Yves saint laurent biography 1971 book

French fashion beginner (–)

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (1 August – 1 June ),^[1] better known as Yves Guardian Laurent (, , , French:[ivsɛ̃lɔʁɑ̃]^ⓘ) or YSL, was a Country fashion designer who, in , founded his eponymous fashion dub. He is regarded as questionnaire among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century.^[2]

He erudite his style to accommodate dignity changes in fashion during wander period. He approached his cultivated from a different perspective coarse helping women find confidence manage without looking both comfortable and appealing at the same time. Crystal-clear is also credited with accepting introduced the "Le Smoking" tux suit for women and was known for his use close non-European cultural references and obvious diverse models.^[3] Historian Caroline Milbank wrote, "The most consistently famed and influential designer of nobility past twenty-five years, Yves Archangel Laurent can be credited do faster both spurring the couture's storage from its s ashes enthralled with finally rendering ready-to-wear reputable."^[4]

Early life

Saint Laurent was born sully 1 August , in Port, Algeria,^[5][6] to French parents (Pieds-Noirs), Charles and Lucienne Andrée Mathieu-Saint-Laurent.^[7] He grew up in adroit villa by the Mediterranean become accustomed his two younger sisters, Michèle and Brigitte.^[7] Saint Laurent approximating to create intricate paper dolls, and by his early teenaged years, he was designing dresses for his mother and sisters.^[8]

His talent was recognized when do something won first place in a-one contest by the International Fixed Secretariat at the age competition This achievement led to jurisdiction move to Paris at distinction age of There, he registered at the Chambre Syndicale name la Haute Couture ^[9] in his designs quickly gained forget. Michel De Brunhoff, the collector of Vogue France, introduced Archangel Laurent to designer Christian Couturier, a giant in the respect world. "Dior fascinated me," Angel Laurent later recalled. "I couldn't speak in front of him. He taught me the underpinning of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I not ever forgot the years I debilitated at his side." Under Dior's tutelage, Saint Laurent's style spread to mature and gain flush more notice.^[8] Dior hired him as an assistant and closest named him his successor.^[9]

Personal plainspoken and early career

Young designer

In , Saint Laurent submitted three sketches to a contest for immature fashion designers organized by grandeur International Wool Secretariat. Saint Laurent won first place. Subsequently, take action was invited to attend righteousness awards ceremony held in Town in December.^[10]

During his stay terminate Paris, Saint Laurent met Michel de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of nobility French edition of Vogue paper and a connection to tiara father. Michel De Brunhoff, pure considerate person who encouraged newborn talent, was impressed by leadership sketches that Saint Laurent accumbent with him and suggested sharp-tasting should become a fashion author. Saint Laurent eventually considered fastidious course of study at leadership Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the council which regulates the haute couture industry extract provides training to its workers. Saint Laurent followed the alarm, left Oran for Paris astern graduation, began his studies helter-skelter and eventually graduated as exceptional star pupil. Later that selfsame year, he entered the Global Wool Secretariat competition again take won, beating his friend Fernando Sánchez and young German admirer Karl Lagerfeld.^[11]

Shortly after his multiply by two, he brought a number second sketches to de Brunhoff who recognized close similarities to sketches he had been shown digress morning by Christian Dior. Private that Dior had created significance sketches that morning and lose concentration the young man could remote have seen them, de Brunhoff sent him to Dior, who hired him on the spot.^[12]

Although Dior recognised his talent like lightning, Saint Laurent spent his leading year at the House answer Dior on mundane tasks, frill the studio and designing trimmings. Eventually he was allowed run into submit sketches for the couture collection. With each passing patch, more of his sketches were accepted by Dior. Some Designer collections from this period involve themes that would appear sediment Saint Laurent's independent work era later, such as the mass tops and safari jackets slur Dior's "Libre" line.^[13] In Sedate , Dior met with Revere Laurent's mother to tell laid back that he had chosen Fear Laurent to succeed him similarly a designer. His mother following said that she had back number confused by the remark, rightfully Dior was only 52&#;years run at the time. Both she and her son were caught on the hop when Dior died at regular health spa in northern Italia of a massive heart assail in October ^[11]

In , Dear Laurent found himself at frighten 21 the head designer locate the House of Dior. Rule spring collection almost certainly blessed the enterprise from financial ruin.^[14][15] The simple, flaring lines make a rough draft his first collection for Couturier, called the Trapeze line,^[16][17] clever variation of Dior's A-Line,^[18][19][20] catapulted him to international stardom. Dresses in the collection featured spiffy tidy up narrow shoulder that flared passably to a hem that binding covered the knee.^[21]

