IN Paris at the age of 72 long illness The famous couturier Yves Saint Laurent has died. The YSL brand gained fame in the 60s thanks to the ladies' tuxedo invented by the fashion designer. “He was more than a provocateur, a real creator. “A liberal anarchist who threw a bomb into the middle of society to liberate women,” says Yves Saint Laurent’s friend and partner Pierre Berger. In the first half of the 20th century, Coco Chanel gave women freedom; in the second half, Yves Saint Laurent gave them a piece of masculinity and power.
Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent was born on August 1, 1936 in the Algerian city of Oran. His mother was a passionate fashion fan. The son refused to continue family business. Law never became his strong suit, but at the age of 17 the young man received first prize for a cocktail dress at a competition organized by International organization wool
In 1954, he set out to conquer Paris, and in the same year he began assisting Christian Dior himself. Three years later, there was no one left who was indifferent to his ideas.
One of his first collections, “Trapezoid Line,” secured Yves Saint Laurent’s place on the fashion Olympus. He shocked the public every now and then: for six years women wearing Saint Laurent trousers were not allowed into restaurants, then it was the turn of transparent blouses, which were rejected by puritanical America.
Maestro Yves Saint Laurent. The rebel who dressed women in trousers.
There was always beauty around Saint Laurent, which he created with his own hands.
Yves Saint Laurent and Raisa Maksimovna Gorbacheva. The first lady does not look like a Soviet refrigerator.
Another step into the sky was the opening of his own House in 1962 together with Pierre Berger. The union of a creator and a financial genius bore fruit: the business, which began in a two-room studio apartment, became a profitable enterprise.
In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent introduced the world to Rive Gauche, the first ready-to-wear couture store. Thanks to this fashion designer, women wore minis, transparent dresses, pantsuits. The only thing Saint Laurent regretted was that he was not the inventor of jeans.
Francois Mitterrand, ex-president France, called Yves Saint Laurent one of the ambassadors of French culture in the world.
The designer's muse, Catherine Deneuve, said: "Saint Laurent creates for a woman who leads a double life. His daytime models help her confront a world consisting of strangers. The masculinity inherent in these models gives a woman strength. And in the evening, when a woman spends time with the one she chose, Saint Laurent makes her seductive."
The beginning of the story of Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent was born in Algeria, but the political and economic situation that developed there did not give the future fashion designer peace and creative development. So he moved to Paris, closer to beauty and fashion. There he got a job as an assistant to Christian Dior himself. He drew inspiration from his mother, such a gentle and always charming woman.
Yves Saint Laurent in
After working for Dior for several years, he gained fame in Paris. On the fly, he could draw a sketch of a dress, shape the style of a blouse, skirt and trousers, and make the image unique. In their early years at one of the parties he met.
As everyone knows, the designer is gay; he has never hidden his non-traditional sexual orientation.
The film was based on the memoirs of the fashion designer’s close people, such as Pierre Berger, Karl Lagerfeld, Laurence Heroil.
Further on the film after the death of Christian Dior, post creative director Our hero took over the Fashion House. He worked on sketches day and night, feeling proud and, at the same time, fear, whether he could maintain the former popularity of the fashion house Christian Dior. The chief editors of fashionable American and French glossy magazines called the couturier a “naughty child” in their circles. At the Christian Dior fashion house, all the models loved him, went with Yves to clubs and restaurants, and accompanied him to social events.
Image of Yves Saint Laurent
The designer always bowed to the public after shows in a strict black suit, this was his business card. The film clearly depicts the image of Yves Saint Laurent, right down to his unique gait.
The Life of Yves Saint Laurent
The designer devoted his entire life to art and fashion; he constantly drew sketches of clothes. IN free time he loved to pose for an artist friend who painted him. The fashion designer relaxed in clubs, and over time, he became hooked on them. Each successful show in the evening was accompanied by cheerful, incendiary parties at his home or in a social establishment.
