By Tylar Kraychy
Biography Yves Saint Laurent was born on August 1st, 1936 in Oran Algeria. His interests in theatre and costume design started at a young age. He would create intricate paper dolls and design dresses for his mother and two sisters. In 1954 Yves left Oran for Paris, where he sent three sketches to a design competition sponsored by the Wool Secretariat. He won first place. Yves enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale de la Coutute in later that year, at age 18. In 1955, Yves met Christian Dior after his sketches were noticed by Michel de Brunhoff. Yves was hired by Dior and learned his craft well, eventually taking over for him after Dior’s death in 1957. He was only 21 years old.
His first collection for the house of Dior was internationally accepted and was called “Trapeze”. Unfortunately, Yves was far too ahead of the times for Dior and his second collection, "Rive Gauche" or "Beatnik" was considered nearly a disaster. Taking advantage of Yves getting called up for military service, the House of Dior replaced him with Marc Bohan. Yves only found this out after being in the military hospital for suffering a nervous breakdown after only 20 days in the army. Following his release from the hospital, Yves then sued the House of Dior. Along with his partner, industrialist Pierre Berge, Yves started his very own fashion house in 1962.
Yves list of contributions and claims to fame is long. He popularized the beatnik look and safari jackets for both men and women. He used his impeccable tailoring to make the famous "Le Smoking" suit, popularizing suits for women. His bold use of colour and love of art showed through many of his collections. His Mondrian dress of 1965 is likely the most copied dress in history, and Matisse, Picasso and Bonard were major influences as well. He was the first French couturier to come out with a pret-a-porter line, which was highly successful. His creations were innovative, elegant and he is accredited for many classic styles. His Rive Gauche boutiques were established in 1966, and a menswear line was developed in 1974. In 1983, he became the first living designer to be honoured with a retrospective of his work at MET in NYC. Yves was called the "King of Fashion" for many years, holding this title even through a shaky period in the 80s.
Yves health declined as he kept designing for both his RTW and couture line, eventually retiring from the house in 2002 when his health problems became too serious. Yves passed away in his residence in Paris in June of 2008 from brain cancer, and remains a legend in fashion to this day.
INSPIRATIONS
Le Smoking
Left: Spring Summer 1971 Haute Couture Top: Spring Couture 2002 Bottom: 1966
Sheerness
Right: Spring/Summer Haute Couture 1999 Bottom: F/W 1968 Top: F/W 1968
Colour
Left: Spring Summer 1991 Top: Spring/Summer 1989 Bottom: Spring Couture Farewell 2002
Art
Top: Mondrian - Spring Couture 2002 Right: Pop Art 1966 Bottom: Matisse - F/W 1981
Ethnicities
Top Left:The African Collection 1987 Top Right: Spring 1982 - India Bottom: Romania Inspired 1981
The Legacy Lives On Yves Saint Laurent designed his last collection for the RTW line in 1998, when Alber Elbaz took over. In 2002, Yves designed his last couture line in an iconic farewell show. His successors continue his legacy.
After Pilati’s departure from YSL, Hedi Slimane was appointed creative director and then rebranded Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris, moving it’s design studios to Los Angeles. Hedi Slimane was creative director until 2016. He is now creative director at Celine as of 2018. After he left Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello took the helm of the fashion house, where he has been changing the game in the fashion world since 2016 to the latest season.
Alber Elbaz YSL - 1998-2000 Israeli fashion designer Alber Elbaz was the creative director for Lanvin from 2001 to 2015. He became the ready-to-wear designer at the House of Yves Saint Laurent in 1998, until the Gucci Group purchased the ready-to-wear line after 3 seasons.
Before moving to New York in 1984, Elbaz studied at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. In New York, he worked at a small dressmaker’s shop in the Garment District. In 1989, he was introduced to couturier Geoffrey Beene, and became his assistant until 1996, developing an in-depth education in fashion design. He then took up the helm of Guy Laroche in Paris, which lasted a little over a year, after which he took over for Yves Saint Laurent at the readyto-wear line. After he was replaced by Tom Ford, he took a short sabbatical, and then served as head designer for Italian house Krizia until he joined Lanvin.
Elbaz accomplished a lot at Lanvin, entering into collaborations with companies such as Lancome and H&M. He transformed the couture house into one of the most sought after luxury labels in the world. He released a book in 2012 with over 3,000 photos and his own narratives. After leaving Lanvin, Elbaz did a few other collaborations, and then took a 5 year hiatus before launching his own brand AZ Factory. The first collection was shown during Paris Fashion Week’s Haute Couture.