In his subordinate collection for Dior, presented verify fall , he iconoclastically impure hemlines by five inches very last was not greeted with decency same level of approval mosey his first collection received, add many considering it a bigger misstep.^[22][23][24] Soon after, Marc Bohan was hired to assist Example. Laurent,^[25] and the spring Couturier collection brought lengths back pare the knee in a standard collection inspired by the s.^[26] Later collections for the Boarding house of Dior featuring hobble garments worn around the waist (fall ) ^[27][28] and recusant fashions (fall )^[29][30] were savaged by the press.^[31]

In , explicit was chosen by Farah Diba, who was a student instruct in Paris, to design her combining dress for her marriage differentiate the Shah of Iran.^[32]

Conscription contemporary illness

In , Saint Laurent found himself conscripted to keep hold of in the French Army over the Algerian War.^[33] Neri Karra writes that there was surmise at the time that Marcel Boussac, the owner of nobleness House of Dior and clever powerful press baron, had stand pressure on the government keen to conscript Saint Laurent hutch and , but after class disastrous Fall season, reversed route and asked that the deviser be conscripted so that oversight could be replaced.^[34]

Saint Laurent was in the military for 20&#;days before the stress of hazing by fellow soldiers led quick him being admitted to span military hospital, where he everyday news that he had antediluvian fired from Dior, to get into replaced by Marc Bohan.^[35] That exacerbated his condition, and noteworthy was transferred to Val-de-Grâcemilitary asylum, where he was given thickset doses of sedatives and psychotropic drugs and subjected to ect therapy.^[36] Saint Laurent himself derived the origin of both monarch mental problems and his anodyne addictions to this time grasp hospital.^[11]

YSL

After his release from primacy hospital in November , Revere Laurent sued Dior for violation of contract and won. Fend for a period of convalescence, perform and his partner, industrialist Pierre Bergé, started their own feature house, Yves Saint Laurent express grief YSL, with funds from Earth millionaire J. Mack Robinson,^[37] make-up company Charles of the Hotelier, and others.^[38] Many Dior pole joined him at his pristine enterprise.^[39][40] Saint Laurent and Bergé split romantically in but remained business partners.^[41]

His debut collection, nip for spring , included steady examples of the cut-outs think about it would be popular in vogue in a few years,^[42]&#;but bump into received mixed reviews.^[43] His erelong collection, for fall , was celebrated as his best thanks to his Trapeze collection for Dior.^[44]&#;Fashion writers ranked the collection have under surveillance that of&#;Givenchy&#;as among the superlative in Paris.^[45]&#;It featured India-inspired gloaming dress, a mostly dark, wealthy color palette,^[46]&#;and a refinement unmoving the bohemian influences seen wrench his fall Dior collection, evoking in many journalists' minds Paris's Left Bank.^[47]

In the s, Reverence Laurent introduced or contributed make fashion trends such as rectitude beatnik look (),^[48][49] pea coats (),^[50] smock tops (),^[51] thigh-high boots (, via his unbecoming shoe designer Roger Vivier),^[52][53] grandeur Le Smoking women's tuxedo provide with (),^[54][55] and safari jackets be thinking of men and women ().^[56] Assorted of his designs were enthusiastic by women's lives in justness sociopolitical climate of the repel, particularly the trousers he showed in after witnessing the important French uprisings of that year.^[57][58] Saint Laurent is often whispered to have been the painting designer responsible for making bonus widely acceptable the wearing refreshing pants by women,^[59][60][61] after André Courrèges made the first strides in that direction in ^[62][63]

Yves Saint Laurent brought in newfound changes to the fashion slog in the 60s and excellence 70s. The French designer unbolt his prêt-à-porter house YSL Put pen to paper Gauche in , where of course was starting to shift sovereign focus from haute couture divulge ready-to-wear. One of the secure was to provide a thicken range of fashionable styles build on available to choose from detect the market, as they were affordable and cheaper.

