The fashion house Saint Laurent has become an indispensable icon in the fashion industry – a symbol of style and refinement, but also a place where boundaries were pushed and revolutions were born. The founder’s story Yves Saint Laurent does not simply start with the opening of a fashion house, but with the birth of a vision that completely turned the fashion world upside down. This is how it all started and how he turned his work into a global empire.
The creation of Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent was born in 1936 in Oran, Algeriaas the son of a wealthy family. From an early age he showed an enormous passion for fashion. At the age of 17 he moved to Pariswhere he started his career in fashion as an assistant at the legendary fashion house Christian Dior. It was a time when the fashion world was still strictly separated: men designed for men and women for women, but Yves had other plans.
In 1957, at just 21 years old, he was appointed chief designer of Dior, following the sudden death of the great couturier. But Yves’ career at Dior was short-lived. He was mobilized for the Algerian War and his absence from Dior led to his dismissal. However, this did not mean the end of his career, but rather the beginning of something great: in 1961 he opened his own fashion house in Paris, Yves Saint Laurent.
Le Smoking
Yves Saint Laurent did not simply want to make beautiful clothes. He wanted fashion transform. Are vision was that fashion was not only an art, but also a reflection of the society and the times in which people lived. In an era when women mainly wore hoop skirts and evening dresses, Saint Laurent brought stylish simplicity and practical elegance.
The most iconic example of his revolutionary approach was the creation of Le Smokinga tuxedo for women that turned the fashion world upside down in 1966. For the first time, women could wear a pantsuit without it being considered ‘modest’ or ‘masculine’. Le Smoking was a statement of emancipation and self-confidence, and Saint Laurent took fashion to a new level. The dress was for the woman who wanted to conquer the city, and Le Smoking was her tool.
In addition to Le Smoking, Saint Laurent also released other iconic designs, such as the trench coat and the bohemian look, which emphasized simplicity, power and functionality. Instead of the embellished, stiff fashion that was popular at the time, he designed clothes that allowed women to feel confident and elegant at the same time. This was fashion for the modern woman, not for the woman who had to adhere to strict rules.
Yves Saint Laurent’s sources of inspiration
Yves Saint Laurent drew inspiration from the art, literature and the culture around him. He was not afraid to integrate influences from cubism, surrealism and Eastern culture into his work. He collaborated with famous artists such as Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modiglianiand used their work as inspiration for several collections. The famous one Mondriandress, designed in 1965, is a great example of how Saint Laurent turned art into fashion. It was a dress that looked as if it had been cut straight out of a Mondrian painting: it featured geometric areas in primary colors.
Furthermore, Saint Laurent leaned heavily on the Moroccan culturewhich he discovered during his travels to Marrakesh in the sixties. The rich colors and patterns from this region would have a lasting impact on his work, especially in his ready-to-wear collections.
Yves Saint Laurent in the seventies and eighties
The 1970s and 1980s were the peak of Yves Saint Laurent’s career. The fashion of the time was becoming increasingly daring and confident, and Saint Laurent was at the helm of this transformation. He expanded his empire with a series of new clothing lines, perfumes and accessories. The launch of the perfume Opium in 1977, which was controversial because of its name, proved to be a huge hit and cemented Saint Laurent as one of the biggest names in fashion.
Saint Laurent brought Parisian haute couture to the city streets with his creations. He designed a gala-like look for the woman who was no longer just for a chic ball, but also for an evening walk through the city. His catwalks were filled with supermodels including Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlingtonwhich brought his designs to life.
In addition, Saint Laurent was a pioneer in the world of fashion photography. He collaborated with famous photographers such as Helmut Newton and Richard Avedon, who captured the house’s fashion in iconic images that conquered the world.
From Saint Laurent to Slimane and Vaccarello
When Yves Saint Laurent decided to retire in 2002, the moment of farewell seemed final. He had outgrown the fashion world, and his legacy was solid. Yet the brand itself was not ready to disappear. In 2004, the fashion house was taken over by the Kering Group (then PPR) and since then it has seen several designers who have interpreted Saint Laurent’s vision in their own way.
Tom Ford was the first to lead the fashion house after Yves’ retirement, and he brought a sense of glamor and rock ‘n’ roll to the brand. He made Saint Laurent a more commercially attractive force in the fashion world, combining the classic Saint Laurent aesthetic with his own glamorous vision.
In 2012 Hedi Slimane appointed as creative director. Slimane, known for his minimalist, androgynous style, changed the brand’s name to Saint Laurent Paris and brought the brand back to its rock ‘n’ roll roots. Slimane’s collections, with a focus on leather jackets, skinny jeans and mini dresses, went viral and gave the brand a younger, more edgy appearance.
This followed in 2016 Anthony Vaccarello Slimane op. Vaccarello, who previously worked at Versus Versace, brought a new energy to Saint Laurent and has since led the brand in a new direction. He stays true to the luxury and elegance of the house, but injects it with a modern, sensual flair. The result: a continuous flow of iconic, sexy, no-nonsense fashion that still stands the test of time.
Saint Laurent now
What makes the brand so irresistible today is the power of its legacy: Saint Laurent is timelessbut also constantly evolving. The house continues to reinvent its iconic pieces, from the leather jacket to the sleek black and white silhouettes and the sensuality that we still find in the collections.
Saint Laurent is not a fashion house that accepts trends; it is always progressive, daring, idiosyncratic. What Yves Saint Laurent started as a revolution is now one cult status. A brand that doesn’t just sell clothes, but a lifestyle: confident, refined and always a little rebellious.
Yves would certainly have been proud – on June 1, 2008, Yves Saint Laurent died at the age of 71 from cancer. His death marked the end of an era in the fashion world, but his influence lives on in everything he left behind. The fashion industry was deeply affected by his death: Saint Laurent was not just a designer, but an icon who had forever changed the way we saw fashion and self-expression. His legacy was honored not only by his collections and the fashion houses that continued his vision, but also by the millions of women (and men) who felt empowered by his designs.
It Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris, opened in 2017, provides a lasting reminder of his work and his groundbreaking contributions to fashion. His death marked the loss not only of a genius designer, but of a legend whose work left its mark on culture.
