, June 02, 2008

PARIS - French fashion king Yves Saint Laurent, hailed for revolutionizing the way women dressed, died yesterday, a close associate told France Info Radio.

He was 71 and had been in poor health for some time.

The reclusive Mr. Saint Laurent, whose couture creations secured fine art status across the world, ruled the French fashion scene from the age of 21.

"Gabrielle Chanel gave women freedom. Yves Saint Laurent gave them power," said the designer's business partner, Pierre Bergé.

"Like all creators, Yves Saint Laurent had two faces, a public face and a private face," said Mr. Bergé. He gave no details about the death of his long-time friend.

Mr. Saint Laurent changed forever what women wore, making the trouser-suit a daytime staple and the tuxedo an elegant option. He popularized safari jackets and thigh-high boots and his transparent blouses made near-nudity acceptable in high society.

His square-shouldered suits with patch pockets, brass buttons and wrap-back skirts have become classics, and he simplified evening-wear, moving from shocking satins to flowing white crepe of Hellenic purity.

The eldest child of a wealthy French industrialist, Mr. Saint Laurent was born and grew up in Oran, Algeria, and showed a talent for design, making clothes for his younger sisters' dolls. At 17, he entered a Paris fashion school, and his sketch for a cocktail dress won first prize in an annual contest.

Introduced to Christian Dior, he was hired on the spot by the creator of the "New Look" and became his chief assistant. On Mr. Dior's death in 1957, Mr. Saint Laurent became chief designer.

Mr. Saint Laurent directed Dior for three years, until drafted for military service during the Algerian war when a nervous breakdown put him in hospital. He was replaced by Marc Bohan, who is still chief designer at Dior.

During Mr. Saint Laurent's convalescence, Mr. Bergé persuaded a businessman to provide backing for the young designer to establish his own fashion house. He presented his first collection under his own name in 1962 and from then on his empire, under Mr. Bergé's direction, grew steadily.

He retired from haute couture in 2002 and was rarely seen in public.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2008