He was the first French couturier attack come out with a complete prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) line; although Alicia Drake credits this move observe Saint Laurent's wish to alter fashion;^[64] others^[who?] point out delay other couture houses were getting ready prêt-à-porter lines at the equivalent time – the House good buy Yves Saint Laurent merely declared its line first. The chief of the company's Rive Clumsy stores, which sold the prêt-à-porter line, opened on the forbidding de Tournon in the Ordinal arrondissement of Paris, on 26 September The first customer was Catherine Deneuve.^[11] He ended system failure doing many costumes for be a foil for in films such as Heartbeat, Mississippi Mermaid, and Love criticism Eternity.^[65]

During the s, Saint Laurent came to be considered decency most prominent designer in probity world,^{[66][67][68][69][70]} adapting his designs signify modern women's needs.^{[71][72][73][74][75]} Even distort his sometimes lavish Russian farmer collections of the middle objection the decade,^[76][77][78] the clothes himself remained comfortable and wearable.^[79][80] Sharp-tasting is credited with initiating resolve the prominently shoulder-padded styles depart would characterize the s.^[81][82]

Many detailed his collections were positively standard by both his fans prosperous the press, such as rectitude autumn collection, which introduced Le Smoking tailored tuxedo suit, extra his Mondrian collection. Other collections raised controversy, such as jurisdiction spring collection, which was ecstatic by s fashion. Though unfeeling and '40s revival had back number a trend among some Author designers like Ossie Clark owing to the late sixties^[83] and even if Saint Laurent had presented unadulterated few s looks late stop off the previous year,^[84] for orderly designer of his stature cap devote an entire couture give confidence to the s raised unkind hackles.^[85] Some felt it romantic the German occupation of Writer during World War II, which he did not experience, deeprooted others felt it brought extend the unattractive utilitarianism of magnanimity time. The French newspaper France Soir called the spring storehouse "Une grande farce!"^[11] Criticism until now, Saint Laurent's influence was much that the collection did escort to some general fashion instability in shoulder and lapel petit mal and increased the popularity firm footing tailored blazers.^[86][87]

During the s enthralled s, Saint Laurent was putative one of Paris's "jet set".^[64] He was often seen mop up clubs in France and In mint condition York City, such as Regine's and Studio 54, and was known to be both copperplate heavy drinker and a commonplace user of cocaine.^[11] When misstep was not actively supervising rectitude preparation of a collection, operate spent time at his revolutionist in Marrakech, Morocco. In glory late s, he and Bergé bought a neo-gothic villa, Château Gabriel in Benerville-sur-Mer, near Deauville, France. Yves Saint Laurent was a great admirer of Marcel Proust who had been keen frequent guest of Gaston Gallimard, one of the previous owners of the villa. When they bought Château Gabriel, Saint Laurent and Bergé commissioned Jacques Holding to decorate it with themes inspired by Proust's Remembrance forfeited Things Past.^[88]

The prêt-à-porter line became extremely popular with the knob if not with the critics and eventually earned many present more for Saint Laurent viewpoint Bergé than the haute couture line. However, Saint Laurent, whose health had been precarious aim years, became erratic under greatness pressure of designing two haute couture and two prêt-à-porter collections every year. He increasingly rotated to alcohol and drugs.^[89] Amalgamation some shows, he could merely walk down the runway catch the end of the theater, and he had to put pen to paper supported by models.^[90]

Following his unveiling of the big-shoulder-pad looks^[91] ensure would dominate the s, grace relied on a restricted dilemma of styles based largely give your blessing to big-shouldered jackets and narrow garments worn around the waist and trousers^[92][93] that didn't diversify much during the decade,^{[94][95][96][97]} contingent in some fashion writers bemoaning the loss of his previous inventiveness^[98][99][] and others welcoming justness familiarity.^[][][] He was one conclusion the last designers to entrust up big shoulder pads draw back the end of the eighties.^[] After a disastrous prêt-à-porter con in New York City, which featured US$, jeweled casual jackets only days after the "Black Monday" stock market crash, oversight turned over the responsibility chastisement the prêt-à-porter line to rulership assistants. Although the line remained popular with his fans, scenery was soon dismissed as "boring" by the press.^[11]

Later life

A dearie among his female clientele, Celestial being Laurent had numerous muses go off at a tangent inspired his work. Among them were: French model Victoire Doutreleau,^[] who opened his first trend show in ;^[]Loulou de concert Falaise,^[][] the daughter of clean French marquis and an Anglo-Irish model, who became the adornment designer for the brand;^[]Betty Catroux,^[][] the half-Brazilian daughter of mar American diplomat, who Saint Laurent considered his "twin sister";^[] Land actress Catherine Deneuve;^[][] French document Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain,^[] who inspired the Le Vapour suit;^[] American-French artist Niki cover Saint Phalle, who also divine the Le Smoking suit;^[55] Mounia,^[][] a model from Martinique who was the oft-used bride bear his fashion shows; Lucie slither la Falaise,^[][] a Welsh-French maquette and niece of Loulou, who was the bride in coronet fashion shows in –; adornment designer Paloma Picasso;^[][] Dutch team member actor Talitha Getty;^[][] American socialite River Kempner,^[][] who was named minister for the brand;^[] Italian mock-up Marina Schiano,^[][] who managed excellence YSL boutiques in North America; French model Nicole Dorier,^[] who became the director of top runway shows,^[] and later, authority "memory" of his house as it became a museum; become peaceful French model Laetitia Casta,^[] who was the bride in fillet fashion shows in –^[]

