Yves Saint Laurent is a famous couturier, one of the most significant figures in the fashion of the 20th century.
Childhood and the beginning of a creative path
Born in 1936 in Algiers. Studied in Paris; at the age of 17, he entered a competition organized by the International Wool Committee and received first prize for a cocktail dress.
In 1961, Saint Laurent was drafted into the army in connection with the war in Algeria. After a short service and dismissal for health reasons, he returned to Paris and found that the place of Dior’s artistic director was taken by Marc Bohan. With his business partner Pierre Verger (Pierre Bergft), Yves Saint Laurent founded his own fashion house in 1961.
Creating the first collection
His first collection, warmly received by the fashion world, included jackets with gold buttons and work blouses in jersey, satin and silk. His great influence on the fashion industry soon became apparent – year after year, Yves Saint Laurent contributed to the development of the modern women’s wardrobe.
In 1963, he showed stocking boots, widely copied everywhere. In 1965, Saint Laurent brought art into the realm of fashion, creating “Mondrian dresses” using the famous artist’s compositions. One of his most popular innovations is the tuxedo for women or the taxido (1966). In the same year, he opened a chain of ready-to-wear stores called Rive Gauche.
On the road to glory
The 1967 collection is famous for its velvet breeches, which lasted for several seasons. In 1968, he first showed transparent blouses and a classic safari jacket. 1969 is the year of the pantsuit; 1971 is the year of the blazer.
For a whole decade (70s) Saint Laurent reigned in Paris. One of his most famous collections, called “Cossack” (Cossack) or 1998 “Russian”, was created in 1976 based on the costume of Russian peasants, exotic for Europe.
Long puffy skirts, tight bodices and high boots resonated widely, while long scarves and shawls simply became a permanent fashion item. The collection had a great influence on Soviet fashion. Yves Saint Laurent is one of the most influential figures in modern fashion.
He was the leader and ideologist of the movement, which considered fashion primarily as the art of the idea, and not as the craft of sewing. Since the mid-60s, his work has become more complex, he began to pay more attention to fashion as an industry. In the 70s, he was inspired by the ideal of the perfect woman, which actress Catherine Deneuve personified for him, and his art of perfect tailoring resulted in elegant, stylish casual clothes.
He designed half of a woman’s modern wardrobe, boldly borrowing ideas and items of men’s clothing – trousers, blazers, raincoats, coats. Influenced a new approach to evening wear, designed cocktail dresses. The fashion for black velvet is associated mainly with his name. He is rightfully considered the founding father of a whole trend in the art of dressing and dressing.
