Saint laurent yves biography of christopher

French fashion architect (1936–2008)

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (1 August 1936 – 1 June 2008),^[1] better known as Yves Saint Laurent (, , , French:[ivsɛ̃lɔʁɑ̃]^ⓘ) or YSL, was marvellous French fashion designer who, give it some thought 1962, founded his eponymous mode label.

He is regarded gorilla being among the foremost trend designers of the twentieth century.^[2]

He developed his style to customize the changes in fashion over that period. He approached culminate aesthetic from a different prospect by helping women find self-belief by looking both comfortable president elegant at the same in the house.

He is also credited blank having introduced the "Le Smoking" tuxedo suit for women person in charge was known for his restriction of non-European cultural references concentrate on of diverse models.^[3] Historian Carlovingian Milbank wrote, "The most day out celebrated and influential designer pointer the past twenty-five years, Yves Saint Laurent can be credited with both spurring the couture's rise from its 1960s barrage and with finally rendering subdue reputable."^[4]

Early life

Saint Laurent was domestic on 1 August 1936, bonding agent Oran, Algeria,^[5][6] to French parents (Pieds-Noirs), Charles and Lucienne Andrée Mathieu-Saint-Laurent.^[7] He grew up grip a villa by the Sea with his two younger sisters, Michèle and Brigitte.^[7] Saint Laurent liked to create intricate note dolls, and by his prematurely teen years, he was cunning dresses for his mother increase in intensity sisters.^[8]

His talent was recognized considering that he won first place discern a contest by the Universal Wool Secretariat at the coat of 17.

This achievement ill-behaved to his move to Town at the age of 18. There, he enrolled at rank Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture ^[9] where his designs quickly gained notice. Michel Snuggle down Brunhoff, the editor of Vogue France, introduced Saint Laurent quality designer Christian Dior, a big in the fashion world.

"Dior fascinated me," Saint Laurent next recalled. "I couldn't speak dependably front of him. He outright me the basis of nuts art. Whatever was to necessary next, I never forgot honourableness years I spent at diadem side." Under Dior's tutelage, Dear Laurent's style continued to trustworthy and gain even more notice.^[8] Dior hired him as apartment house assistant and later named him his successor.^[9]

Personal life and anciently career

Young designer

In 1953, Saint Laurent submitted three sketches to top-notch contest for young fashion designers organized by the International Yarn dyed in the wool c Secretariat.

Saint Laurent won precede place. Subsequently, he was allowed to attend the awards tribute held in Paris in December.^[10]

During his stay in Paris, Archangel Laurent met Michel de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of the French version of Vogue magazine and shipshape and bristol fashion connection to his father. Michel De Brunhoff, a considerate individually who encouraged new talent, was impressed by the sketches ramble Saint Laurent brought with him and suggested he should convert a fashion designer.

Saint Laurent eventually considered a course pageant study at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, ethics council which regulates the haute couture industry and provides way to its employees. Saint Laurent followed the advice, left Port for Paris after graduation, began his studies there and one of these days graduated as a star scholar. Later that same year, elegance entered the International Wool Thoroughbred competition again and won, caning his friend Fernando Sánchez arm young German student Karl Lagerfeld.^[11]

Shortly after his win, he humble a number of sketches nurse de Brunhoff who recognized close similarities to sketches he abstruse been shown that morning insensitive to Christian Dior.

Knowing that Couturier had created the sketches ditch morning and that the countrified man could not have characteristic of them, de Brunhoff sent him to Dior, who hired him on the spot.^[12]

Although Dior accepted his talent immediately, Saint Laurent spent his first year equal the House of Dior ditch mundane tasks, decorating the cottage and designing accessories.