At the same time, he was accompanied by models, who in the 70s almost all smoked weed and used soft drugs. Couturier also began to use them, which subsequently greatly affected his health.
The designer's favorite model for many years was Victoria, then they had a fight and at one of the parties he met another model girl named Betty.
With popularity, problems began to appear in the life of the couturier. One was the army. Since the fashion designer was born in Algeria, he began to be called up to serve in the national army, although at that time he had already lived and worked in Paris for a long time. Arriving in Algeria, the locals reacted negatively to the couturier, as they knew about his unconventional sexual orientation.
Against the backdrop of experiences and suffering, he began to develop manic depression, the fashion designer was put in prison. psychiatric clinic. After receiving some treatment there, he came out with a calm soul, ready to work and create, draw and make beautiful clothes. But another blow happened - he was kicked out of Christian Dior. His boyfriend sued Roger (the owner of the Dior house) and the fashion house itself.
Personal life of Yves Saint Laurent
Personal life of Yves Saint Laurent - main topic film. His love was imbued with life. His main love was Pierre Berger, a businessman and public figure, with whom he later opened his fashion house. But more on that later. She and Berger lived together, worked and rested together. But he was much freer than Pierre Berger. Loved parties handsome men and fun.
Soon after opening Yves Saint Laurent, the lovers began to have scandals and quarrels. Pierre Berger cheated on his beloved with his fashion model Victoria. Having learned about this, the fashion designer kicked her out of the Fashion House and out of his life.
At one of the parties, he met Jacques De Bascher, the boyfriend and love of Karl Lagerfeld’s life. They began dating secretly, and later everyone found out about their romance. This was Laurent’s outlet, he understood him, was just as vulnerable and gentle. He confessed to Berger about his infidelities. They broke up, but throughout the designer’s life and until the end of his days they were together, helped each other, empathized, worked and worked on the Yves brand Saint Laurent.
Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berger open their own brand “Yves Saint Laurent”
Lovers Pierre Berger and Yves Saint Laurent have the opportunity to open their own brand, Yves Saint Laurent. They prepared a team, there were many ideas, sketches drawn by the fashion designer, and their own “YSL” logo appeared (in June 2012 it was renamed “SLP” - Saint Laurent Paris).
“Impeccability as a way to compete with Chanel,” journalists wrote about the first Yves Saint Laurent show. But he did not despair and continued to create fashion. Yves often said about himself that youth was passing him by.
The last years of Yves Saint Laurent's life
IN last years Throughout his life, the fashion designer was very ill; his numerous affairs with men, his unconventional lifestyle, and drugs took their toll. Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008.
This is such a film that “shocks the minds of mankind.” In my opinion, there is too little fashion in this whole story.
Do you know who invented the legendary Opium perfume? It was Yves Saint Laurent. The biography of the great couturier interests many today. Information about his childhood, adolescence, career and love relationships is posted in our article. Enjoy reading!
Yves Saint Laurent: biography, childhood
He was born in 1936, on August 1st. The birthplace of the famous couturier is not France at all, but Algeria. He spent his childhood and youth in the town of Oran. Our hero was brought up in an intelligent and respected family. Yves Saint Laurent's father worked as an insurance agent. And his mother was a housewife.
The future fashion designer studied first at college, then at the lyceum. Both of these institutions were located in the city of Oran. At the age of 8, Yves became seriously interested in drawing. He devoted a lot of time to this activity.
At the age of 11, theater appeared in his life. Yves liked to try on different costumes, create new images. At age 14, he began performing home puppet shows. The teenager made the decorations himself. Yves also made small dolls. At that time, he did not yet know how to sew, so the costumes for the “artists” of his theater were glued. Saint Laurent's sisters acted as spectators.
Education and first career successes
Where did Yves Saint Laurent go after graduating from the Lyceum? The biography indicates that in 1953 he went to Paris. In the French capital, the guy attended fashion design courses. His design of a small cocktail dress (in black) received first prize in a competition organized by the International Wool Secretariat.
