BIOGRAPHY Yves Henri Donat Matthieu Saint Laurent was born on August 1, 1936,
in
Oran,
Algeria,
to
Charles and Lucienne Andrée Mathieu-Saint-Laurent. He grew up in a villa by the Mediterranean with
his two
younger
sisters, Michelle and Brigitte. While his family was relatively well
off—his
father
was
a
lawyer and insurance broker who owned a chain of cinemas—childhood for the future fashion icon was not easy. Saint Laurent was not popular in school, and was often bullied by schoolmates for appearing to be homosexual. As a consequence, Saint Laurent was a nervous child, and sick nearly every day.
He found solace, however, in the world of fashion. He liked to create intricate paper dolls, and by his early teen years he was designing dresses for his mother and sisters. At the age of 17, a whole new world opened up to Saint Laurent when his mother took him to Paris for a meeting she'd arranged with Michael de Brunhoff, the editor of French Vogue.
A year later, Saint Laurent, who had impressed de
Brunhoff
with
his
drawings, moved to Paris and
enrolled
at
the
Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, designs
where
quickly
his
gained
notice. De Brunhoff also introduced Saint Laurent to
designer
Christian
Dior, a giant in the fashion world.
In 1960 Saint Laurent was called back to his home country of Algeria to fight for its independence. He managed to secure an exemption based on health grounds, but when he returned to Paris, Saint Laurent found that his job with Dior had disappeared. The news, at first, was traumatic for the young, fragile designer. Then it became ugly, with Saint Laurent successfully suing his former mentor for breach of contract, and collecting ÂŁ48,000. The money and the freedom soon presented Saint Laurent with a unique opportunity. In cooperation with his partner and lover, Pierre
Berge, the
designer
re-
solved to open his own fashion house. With the rise of pop culture and a general yearning for original,
fresh
Laurent's timing
designs,
Saint
couldn't have
been better.
Over the next two decades, Saint Laurent's designs sat at the top of the fashion world. Models and actresses gushed over his creations. He outfitted women in blazers and smoking jackets, and introduced attire like the pea coat to the runway. His signature pieces also included the sheer blouse and the jumpsuit.
By the 1980s, Yves Saint Laurent was a true icon. He became the first designer to have a retrospective on his work at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Under the direction of Berge, who continued to manage Saint Laurent's firm even though the two had broken up in 1986, the fashion house flourished as a money making venture.
But Saint Laurent struggled. He became reclusive, and fought addictions to alcohol and cocaine. Some in the fashion world complained that the designer's work had grown stale. In the early 1990s, Saint Laurent found firmer footing. His designs were rediscovered by a fashion elite that had grown tired of the grunge movement that dominated the runways. Saint Laurent, too, seemed to have conquered his demons. By the end of the decade, with Saint Laurent slowing down his work pace, he and Berge had sold the company they'd started, netting the two men a fortune.
In January 2002, Saint Laurent participated in his final show and then retired for good in Marrakech. Five years later, Saint Laurent's imprint and importance
on
French
culture
was cemented when he was appointed Grand Officer of the Legion
d'honnerur
by
French
President, Nicolas Sarkozy. Yves Saint Laurent passed away in Paris on June 1, 2008 rom brain cancer.
TAILORING
NATY ABASCAL FOR HARPER’S BAZAAR IN yVES SAINT LAURENT, 1967
“BROADWAY SUIT” COLLECTION S/S 1978
“LE SMOKING” COLLECTION, 1967
SHEERNESS
1970, HAUTE COUTURE COLLECTION.
AUTUM / WINTER, 1968
1968 HAUTE COUTURE COLLECTION, RETROSPECTIVE FASHION SHOW 2002.
MILITARY
VERUSCHKA IN YVES SAINT LAURENT, 1968
SPRING / SUMMER, 1969
SPRING / SUMMER, 1969
JUMPSUIT
SPRING / SUMMER, 1968
AUTUM / WINTER, 1976
AUTUM / WINTER, 1969
ETHNICITY
AFRICAN COLLECTION S/S, 1967
SPAIN COLLECTION S/S, 1977
INDIA COLLECTION S/S, 1982
ALBER ELBAZ
BIOGRAPHY Born in Casablanca, Morocco, 1961. In 1 979 Elbaz started a mandatory three year period of National Service in the Israeli Army. Due to health reasons, he was put in charge of entertainment. After finishing his service he decided enrolling on fashion in a design course at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in 1982.After graduating, and with a financial gift from his mother, Elbaz arrived in New York in 1984 taking a job designing dresses. In 1989 Elbaz met with Gucci’s Dawn Mello, which led to an introduction to Geoffrey Beene. Beene offered him a job and became his mentor. Ralph Toledano, head of Guy Laroche, hired Elbaz in 1996 to help revive the ailing label. A virtual unknown at the time, Elbaz presented his first collection the following year.In 1998 Yves Saint Laurent hired Elbaz to design his Rive Gauche women’s collection. Receiving mixed reviews for his Rive Gauche collections, Elbaz was replaced in 2000 by Tom Ford. The same year he launched a new collection for Krizia. Elbaz then took a sabbatical travelling through India and the Far East. However, his trip was cut short when he was offered the role of creative director at Lanvin. His first collection in 2002 received critical acclaim as he fused the label’s rich heritage with a unique twist.In 2005 Elbaz was recognized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America with the International Designer Award. The same year Vogue featured him in a piece featuring seven of fashion’s most innovative designers.To celebrate Lanvin’s 120th anniversary, Elbaz created two stamp designs for France’s postal service in 2009. The following year he designed a one-off Lanvin collection in collaboration with H&M. Elbaz’s spring 2010 collection for Lanvin received a great deal of praise. Taking influences from Christian Lacroix, the collection showed brightly coloured short dresses in a couture style that were suitable for the ready-to-wear market. Alber Elbaz has created a style that is perfectly imperfect with exquisite pieces in aging fabrics that have a romantic style. His clothes are timeless and he will often leave seams unfinished giving the expert tailor’s work a distinct charm.