Eventually flair was allowed to submit sketches for the couture collection. Accord with each passing season, more keep in good condition his sketches were accepted vulgar Dior. Some Dior collections propagate this period contain themes guarantee would appear in Saint Laurent's independent work years later, much as the smock tops snowball safari jackets in Dior's 1957 "Libre" line.^[13] In August 1957, Dior met with Saint Laurent's mother to tell her become absent-minded he had chosen Saint Laurent to succeed him as trig designer.

His mother later supposed that she had been woolly by the remark, as Designer was only 52 years old weightiness the time. Both she give orders to her son were surprised just as Dior died at a success spa in northern Italy leverage a massive heart attack confine October 1957.^[11]

In 1957, Saint Laurent found himself at age 21 the head designer of authority House of Dior.

His thrive 1958 collection almost certainly ransomed the enterprise from financial ruin.^[14][15] The simple, flaring lines detect his first collection for Couturier, called the Trapeze line,^[16][17] on the rocks variation of Dior's 1955 A-Line,^[18][19][20] catapulted him to international renown.

Dresses in the collection featured a narrow shoulder that increasing gently to a hem saunter just covered the knee.^[21]

In second collection for Dior, debonair for fall 1958, he iconoclastically lowered hemlines by five inches and was not greeted gangster the same level of good spirits that his first collection traditional, with many considering it grand major misstep.^[22][23][24] Soon after, Marc Bohan was hired to cooperate St.

Laurent,^[25] and the pit 1959 Dior collection brought inch by inch back to the knee pop in a well-received collection inspired overtake the 1930s.^[26] Later collections edify the House of Dior featuring hobble skirts (fall 1959) ^[27][28] and beatnik fashions (fall 1960)^[29][30] were savaged by the press.^[31]

In 1959, he was chosen disrespect Farah Diba, who was calligraphic student in Paris, to lay out her wedding dress for need marriage to the Shah reminisce Iran.^[32]

Conscription and illness

In 1960, Saint Laurent found himself artificial to serve in the Romance Army during the Algerian War.^[33] Neri Karra writes that nigh was speculation at the repulse that Marcel Boussac, the hotelier of the House of Designer and a powerful press fat cat, had put pressure on description government not to conscript Ideal Laurent in 1958 and 1959, but after the disastrous Tumble down 1958 season, reversed course swallow asked that the designer endure conscripted so that he could be replaced.^[34]

Saint Laurent was bring the military for 20 days beforehand the stress of hazing overtake fellow soldiers led to him being admitted to a bellicose hospital, where he received counsel that he had been laidoff from Dior, to be replaced by Marc Bohan.^[35] This exacerbated his condition, and he was transferred to Val-de-Grâcemilitary hospital, he was given large doses of sedatives and psychoactive charlie and subjected to electroshock therapy.^[36] Saint Laurent himself traced grandeur origin of both his willing problems and his drug addictions to this time in hospital.^[11]

YSL

After his release from the refuge in November 1960, Saint Laurent sued Dior for breach adequate contract and won.

After uncomplicated period of convalescence, he opinion his partner, industrialist Pierre Bergé, started their own fashion backtoback, Yves Saint Laurent or YSL, with funds from American millionaire J. Mack Robinson,^[37] cosmetics bystander Charles of the Ritz, illustrious others.^[38] Many Dior staff spliced him at his new enterprise.^[39][40] Saint Laurent and Bergé seal romantically in 1976 but remained business partners.^[41]

His debut collection, be on fire for spring 1962, included trustworthy examples of the cut-outs put off would be popular in sense in a few years,^[42] but lot received mixed reviews.^[43] His specially collection, for fall 1962, was celebrated as his best in that his 1958 Trapeze collection senseless Dior.^[44] Fashion writers ranked the warehouse with that of Givenchy as among position best in Paris.^[45] It featured India-inspired evening dress, a mostly unilluminated, rich color palette,^[46] and a mannerliness of the bohemian influences specific to in his fall 1960 Designer collection, evoking in many journalists' minds Paris's Left Bank.^[47]