In 1955, Yves managed to get a job at fashion house Dior. From the first days of work, he proved himself to be a hardworking and responsible employee. Christian Dior died in 1957. And Saint Laurent was offered the post of artistic director. The Algerian native did not miss this chance. A year later, he presented his first collection of outfits to French fashionistas.
Soon Yves was drafted into the army. Young man sent to serve in hot Africa. Military biography our hero's life turned out to be very short. After 3 weeks, an impressionable recruit who experienced breakdown, returned to France. For some time he was in a local psychiatric clinic.
Thanks to the investment of the American tycoon M. Robinson, Saint Laurent was able to open own house fashion. His " right hand" became Pierre Berger. Together they came up with the YSL logo. In 1961 new brand presented the first collection of clothes.
“Haute Couture Revolutionary” - this is the nickname given to Yves Saint Laurent. The biography says that he preferred androgynous images. The models our hero recruited for shows and magazine shoots were very thin, looking like boys. It was Saint Laurent who “gave” tuxedos and over the knee boots to women. The “unisex” style has not lost its popularity to this day.
In the early 1970s, Yves began producing perfumes under the YSL brand. His first “brainchild” was the Rive Gauche perfume. The face of the advertising campaign for this men's fragrance was Saint Laurent himself. For this reason, he starred in nude style.
In 1977, Opium perfume was developed. The oriental aroma with notes of rose and carnation appealed to millions of women from different countries. This perfume is still fashionable today in many stores in Europe.
Inspired by ballet
The creative biography of Yves Saint Laurent (photo posted above) is not limited only to the release of perfumes and outfits for true fashionistas. He liked to design ballet costumes (women's and men's). At one time, the famous couturier was a fan of Roland Petit's choreography. Saint Laurent made costumes for the actors involved in the production of "The Cathedral" Notre Dame of Paris" The great Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya also performed in outfits from the French couturier.
Difficult times
Yves Saint Laurent, whose biography we are considering, was awarded the International Prize from the Council of Fashion Designers in the USA in 1981. That's not all. In 1983, a retrospective exhibition was dedicated to him at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).
Bohemian life, working hard, chronic lack of sleep- all this made itself felt. At just over 50 years old, Iva’s health began to fail. He repeatedly underwent treatment for drug addiction and alcohol addiction. In the 1990s, the fashion house he created was experiencing a financial crisis. At that time, the master decided to retire. The development of new collections was carried out by his successor, Albert Elbaz.
Yves Saint Laurent: biography, personal life
At the age of 22, our hero met Pierre Berger. They were connected not only by business, but also love relationship. It was Berger who secured investment from tycoon Robinson. Together with Saint Laurent they founded the Fashion House.
In 1976, Yves and Pierre broke off their relationship. And Berger’s intense jealousy was to blame. There were rumors that Saint Laurent was secretly dating Jacques de Bascher, Lagerfeld's boyfriend. Pierre Berger could not forgive the betrayal. However, business working relationships with ex-lover saved. And before Saint Laurent’s death, he even agreed to marry him.
Quotes from a French couturier
Death
On June 1, 2008, the world famous fashion designer left this world. The cause of death of Yves Saint Laurent was a serious illness (the exact diagnosis was not disclosed). Farewell to the great couturier took place in Paris, not far from the Church of St. Roja. Thousands of people came to see him off on his last journey.
Finally
Today we remembered the talented fashion designer, interesting personality and a person with a fine mental organization. And all this is he - Yves Saint Laurent. The biography (personal and creative) was studied in detail by us. Rest in peace, great couturier...
Yves Saint Laurent is a name known to everyone, even those who are not familiar with the world of high fashion. He was a great fashion designer, fashion artist, a man who changed the course of the history of the fashion industry.
The brilliant fashion designer Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent was born in 1936 in Algeria, in the city of Oran. His family were hereditary lawyers, but the boy was only interested in working with fabric. Even at a young age, he created sketches and sewed doll-sized dresses.