TAILORING
FALL R-T-W, 2000
SHEERNESS
FALL R-T-W, 2000
MILITARY FALL R-T-W, 2000
FUR FALL R-T-W, 2000
JUMPSUIT FALL R-T-W, 1999
TOM FORD
BIOGRAPHY Ford was born in Austin, Texas in 1961. He moved to New York to study art history at the New York University. Ford dropped out after only a year and turned his efforts to acting for six years while living in Los Angeles. In the late seventies he arrived back to New York where he frequented the popular nightclub Studio 54 and decided to study interior design at Parson’s School of Design. Before his last year of school, Ford spent a year and a half in Paris working as an in intern in Chloé’s press office where he decided his interest lay in fashion. After graduating, Through his constant perseverance Ford secured a job working as Hardwick’s design assistant for two years. In 1988 Ford moved to Perry Ellis as design director of the Woman’s American Division. In 1990 Ford relocated to Milan, where he worked for Dawn Mello at Gucci. When Mello moved back to New York, Ford took over her position. With his role at Gucci increasing Ford designed his first menswear collection in 1992, in the same year he took over heading the brand’s ready-to-wear, fragrances, image, advertising and store design. In 1994, Ford was promoted to creative director of Gucci. Between 1995 and 1996 sales at Gucci increased by 90%. With the Gucci Group acquiring the house of Yves Saint Laurent, Ford was named creative director in 2001 to 2004. Like with Gucci, Ford catapult the classic fashion house back into the main stream. In 2005 Ford created the TOM FORD brand with former Gucci Group president Domenico De Sole. In the same year Ford announced his partnership with the Marcolin Group to produce eye wear as well as a partnership with Estee Lauder to create TOM FORD beauty products. In 2007 he opened his first flagship store in New York coinciding with the debut of the TOM FORD menswear and accessory collection. Also in 2005 Ford created his own film production company FADE TO BLACK and in 2009 he made his directorial debut with the award nominated A Single Man staring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.
TAILORING
FALL R-T-W, 2000
SHEERNESS
FALL R-T-W, 2000
MILITARY SPRING R-T-W, 2002
FUR FALL R-T-W, 2003
JUMPSUIT SPRING R-T-W, 2002
STEFANO PILATI
BIOGRAPHY born in Milan, Italy in 1965.he was raised in Milan, where he grew up in a "family of stylish women". Inspired by his two sisters fashion magazines, he created his first sketches for his sisters. Stefano Pilati trained as a land surveyor and had early interests in architecture. While sketching, he realised his love for drawing which led him to investigate the fashion world. Quitting his course, Pilati gained an internship with Nino Cerruti aged 17. With his skills growing, Pilati found a job at a velvet manufacturer. After only a few months of working for the company, he was designing the business’s entire collections and presenting them in Europe. This experience helped Pilati secure jobs as a fabric consultant for a number of major designers including Versace, Valentino and Jil Sander. In 1993 Pilati was hired as a menswear design assistant at Giorgio Armani. Two years later Pilati left Armani and joined Prada as the head of research and development. In 1998 Pilati was promoted to assistant designer at Miu Miu, a brand of the Prada fashion house.In 2000 Pilati joined Yves Saint Laurent as design director. After working under Tom Ford, Pilati was appointed creative director when Ford left the company in 2004 While at Yves Saint Laurent, Pilati designed some inaugural must have items for the brand including the tulip skirt in 2004 and the muse bag in 2005 and 2008. After eight years as creative director at Yves Saint Laurent, Pilati left the label in March 2012 after presenting his final autumn/winter 12 collection. After heavy speculation over John Galliano’s replacement at Dior, in September 2012 Pilati was named Creative Director for Ermenegildo Zegna, where he oversees menswear, as well as the brand’s secondary womenswear line, Agnona Stefano Pilati has a feel for trends. His classic style of elegance combines with a modern edge that focuses on silhouettes. Influenced by Yves Saint Laurent’s backlog of designs, Pilati concentrates on the cut, fabric and pattern.
TAILORING
F/W R-T-W, 2009/10
SHEERNESS
SPRING R-T-W, 2006
MILITARY SPRING R-T-W, 2005
FUR FALL R-T-W, 2007
JUMPSUIT SPRING R-T-W, 2005