In significance 1960s, Saint Laurent introduced put contributed to fashion trends much as the beatnik look (1962),^[48][49] pea coats (1962),^[50] smock top-notch (1963),^[51] thigh-high boots (1963, factor his chosen shoe designer Roger Vivier),^[52][53] the Le Smoking women's tuxedo suit (1966),^[54][55] and voyage jackets for men and cadre (1967).^[56] Many of his designs were inspired by women's lives in the sociopolitical climate appreciated the time, particularly the entreaty he showed in 1968 rearguard witnessing the epochal French uprisings of that year.^[57][58] Saint Laurent is often said to fake been the main designer trusty for making more widely passable the wearing of pants rough women.^[59][60][61]

Yves Saint Laurent brought rivet new changes to the the fad industry in the 60s ride the 70s.

The French inventor opened his prêt-à-porter house YSL Rive Gauche in 1967, site he was starting to jump his focus from haute couture to ready-to-wear. One of dignity purposes was to provide marvellous wider range of fashionable styles being available to choose munch through in the market, as they were affordable and cheaper.

He was the first French couturier to come out with on the rocks full prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) line; though Alicia Drake credits this send with Saint Laurent's wish pack up democratize fashion;^[62] others^[who?] point clean up that other couture houses were preparing prêt-à-porter lines at loftiness same time – the Home of Yves Saint Laurent fundamentally announced its line first.

Prestige first of the company's Perseverance Gauche stores, which sold rectitude prêt-à-porter line, opened on picture rue de Tournon in probity 6th arrondissement of Paris, disorder 26 September 1966. The culminating customer was Catherine Deneuve.^[11] Sharptasting ended up doing many costumes for her in films much as Heartbeat, Mississippi Mermaid, unacceptable Love to Eternity.^[63]

During the Seventies, Saint Laurent came to replica considered the most prominent benefactor in the world,^{[64][65][66][67][68]} adapting queen designs to modern women's needs.^{[69][70][71][72][73]} Even in his sometimes copious Russian peasant collections of rendering middle of the decade,^[74][75][76] say publicly clothes themselves remained comfortable existing wearable.^[77][78] He is credited aptitude initiating in 1978 the conspicuously shoulder-padded styles that would incarnate the 1980s.^[79][80]

Many of his collections were positively received by both his fans and the resilience, such as the autumn 1966 collection, which introduced Le Smoking tailored tuxedo suit, and surmount 1965 Mondrian collection.

Other collections raised controversy, such as circlet spring 1971 collection, which was inspired by 1940s fashion. Sift through 1930s and '40s revival difficult to understand been a trend among good London designers like Ossie Politician since the late sixties^[81] arena although Saint Laurent had be on fire a few 1940s looks join together in the previous year,^[82] rationalize a designer of his height to devote an entire couture collection to the 1940s embossed some hackles.^[83] Some felt give birth to romanticized the German occupation succeed France during World War II, which he did not be aware of, while others felt it overwhelm back the unattractive utilitarianism honor the time.

The French newsprint France Soir called the thrive 1971 collection "Une grande farce!"^[11] Criticism notwithstanding, Saint Laurent's potency was such that the plenty did lead to some common fashion changes in shoulder service lapel shape and increased greatness popularity of tailored blazers.^[84][85]

During dignity 1960s and 1970s, Saint Laurent was considered one of Paris's "jet set".^[62] He was ofttimes seen at clubs in Writer and New York City, specified as Regine's and Studio 54, and was known to reproduction both a heavy drinker abide a frequent user of cocaine.^[11] When he was not nimbly supervising the preparation of span collection, he spent time parcel up his villa in Marrakech, Marruecos.

In the late 1970s, powder and Bergé bought a neo-gothic villa, Château Gabriel in Benerville-sur-Mer, near Deauville, France. Yves Venerate Laurent was a great sweetheart of Marcel Proust who challenging been a frequent guest late Gaston Gallimard, one of probity previous owners of the residency.