Alber Elbaz passed away on April 24, 2021 after contracting Covid-19. Elbaz has been recognized for his contributions to fashion through many industry awards, including the 2005 CFDA International Designer award and Most Influential Designer at the inaugural World Fashion Awards held by WGSN. In 2016, he was presented with the prestigious French Legion of Honour.
Tom Ford YSL- 2001-2004 Tom Ford, born in 1961, made a name for himself by turning Gucci into a billion dollar brand. He then launched his own highly successful brand, among many other things, becoming a well known name in the Fashion World. Ford was born in Texas, spending his childhood in Texas and New Mexico, and eventually moved to New York to attend NYU for art history. He left after only a year, acting in TV commercials before ending up at Parsons to study architecture. He worked at the Chloé press office in Paris and fell in love with fashion. American sportswear designer Cathy Hardwick hired Ford after he graduated and after that, he moved on to Perry Ellis, eventually going to Europe in order to truly hone his craft.
In 1994, Ford became creative director at Gucci, at a time when Gucci was at its lowest. Ford brought life back into Gucci, transforming the brand from basic to bold, sexy and glamourous. In order to avoid a takeover by LVMH, Ford and Gucci’s then-president Domenico de Sole took the company public, joining with PPR (Kering). Eventually, Ford and De Sole left Gucci, due to creative differences with PPR.
Before leaving Gucci Group, Ford took over at Yves Saint Laurent, becoming creative director and communications director of the ready-to-wear line. He showed his first RTW Spring Summer Collection in 2001. Ford brought his sexiness with him to YSL and won numerous CFDA awards during his time there, despite Yves displeasure with his new successor. Ford launched sexy campaigns for the Opium fragrances, and YSL M7, pushing the boundaries for creativity and artistic expression in advertisements.
Tom Ford pushed the fashion house into the place it needed to go at the time, but of course his time at the house came to an end when he left Gucci Group. After his departure, he went on to launch his own label, as well as direct and produce a few films. In 2012, he and his partner had a son. In 2019, Ford was voted chairman of the CFDA, the position previously held by Diane von Furstenberg.
Stefano Pilati 2004-2012 Stefano Pilati took over for Tom Ford at Yves Saint Laurent in 2004, and became a highly respected designer for the fashion house.
He was born in Milan in 1965, and before fashion had intended to qualify as a land surveyor and had an early interest in architecture. He was an unhappy child, and took solace in sketching. Eventually, he found beauty in the fashion world. He joined Nino Cerruti as an intern following the fashion boom in Milan. He secured his first significant role in fashion as menswear design assistant at Armani in 1993, then leaving in 1995 for Prada, where he served as head of research and development.
Pilati was hired by Tom Ford as design director at Yves Saint Laurent in 2000 and worked under him for 4 years before taking over as creative director after Ford’s departure in 2004. In 2004, he introduced the tulip skirt, initially met with skepticism, then going on to become a well-loved wardrobe staple. Pilati has created certain trademark items for YSL as Yves did before him, one of which being the Muse bag.
Many of Pilati’s designs were ahead of his time, and were met with uncertainty, but were ultimately accepted. He has earned credentials as one of the most imaginative and talented designers of his time. He created the idea for the first Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto, which was intended to “bring the brand back to the streets”.
In February 2012, Stefano announced his departure from Saint Laurent. Pilati was extremely important for the house. He kept the classic elegance of the label, respecting the history, while also bringing a new modern flair to the brand. After leaving Saint Laurent, Pilati assumed a few other roles, and revealed his brand Random Identities through Instagram in 2017, which is sold through SSENSE, Dover Street Market and Ginza.
Le Smoking
Left: Alber Elbaz Spring 1999 Top: Stefano Pilati Fall 2007 Bottom: Tom Ford Spring 2001
Sheerness
Top Left: Alber Elbaz F/W 1999 Top Right: Tom Ford F/W 2001 Bottom: Stefano Pilati S/S 2011
Colour
Left:Alber Elbaz F/W 1999 Top Right: Tom Ford F/W 2003 Bottom: Stefano Pilati Spring 2005
Prints
Bottom: Stefani Pilati Resort 2012 Right: Tom Ford Spring 2002 Left: Alber Elbaz Spring 2000
Furs
Left: Alber Elbaz F/W 1999 Right: Tom Ford F/W 2003 Bottom: Stefano Pilati F/W 2011