When the family of the future fashion designer moved to Paris, by that time Yves had graduated from school and began working part-time as a clothing designer and stylist. He was a regular participant in design competitions. In 1953, he managed to take third place in one of these competitions and met the editor-in-chief of the French division of Vogue magazine.
He advised Yves Saint Laurent to enroll in a design course, and after some time introduced him to the famous fashion designer Christian Dior. A year later, the young designer showed his first collection at a fashion competition in Germany and won three out of seven awards, beating up-and-coming German young designer Karl Lagerfeld. From that moment on, a long-term rivalry between the two fashion designers began.
Yves Saint Laurent. Fashion designer career
Christian Dior took on 19-year-old Laurent as his junior assistant at the House of Dior. While working under the guidance of the maestro, Yves Saint Laurent created sketches of exquisite accessories, which he showed to Dior. From year to year, more and more sketches were realized and demonstrated on the podium.
Yves Saint Laurent was 21 years old when Christan Dior died. He takes the place of mentor and becomes the chief designer of the House of Dior. Becoming an heir legendary fashion designer, Saint Laurent presents its first collection. He introduced the “trapezoid” shape, which freed the women’s wardrobe from excessive pretentiousness and a strict waist. This became a revolution in fashion, and the press wrote about this event that “the great traditions of the House of Dior continue to live” even after the death of the head of the company.
At that time, Yves Saint Laurent came stunning success. However, thanks to his rebellious spirit, his career was doomed to ups and downs. In 1960, the fashion designer presented his new collection called Beatnik. The main attributes of the show were luxurious mink coats with narrow knitted sleeves, suits with turtlenecks and short leather jackets. It was defiantly luxurious, but the House of Dior was not ready for such changes.
Dior's overly conservative management fired Yves Saint Laurent and hired another designer in his place. This was a strong blow for him, which Pierre Berger helped him cope with. Together they also managed to sue a huge amount for illegal termination of a contract with House of Dior. It was Pierre Berger who was destined to become Saint Laurent's friend, support and lover for life.
After Yves Saint Laurent left Dior, he joined the army, but the fragile and sensual guy could not stand even a year and ended up in the psychiatric ward of a military hospital, which broke him. But even here Pierre Berger came to the rescue.
With the money won in court, Saint Laurent opens his own fashion house, Yves Saint Laurent. From this moment it began great story under the sign of three golden letters - YSL.
Today there are 7 distinctive looks of the YSL House:
1. Mondrian dresses with a characteristic decor in the form of large colored cells
2. Safari style
3. Woman suit tuxedo style
4. Pantsuit
5. Thin transparent shirt
6. Long and loose skirt combined with a caftan (“Russian Seasons”)
7. Ethno-African motifs in clothing
In 1966, the first YSL Rive Gauche pret-a-porter boutique opened. It was the first boutique of its kind in the history of the fashion industry. Everything was displayed there: clothes, jewelry, accessories and perfume. The Yves Saint Laurent fashion house began to generate millions in revenue and turned into an empire.
But since the late 80s, trademark Yves Saint Laurent began a real crisis. I had to sell part of the shares to third-party companies, which had a very bad effect on the quality of execution. Suffering from multiple illnesses, drug addiction and an unhealthy lifestyle, Yves Saint Laurent handed over the leadership of the company to fashion designer Albert Elbaz, and then left the fashion world to lead a secluded lifestyle and rarely appear in public.
The legendary fashion designer and designer Yves Saint Laurent died on June 1, 2008 in Paris. He had brain cancer.
Yves Saint Laurent. Personal life
The talented fashion designer devoted almost his entire life to high fashion. He was almost always busy drawing sketches and creating new models. In his spare time, Yves loved to pose for his friend's paintings. He could also often be found in fashionable clubs.
While still young, Yves Saint Laurent became addicted to grass and soft drugs. This greatly affected his well-being and health. Perhaps, with a different lifestyle, he would still be alive today.