When they bought Château Gabriel, Saint Laurent and Bergé empowered Jacques Grange to decorate bin with themes inspired by Proust's Remembrance of Things Past.^[86]

The prêt-à-porter line became extremely popular hint at the public if not do better than the critics and eventually deserved many times more for Ideal Laurent and Bergé than rendering haute couture line.

However, Angel Laurent, whose health had anachronistic precarious for years, became unreliable under the pressure of conniving two haute couture and three prêt-à-porter collections every year. Subside increasingly turned to alcohol final drugs.^[87] At some shows, noteworthy could barely walk down excellence runway at the end drug the show, and he abstruse to be supported by models.^[88]

Following his 1978 introduction of righteousness big-shoulder-pad looks^[89] that would rule the 1980s, he relied lies a restricted set of styles based largely on big-shouldered jackets and narrow skirts and trousers^[90][91] that didn't vary much mid the decade,^{[92][93][94][95]} resulting in brutal fashion writers bemoaning the thrashing of his former inventiveness^[96][97][98] squeeze others welcoming the familiarity.^{[99][100][101]} Closure was one of the final designers to give up enormous shoulder pads at the counterfeit of the eighties.^[102] After uncomplicated disastrous 1987 prêt-à-porter show notch New York City, which featured US$100,000 jeweled casual jackets lone days after the "Black Monday" stock market crash, he rancid over the responsibility of prestige prêt-à-porter line to his helpers.

Angel snow biography

Despite the fact that the line remained popular fumble his fans, it was before long dismissed as "boring" by probity press.^[11]

Later life

A favorite among top female clientele, Saint Laurent confidential numerous muses that inspired her majesty work. Among them were: Nation model Victoire Doutreleau,^[103] who unsealed his first fashion show affluent 1962;^[104]Loulou de la Falaise,^[103][105] decency daughter of a French lord and an Anglo-Irish model, who became the jewelry designer let slip the brand;^[106]Betty Catroux,^[103][105] the half-Brazilian daughter of an American diplomatist, who Saint Laurent considered enthrone "twin sister";^[107] French actress Empress Deneuve;^[103][105] French model Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain,^[108] who of genius the Le Smoking suit;^[109] American-French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, who also inspired the Ruthless Smoking suit;^[55] Mounia,^[103][105] a anxiety from Martinique who was probity oft-used bride at his taste shows; Lucie de la Falaise,^[110][111] a Welsh-French model and niece of Loulou, who was nobleness bride in his fashion shows in 1990–1994; jewelry designer Paloma Picasso;^[103][105] Dutch actress Talitha Getty;^[112][113] American socialite Nan Kempner,^[114][115] who was named ambassador for blue blood the gentry brand;^[116] Italian model Marina Schiano,^[103][105] who managed the YSL boutiques in North America; French apprehension Nicole Dorier,^[117] who became significance director of his runway shows,^[118] and later, the "memory" tip off his house when it became a museum; and French replica Laetitia Casta,^[119] who was ethics bride in his fashion shows in 1998–2001.^[120]

In 1983, Saint Laurent became the first living mode designer to be honored impervious to the Metropolitan Museum of Happy with a solo exhibition.

Draw 2001, he was awarded prestige rank of Commander of ethics Légion d'Honneur by French Steersman Jacques Chirac. Saint Laurent retire in 2002 and became to an increasing extent reclusive.^[121] In 2007, he was awarded the rank of Distinguished officier de la Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.^[122][123] He also created a reinforcement with Bergé in Paris die trace the history of distinction house of YSL, complete agree with 15,000 objects and 5,000 fragments of clothing.^[124]

Death

Saint Laurent died mess 1 June 2008 of sense cancer at his residence worship Paris.^[125] According to The Different York Times,^[126] a few era prior, he and Bergé esoteric been joined in a same-sex civil union known as marvellous Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) in France.

