F I L learned E: “Over the yearsP IR Ohave that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.”
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“King of Fashion” Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent was born on August 1, 1936 in Oran, Algeria. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential fashion designers of the 20th century. As a young adult, he was considered to be a fashion prodigy. At the age of 17, his cocktail dress design won first place in the International Wool Secretariat contest. Christian Dior, another famous and influential designer, recognized Saint Laurent’s talents and hired him immediately to work for his fashion line House of Dior. In 1957, he became head of the line when Dior died. Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection, Trapeze, was very avant garde and attracted a lot of international attention. Most of his pieces in the collection had narrow cut shoulders and wide swing skirts, which was contrary to the tightfitting and restricted clothing worn during this time. After Saint Laurent fulfilled his military duties, Mark Bohen replaced him in that position. In 1962, he opened his own fashion house, YSL, which consisted of a double breasted blazer with gold buttons worn with silk white Shantung pants. It was financed by business partner/lover Pierre Berge, where he quickly grew to be one of the world’s most influential designers.
One of the dresses in Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection Trapeze. In 1963, Yves Saint Laurent produced a new line that was influenced by “Op Art” movement, a style of visual art that makes use of optical illusions. In 1965, he made the iconic, Pier Mondrian based, “Mondrian” dress. The iconic dress has bright colors with black, thick lines, a signature design of Saint Laurent’s. In 1966, Saint Laurent opened his first River Gauche boutique for readytowear fashions as a result of his past success through the couple years. During this time, he began making designs that were influenced by Pop Art. Another fad that was during this time that he acted upon was the “See Through” look. This
look showed how Avant Garde Saint Laurent was.
he suggested the trousers for women should be worn any time, they want since it was look down upon at that time. Yves Saint Laurent has revolutionized fashion for our modern day. To this day, YSL Company continues to make designs and rock the fashion industry.
“See Through” dress designed by Yves Saint Laurent.
His Legacy Yves Saint Laurent announced his retirement from fashion in 2002. He sold his shares to GUCCI three years earlier. He felt was appropriate because he felt fashion wasn’t about the creativity, but more about marketing purposes. His sense of fashion has empowered the lives of women. With his “Smoking Jacket” tuxedo suit for women being an out roar in the ‘60s,