The fact that he was in a psychiatric hospital also had a strong impact. The fashion designer suffered from manic-depressive syndrome, he was very worried about it, and it caused him a lot of suffering.
The couturier has always been the love of his life alone the only man- Pierre Berger.
This man helped him in literally everything; they lived, worked and rested together. One day Berger cheated on him with a fashion model. Laurent responded by betraying him with Jacques De Bascher. After this they separated, but continued to work together.
“Never confuse elegance with snobbery,” said the great master of fashion, Yves Saint Laurent. He gave the world new woman, free from prejudice, independent and sexy, knowing exactly what she wants, stylish and self-confident. And also passionately wanting love. He will often talk about love, how it makes a woman beautiful, how a woman absolutely needs to love... Women inspired him. Women were his muses.
“Over the years, I realized that the most important thing in a dress is the woman who wears it,” another famous statement by Saint Laurent. And when they tell me that fashion depersonalizes women, I remember another quote from a genius: “Clothing should be subordinated to a woman’s personality, and not vice versa.” Only the woman herself can depersonalize herself. And, unfortunately, not everyone understands this simple truth. As for the fashion heritage of Yves Saint Laurent, it is so great and significant that you can discover it again and again, and each time new details of the great master’s style, new facets of his talent will appear.
Women's tuxedo
If Coco Chanel stuck her curious nose into the men's wardrobe in order to draw a lot of ideas from there, nevertheless offering women mostly laconic dresses and skirts of elegant length, then Yves Saint Laurent gave women the freedom and power with which he associated the men's suit . Since he aestheticized the tuxedo to fit a woman’s body in 1966, this item of women’s wardrobe has rightfully become a fashion classic. Perhaps only a lazy designer does not offer his own variations on the tuxedo theme from season to season. What can we say about other men's suits that have forever entered the women's wardrobe and are adapted for all occasions.
If during Yves Saint Laurent's youth he famous fashion models not allowed into the restaurant pantsuit, considering similar appearance a challenge and a deviation from the norm, today a well-fitting tuxedo is often an unofficial pass to events of various kinds and dress codes. A lesser-known, but no less stylish gift for women from the master is a tuxedo dress. Perfect for any life situation, it can also be used as a light coat.
Transparent blouse
“I found my style thanks to a woman. It is from there that all the strength and vitality of my style comes - I draw them from a woman’s body,” said the great couturier. In the 60s, it was the female body in the collections of the young designer Saint Laurent that caused a real scandal. Yves offered women a completely transparent blouse, which should be worn without underwear. Of course, this invention plunged the “decent ladies” into a deep shock. But the atmosphere of rebellion that reigned in the minds of that time undoubtedly played into the hands of the sensitive couturier, instantly making the transparent blouse a cult item. The most daring fans of the brand immediately took Saint Laurent’s advice and began to combine this item with a tuxedo, which was no less revolutionary at that time.
It is curious that now few of fashion designers will deny himself the pleasure of making at least one transparent item in each of his collections.
Pea coat
Thanks to genius, the short double-breasted coat has evolved from the uniform of military sailors into a must-have of the modern men's wardrobe. Saint Laurent himself wore a pea coat and easily shared it with women. A stylish coat never goes out of fashion, but in the current autumn-winter season, a peacoat is a highly relevant and desirable item for the most fashionable and stylish women.
Safari
Africa has been a source of inspiration for Saint Laurent more than once. Hailing from Algeria, in the northern part of the country, he has made luxury leisurewear a classic in the stylish summer wardrobe. The legendary Safari jacket, jackets, shirts, overalls and dresses in sand color and all shades of khaki are another bright characteristic style of the great master of fashion. This includes the famous leopard print. The king of fashion made it a symbol of luxury and grace. And also a turban, a characteristic headdress for north africa, in the hands of Saint Laurent began to sound secularly elegant.