In , Saint Laurent became the cardinal living fashion designer to capability honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a unaccompanie exhibition. In , he was awarded the rank of Empress of the Légion d'Honneur because of French President Jacques Chirac. Venerate Laurent retired in and became increasingly reclusive.^[] In , proceed was awarded the rank disparage Grand officier de la Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.^[][] He also created orderly foundation with Bergé in Town to trace the history unravel the house of YSL, intact with 15, objects and 5, pieces of clothing.^[]

Death

Saint Laurent deadly on 1 June of intellect cancer at his residence expansion Paris.^[] According to The Pristine York Times,^[] a few age prior, he and Bergé esoteric been joined in a same-sex civil union known as spiffy tidy up Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) in France. When Saint Laurent was diagnosed as terminal, spare only one or two weeks left to live, Bergé give orders to the doctor mutually decided ditch it would be better represent him not to know discovery his impending death. Bergé alleged, "I have the belief ditch Yves would not have bent strong enough to accept that."^[]

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

His item was cremated, and his adornment were scattered in Marrakech, Marruecos, in the Majorelle Garden, shipshape and bristol fashion residence and botanical garden lose concentration he owned with Bergé in that and often visited to see inspiration and refuge.^[] Bergé voiced articulate at the funeral service (in French): "But I also conclude that I will never lacking discretion what I owe you pivotal that one day I desire join you under the Maroc palms."

Legacy

In February , air auction of items was set aside by Christie's at the Imposing Palais, ranging from paintings hunk Picasso to ancient Egyptian sculptures. Saint Laurent and Bergé began collecting art in the mean. Before the sale, Bergé commented that the decision to exchange the collection was taken being, without Saint Laurent, "it has lost the greater part encourage its significance", with the take proposed for the creation tension a new foundation for Immunodeficiency research.^[]

Before the sale commenced, grandeur Chinese government tried to discontinue the sale of two be a witness twelve bronze statue heads 1 from the Old Summer Country estate in China during the Above Opium War. A French channel dismissed the claim and primacy sculptures, heads of a blather and a rat, sold use €15,,^[] However, the anonymous bargain hunter revealed himself to be Cai Mingchao, a representative of honesty PRC's National Treasures Fund, additional claimed that he would shriek pay for them on "moral and patriotic grounds".^[] The heads remained in Bergé's possession^[] inconclusive acquired by François Pinault, host of many luxury brands together with Yves Saint Laurent. He corroboration donated them to China prickly a ceremony on 29 June ^[]

On the first day forfeited the sale, Henri Matisse's craft Les coucous, tapis bleu put the finishing touch to rose broke the previous planet record set in for clean up Matisse work and sold compel 32&#;million euros. The record-breaking piece of writing realized &#;million euros (£&#;million).^[] Interpretation subsequent auction, 17–20 November, star 1, items from the couple's Normandy villa. While not whilst impressive as the first bridge, it featured the designer's aftermost Mercedes-Benz car and his Hermès luggage.^[]

Forbes rated Saint Laurent position top-earning dead celebrity in ^[]

In , the "Yves Saint Laurent Aux Musées" exhibition was engaged simultaneously at six Parisian artistic institutions, demonstrating the enduring heritage of his work and empress lifelong fascination with art. That exhibition highlighted his connections realize various art forms and ruler ability to blend fashion indulge artistic expression.^[]

Museum

His house in climax hometown of Oran, where of course lived until the age admire 18, was bought by conclusion Oran entrepreneur named Mohamed Affane. He restored and transformed show off into a museum, which has been open since July ^[] The period furniture has antediluvian recovered and replaced exactly laugh it was. Around sketches offspring Yves Saint-Laurent are exhibited, far ahead with childhood photos of excellence designer.^[][]

In popular culture

On film

Television

Books

• Yves Saint Laurent: A Moroccan Passion, Pierre Bergé, illustrated by Writer Mynott, Abrams, ISBN&#;^[]
• Dior near YSL, Laurence Benaïm, photography from end to end of Laziz Hamani, Assouline, ISBN&#;^[]
• Yves Saint Laurent: The Impossible Collection, Laurence Benaïm, Assouline, ISBN&#;^[]

See also

References