Information On Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent was born in 1936. Yves Saint Laurent grew up in Oran, Algeria. At 17, Yves Saint Laurent left for Paris where he showed his drawings to Michel de Brunhoff who was the director of Vogue several of Yves Saint Laurent drawings were published immediately. Following a stint at fashion school, Yves Saint Laurent was introduced to Christian Dior by de Brunhoff and he went on to work for Dior until his death in 1957.

After taking over as art director for Dior, Yves Saint Laurent launched his first collection for the company, the Ligne Trapéze, that year. It was a resounding success the world over and won Yves Saint Laurent a Neiman Marcus Oscar. In 1960 Yves Saint Laurent created his revolutionary "Beat Look" collection which used couture techniques to refine streetstyle. However Yves Saint Laurent dramatic designs were too much for the house of Dior and a year later they lifted bars on his national service.

When Yves Saint Laurent returned from service in 1962 Yves Saint Laurent started up his own fashion house with Pierre Bergé and continued to rock the establishment. In 1966 Yves Saint Laurent introduced le smoking which was his legendary smoking suit, that prompted the consequent androgynous revolution. Yves Saint Laurent is now credited with a range of other innovations including the reefer jacket (1962), the sheer blouse (1966), and the jumpsuit (1968), as well as ready-to-wear culture as a whole.

In October 1998 Yves Saint Laurent showed his last ready-to-wear collection for the Rive Gauche label which he had founded more than 30 years before. But according to a sorrowful spokeswoman, the 61-year old designer was simply too overwrought to take his final bow. US designer Alber Elbaz was hand-picked to succeed Yves Saint Laurent, but found that his career there was swiftly terminated after the Italian fashion Gucci bought full control of the business at the end of 1999 and handed the reins to powerhouse designer Tom Ford. Yves Saint Laurent retained control of the haute couture business and continues to show in Paris each season. These days, the reach of the Yves Saint Laurent empire he founded and sold on is vast: the company produces menswear, furs, jewellery, perfumes and a range of accessories, all of which are distributed worldwide.

During his career Yves Saint Laurent was arguably the industry's greatest designer. Over the years Yves Saint Laurent received countless accolades. In 1985 Yves Saint Laurent was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by President François Mitterand. In 1995 Yves Saint Laurent was promoted to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honour, finally becoming a Commandeur six years later. Yves Saint Laurents’ status as a national icon was also cemented when, at the final of the 1998 World Cup near Paris. 300 models presented a retrospective of YSL creations to celebrate the designer's forty years in fashion in front of 80,000 football fans and more than 170 international sports channels.

In January 2002 Yves Saint Laurent announced his retirement. Paying tribute to his mentors including Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Schiaparelli and Chanel Yves Saint Laurent revealed that his decision was based on a disgust with an industry that had become ruled more by commercial gain than art. "I have nothing in common with this new world of fashion, which has been reduced to mere window-dressing," he said. "Elegance and beauty have been banished."