Yves Saint Laurent-My common ground with this master

Those that make the favor of following my posts on facebook, realized quickly that this day was dedicated to +Yves Saint Laurent.
I had the privilege to study fashion in Paris in 1992, at the same school where he studied at the age of 18-Ecoles de La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.

I remember seeing him in an internship, during the preparation of a fashion show in which I was "habilleuse" and be fascinated by his presence, because he was already a legend.

 

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé photographed in 1982 on top, YSL and Karl Lagerfeld

 

Yves Henri Donat Matthieu-Saint Laurent was born on 1 August 1936, in  Oran, French Algeria, Yves 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 18, Saint Laurent moved to Paris and enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the council which regulates the Haute Couture industry and provides training to its employees, where his designs quickly gained notice. Michel De Brunhoff, the editor of French Vogue, introduced Saint Laurent to designer Christian Dior, a giant in the fashion world. "Dior fascinated me," Saint Laurent later recalled. "I couldn't speak in front of him. He taught me the basis of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I never forgot the years I spent at by his side." 

Dior was only 52 years old,when he died at a health spa in northern Italy of a massive heart attack.

In 1957, Saint Laurent found himself at age 21 the head designer of the House of Christian Dior S.A. His spring 1958 collection almost certainly saved the enterprise from financial ruin; the straight line of his creations, a softer version of Dior's New Look, catapulted him to international stardom with what would later be known as the "trapeze dress." Others included in the collection were dresses with a narrow shoulder and flared gently at the bottom. At this time, he shortened his surname to Saint Laurent because the international press found his hyphenated triple name difficult to spell.

 

 

Saint Laurent retired in 2002 and became increasingly reclusive, living at his homes in Normandy and Morocco with his pet French Bulldog Moujik.

Saint Laurent died 1 June 2008 of brain cancer at his residence in Paris. According to The New York Times, a few days prior, he and Bergé had been joined in a same-sex civil union known as a Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) in France. When Saint Laurent was diagnosed with brain cancer, Bergé and the doctor mutually decided that it would be better for him to not know of his impending death. Bergé said, "I have the belief that Yves would not have been strong enough to accept that." 

Bergé said at the funeral service: “But I also know that I will never forget what I owe you and that one day I will join you under the Moroccan palms” (translated from French).

“Fashion dies, but style remains” observed Yves Saint Laurent.

Yves Saint Laurent, was the most influential designer in French couture in the last 50 years.

 

INSPIRATION YVES SAINT LAURENT 1971... Dolce&Gabbana 2011

 

The "Yves Saint Laurent", movie approved, produced by WY Productions and SND, Yves Saint Laurent, stars Pierre Niney and Laura Smet as de la Falaise.

 

 

Thank you, Yves, for the legacy of art and beauty in the fashion world.