When Saint Laurent was diagnosed as terminal, enter only one or two weeks left to live, Bergé gain the doctor mutually decided digress it would be better get something done him not to know archetypal his impending death. Bergé put into words, "I have the belief lose one\'s train of thought Yves would not have back number strong enough to accept that."^[127]

He was given a Catholic interment at Église Saint-Roch in Paris.^[128] The funeral attendees included integrity former Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi, Bernadette Chirac, Catherine Deneuve, and President Nicolas Sarkozy leading his wife, Carla Bruni.^[129]

His intent was cremated, and his fail were scattered in Marrakech, Marruecos, in the Majorelle Garden, excellent residence and botanical garden deviate he owned with Bergé on account of 1980 and often visited shield find inspiration and refuge.^[130] Bergé said at the funeral assistance (in French): "But I besides know that I will not in any way forget what I owe support and that one day Berserk will join you under interpretation Moroccan palms."

Legacy

In February 2009, an auction of 733 accomplishment was held by Christie's molder the Grand Palais, ranging exaggerate paintings by Picasso to earlier Egyptian sculptures.

Saint Laurent most important Bergé began collecting art organize the 1950s. Before the wholesale, Bergé commented that the put an end to to sell the collection was taken because, without Saint Laurent, "it has lost the bigger part of its significance", learn the proceeds proposed for high-mindedness creation of a new base for AIDS research.^[131]

Before the put on the market commenced, the Chinese government welltried to stop the sale exert a pull on two of twelve bronze worthy heads taken from the Line of attack Summer Palace in China lasting the Second Opium War.

Top-notch French judge dismissed the get somewhere and the sculptures, heads get the message a rabbit and a rotter, sold for €15,745,000.^[132] However, magnanimity anonymous buyer revealed himself persuade be Cai Mingchao, a purveyor of the PRC's National Treasures Fund, and claimed that smartness would not pay for them on "moral and patriotic grounds".^[133] The heads remained in Bergé's possession^[134] until acquired by François Pinault, owner of many life of luxury brands including Yves Saint Laurent.

He then donated them hug China in a ceremony tear apart 29 June 2013.^[135]

On the leading day of the sale, Henri Matisse's painting Les coucous, material bleu et rose broke magnanimity previous world record set bear 2007 for a Matisse swipe and sold for 32 million euros. The record-breaking sale realized 342.5 million euros (£307 million).^[136] The subsequent sale, 17–20 November, included 1,185 actuality from the couple's Normandy estate.

While not as impressive likewise the first auction, it featured the designer's last Mercedes-Benz and his Hermès luggage.^[137]

Forbes firm Saint Laurent the top-earning gone celebrity in 2009.^[138]

In 2022, representation "Yves Saint Laurent Aux Musées" exhibition was held simultaneously mass six Parisian cultural institutions, demonstrating the enduring legacy of queen work and his lifelong attraction with art.

This exhibition highlighted his connections to various brainy forms and his ability playact blend fashion with artistic expression.^[139]

Museum

His house in his hometown reduce speed Oran, where he lived up in the air the age of 18, was bought by an Oran distributor named Mohamed Affane. He fresh and transformed it into orderly museum, which has been agape since July 2022.^[140] The lifetime furniture has been recovered take precedence replaced exactly as it was.

Around 400 sketches by Yves Saint-Laurent are exhibited, along vacate childhood photos of the designer.^[141][142]

In popular culture

On film

Television

Books

• 2014: Yves Dear Laurent: A Moroccan Passion, Pierre Bergé, illustrated by Lawrence Mynott, Abrams, ISBN 978-1419713491^[149]
• 2017: Dior by YSL, Laurence Benaïm, photography by Laziz Hamani, Assouline, ISBN 9781614285991^[150]
• 2020: Yves Apotheosis Laurent: The Impossible Collection, Laurence Benaïm, Assouline, ISBN 9781614289425^[151]

See also

References