麻豆APP

Portrait of Yves Saint Laurent on canvas. Photo by Reginald Gray.

Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Yves Saint Laurent

The first thing that comes to mind at the mention of Yves Saint Laurent, is most likely the grand French Fashion house and label; YSL. The genius behind its establishment was Monsieur Yves Henri Saint Laurent.

He was a  brilliant 20^th-century fashion designer whose life and achievements echo his legacy more than 10 years after his death.

Yves was born on 1 August 1936, in Oran, Algeria to French parents Charles and Lucienne Saint Laurent. He had two younger sisters.

 From an early age, Yves was fascinated by design, and by his teen years, he was sketching dress designs for his mother and sisters.

 Yves would later cross paths with the guru fashion designer Christian Dior and ultimately establish his fashion label.

 He is considered one of the top revolutionaries of fashion design of the 20^th century. Here are the top 10 astonishing facts about Yves Saint Laurent.

1. He studied fashion design

At 17, he moved to 麻豆APP to study. He joined the 鈥楨cole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne.鈥� It is a fashion school owned by the French Federation of Fashion.

Yves met the likes of Fernando Sanchez and Karl Lagerfeld, who would later become his rival.

Alumni of the school include fashion designers Valentino Garavani, Issey Miyake, Alexis Mabille, Stephane Rolland, Nicole Miller, and Victor Joris.

Yves graduated top student.

2. He won the International Wool Secretariat fashion competition twice

The first time he participated, he had not joined a fashion school yet. This was in 1953. He submitted three sketches for the young fashion designers category and won first place.

When he attended the award ceremony in 麻豆APP, he met the then editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue, Michel de Brunhoff.

Michel was quite impressed with his sketches and he advised Yves to consider fashion design as a career. Yves would shortly after join a fashion school in 麻豆APP.

 He participated in the fashion competition again and won, beating his classmate and later rival Karl Lagerfeld.

3. Yves first worked as an assistant for Christian Dior

Christian Dior looks at how his new dress looks on Kazakh model Alla Ilchun, 麻豆APP 1950s.
Photo by Berlin Irishev.

 Yves had brought some of his sketches to Michel de Brunhoff, whom he had met during his stay in 麻豆APP.

Michel discovered striking similarities between Yves鈥� sketches and some of the sketches that Dior has shown Michel that same morning.

Aware that Yves could not have seen Dior’s sketches, he sent Yves’ work to Dior. On seeing them and recognizing impeccable talent, Dior hired Yves on the spot.

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Christian Dior

At first, Yves did mundane tasks such as decorating the studio. He was gradually allowed to submit sketches for the couture collection and with time, many of his sketches were accepted by Dior.

4. Yves Saint Laurent succeeded Christian Dior in 1957

Christian Dior Moscow Exhibition 2011. Photo by Shakko.

In early 1957, Christian Dior intimated to Yves鈥� mother that he wanted Yves to succeed him as a designer. Dior was only 52 years at the time and Yves鈥� mother was shocked by his sentiments.

That same year in October, Dior succumbed to a massive heart attack. Yves became the head designer of the House of Dior at the age of 21.

For 3 years, Yves was the creative genius behind Dior鈥檚 collections. His spring 1958 collection was well received and it salvaged the house from financial ruin.

The Trapeze line, his first collection won him international recognition. Its dresses had narrow shoulders that flared to a hem just below the knee.

In 1959, Yves designed the dress worn by Farah Diba at her wedding to the Shah of Iran.

5. He was conscripted into the French Army in 1960

Soldiers of the National Liberation Army during the Algerian War of Independence. Photo by Zdravko Pe膷ar.

This was during the Algerian War of independence, fought between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front. It was fought from 1954 to 1962 when Algeria won its independence from France.

Yves was still head designer of the House of Dior. There are speculations that after his rather disappointing collection in late 1958, Marcel Boussac, owner of the enterprise, asked that Yves be conscripted so that he could be replaced. That鈥檚 exactly what happened.

He was barely three weeks into the army when he fell ill due to the intense and torturous training.

He was admitted to a military hospital where he learned of his replacement at Dior. This worsened his state.

He was transferred to Val de Grace military hospital, where he received large doses of sedatives and electroshock therapy. He would later trace the origin of his mental issues and drug abuse to his experience at the hospital.

6. Yves started his own fashion house in 1960

Saint Laurent 麻豆APP – Store. The fashion house has stores in numerous countries around the globe. Photo by Ajay Suresh.

He was released from the military hospital in November 1960. He first sued Dior for breach of contract and won.

 Shortly after, he and his partner Pierre Berge started the Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) fashion house. 

YSL became popular for its modernized fashion trends. These included safari jackets for men and women, the famous 1966 classic tuxedo suit for women: Le Smoking, the beatnik look, and thigh-high boots.

Le Smoking was part of the autumn 1965 collection.  Yves also popularized the wearing of silhouettes.

7. He was the first French designer to open a full Ready-to-wear line

Saint Laurent Rive Gauche ‘Safari jacket. ‘ Photo by Museum at FIT.

This move is associated with his desire to democratize fashion. He had majored in high fashion trends before opening a Pret-a 鈥揚orter (Ready-to-wear) House YSL Rive Gauche in 1967.

 It offered a wide range of affordable fashion pieces. The ready-to-wear line was well received and it became quite popular with the public. It earned him many times more than his high fashion lines.

8. Yves became a heavy drug user in his late years

Having to design two high fashion and two ready-to-wear collections every year, the pressure increased for Yves, who was already suffering from ill-health.

He turned to heavy drinking of alcohol and drugs such as cocaine. Sometimes, he had to be supported by models down the runway at the end of his fashion shows.

Yves was not short of money, and his luxurious life of partying was only common to his circle. He was frequent at expensive clubs in France and New York City such as Studio 54.

9. He had a private collection of expensive art

Some of his collections included paintings by Picasso, Henri Matisse, and ancient Egyptian sculptures. Yves was a lover of exquisite art.

After he died in 2008, an auction was held the following year for the over 700 items in his art collection. Henri Matisse鈥檚 painting sold for 32 million euros, breaking the previous world record set in 2007 for another Matisse piece.

Forbes rated Yves as the top-earning dead celebrity in 2009.

10. Yves Saint Laurent was accorded numerous honors in his lifetime

The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City. Photo by Daniel Dimitrov.

In 1983, he became the first living fashion designer to be awarded a solo exhibition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

 It is the largest art museum in the Western Hemisphere, with a collection of over two million works! Yves was later named Commander of the Legion d鈥橦onneur by French President Jacques Chirac in 2001.

It is the highest French order of merit. In 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded Yves rank of Grand Officier de la Legion d鈥橦onneur.