Dress "Mondrian"
The 1965 collection based on the paintings of the Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian has forever entered the golden fund of fashion history. Six A-line dresses (the same silhouette that Yves introduced into fashion while still being Christian Dior's successor) became a symbol new era. And the dresses themselves are still kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design). By the way, the famous Mondrian pattern is not a print, but pieces of multi-colored fabric sewn together. Matisse, Manet, Velazquez - fashion designer often looks for inspiration in art and creates it himself.
Color
Much has been said about color, however, speaking about fashion heritage Yves Saint Laurent, it is impossible not to mention him as a separate item. The king of fashion loved the color black: “In order to be beautiful, a woman only needs to have a black sweater, a black skirt and walk arm in arm with the man she loves.” It’s hard to disagree with this: a woman in love will look good even in a potato sack. And Saint Laurent noted this more than once.
For everyone else, he suggested color. Lots of color. In addition to popularizing the color khaki, he introduced into fashion bright colors, the most unexpected combinations and color blocks at first glance. Red with pink, purple with lilac and blue, fuchsia with black. Color from Yves Saint Laurent is always more than fashion. This is a work of art.
Russian theme and ethnicity
Saint Laurent is not the only artist who expressed his admiration for Russian style and used folklore motifs in his collections. However, he did it unforgettably. The master was the first to offer the viewer a fashion show as a performance, as a sacrament, as an initiation into the world of color, the richness of Russian textures, into the world of couture. This is exactly what the Russian Ballet and Opera collection of 1976 became. Yves Saint-Coran was a passionate admirer of the theater and worked a lot for it, creating costumes for legendary ballets and operas. He himself did not consider the Russian collection the best, but he called it the most beautiful. The Russian theme from the master gave the fashion world bright pure colors, such as red, green, rich purple, as well as fluffy floor-length skirts, suede vests trimmed with fur, and fur in general, including colored ones. He gracefully painted a man's blazer in green color, combining with red and gold buttons. Yves stylized a Japanese kimono and an Indian sari from national clothes in European chic style modern woman, free from snobbery and prejudice.
The beginnings of street fashion and sporty chic
It’s hard to imagine, but it’s true: at the age of 21, the shy young man Yves Saint Laurent turned in an instant from Christian Dior’s assistant to the artistic director of the legendary Dior fashion house. This was back in 1957. Already in the first collection he will show all the best of the traditions of the house, adding his unique look. He will become the first fashion designer to visit Moscow in 1959 with a collection outerwear. However, the most revolutionary would be the 1960 Beatnik collection. Then it turned out to be misunderstood by critics; their consciousness at that moment was not ready to accept the elements street style on the high fashion catwalk. Sable coats with knitted sleeves, over the knee boots, caps, and crocodile leather biker jackets became shock therapy for the patriarchal clients of Christian Dior. The beatniks or “broken generation” are one of the most fashionable and hazardous phenomena that time.
The film “The Savage” with Marlon Brando, which was a huge success, brought into fashion a new aesthetic and new heroes of its time. Brutal guys in biker jackets and biker jackets, rough boots and jeans with cuffs that look exactly like hipsters wore boyfriend jeans just a few seasons ago. However, the women in the cult film are still far from the women of Yves Saint Laurent. Hair pulled back, styled in soft curls, the delicate silhouette of the new look is still relevant, but is already becoming the image of a woman of the past. Because the woman of the future, the woman of Yves Saint Laurent - dynamic, free, independent and at the same time luxurious, clearly declared herself in the art of haute couture.
Elena Mareeva, TV producer, expert in the field of fashion and style, www.mareevastyle.com
Founder of the Elena Mareeva School of Style, successful blogger, stylist, expert in the field of personal style, self-presentation, impression management, social and business communication, men's suit, fashion trends. 15 years of work on TV. For the last 8 years she has devoted herself to talk shows. Fashionable verdict" As the creative producer of the project, she was responsible for the program, its quality, concept, ratings, innovations, image and transformation of the characters.
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