Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent is a well-known fashion brand in Paris, France , founded by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1961. Its products include men's and women's ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, jewelry and glasses. Its classic handbags include the Monogram series and the Sac de Jour series.

· Brand History ·

Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008) was born in Oran, Algeria. At the age of 17, he participated in the fashion design competition held by the International Wool Secretariat (IWS) for the first time and won the third prize in the dress category. He went to Paris with his mother to receive the award, where he met Michael de Brunhoff, the editor-in-chief of French Vogue magazine .

De Brunhoff had a significant influence on Saint Laurent's career. With the former's encouragement, Saint Laurent completed high school and continued fashion design. He moved to Paris in 1954 and enrolled in the Ecole des Concordes de Paris (ECSCP). In the same year, he participated in the IWS fashion design competition again and won the first and third prizes in the dress category.

Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld with their winning designs at the Woolmark International Fashion Design Competition, 1954

© Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho

In June 1955, Saint Laurent became an assistant to French fashion designer Christian Dior under the recommendation of De Brunhoff , until Dior passed away due to a heart attack two years later. According to the latter's will, Saint Laurent, who was only 21 years old, became the heir of the CD fashion house.

In January 1958, he released his first couture collection "Trapeze", which attracted the attention of the fashion industry with its smooth silhouettes and body-shading designs. A few days later, at a celebratory dinner, he met Pierre Bergé, and the two later became partners.

During the Algerian War of Independence, Saint Laurent was conscripted into the army and left the CD fashion house. After returning to France, he and Pierre Bergé decided to start their own fashion house. The two sold their apartment and signed an investment agreement with American entrepreneur J. Mack Robinson, and finally established the Yves Saint Laurent brand in 1961 .

Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent preparing for their first couture show, 1961

© Courtesy Association Pierre et Alexandra Boulat

The two invited French graphic designer Cassandre to design the brand logo , which used a vertical Monogram pattern composed of overlapping "Y", "S" and "L". In January 1962, YSL held its first haute couture fashion show , presenting women's fashions such as the Pea Coat and Trench Coat inspired by men's clothing, thus establishing the design style of YSL.

YSL Pea coat Navy double-breasted coat © Frères Séeberger

Saint Laurent loves art. He has paid tribute to artists such as Henri Matisse and Vincent Van Gogh in his fashion designs many times, and became friends with American artist Andy Warhol. In 1965, YSL released the Mondrian series , which was inspired by the works of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian and is still regarded as a classic.

Andy Warhol, Portrait of Yves Saint Laurent, 1972

In the 1960s, YSL was committed to making fashion more accessible to the public. The first "Saint Laurent Rive Gauche" ready-to-wear store opened in Paris in 1966, and later branches were opened in New York and London. YSL also designed a number of groundbreaking women's fashions, including Le Smoking, Safari Jacket, Jumpsuit, etc.

Saint Laurent in front of the Saint Laurent Rive Gauche store in Paris © AGIP/Bridgeman Images

The YSL fashion house was located at 30 rue Spontini in Paris from 1961 until it moved to 5 Avenue Marceau in 1974. Saint Laurent won the International Fashion Design Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 1982, and the following year the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York held a retrospective for him, making him the first fashion designer in history to have a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during his lifetime.

Saint Laurent at the press conference for the YSL 25th anniversary retrospective © Roxanne Lowit

YSL went public in 1989 and was acquired by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi four years later, which took 100% control of YSL's perfume business. Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé managed the couture business until 1999, when Gucci (now part of Kering Group) acquired the YSL brand and appointed Tom Ford as ready-to-wear designer, with Saint Laurent continuing to be in charge of couture design.

Saint Laurent announced his retirement in 2002 and subsequently closed his couture house; he died of brain cancer in Paris on June 1, 2008 at the age of 71. In June 2017, two Yves Saint Laurent museums were unveiled, one at the original site of the YSL couture house in Paris and the other in Marrakech, Morocco.

Yves Saint Laurent Museum, Marrakech, Morocco

After Saint Laurent left, YSL continued to run the haute couture business. From 2004 to 2012, Italian fashion designer Stefano Pilati served as creative director, redesigning YSL's classic fashions "Le Smoking" and "Safari Jacket", and launching handbags such as Chyc Cabas and Muse.

French fashion designer Hedi Slimane served as YSL's menswear designer in 1996. After Stefano Pilati left, he served as creative director since 2012 and reformed the YSL brand: the YSL brand was renamed "Saint Laurent Paris", the design studio moved to Los Angeles where Hedi Slimane lived, and the fashion studio moved back to the Left Bank of Paris, re-emphasizing the brand image of "Saint Laurent Rive Gauche"; the haute couture series also returned in 2015.

French fashion designer Hedi Slimane

The classic handbags designed by Hedi Slimane include the Sac de Jour series and the Monogram series. The Sac de Jour series was launched in 2013 and is called the "Accordion Bag" because the leather folds on both sides resemble the bellows of an accordion. The Monogram series includes College, Kate and other bags, with the metal YSL Logo as the iconic element.

Saint Laurent Monogram Handbag Collection

Anthony Vaccarello succeeded Hedi Slimane as creative director in 2016. Saint Laurent is currently part of the Kering Group, and its products include men's and women's ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, jewelry and glasses.

Saint Laurent show at Paris 2019 Spring/Summer Fashion Week

·Chronology of major events·

Representative series

Monogram College Series

Monogram Kate Collection

Sac de Jour series

Betty Series

Chyc Cabas Series

Muse Series