Saint Laurent bags
Yves Saint Laurent, the French designer born in Algeria, is considered to be the most influential couturier of the second half of the twentieth century.
In 1954, at the age of just 17, he was spotted by Michel de Burnhof, the director of French Vogue because of a series of sketches in the spirit of the new Dior collection which had not yet been unveiled. He was then introduced to Christian Dior who employed him on the spot.
His Trapèze line, created in 1958, had a decisive impact on the world of haute couture and was hailed by the press.
After completing his military service in 1962, Yves Saint-Laurent, now supported by Pierre Bergé – a business man who would become his lifelong partner – decided to manage his own couture house. His style which can be defined as an homage to tradition linked to a passion for the future, was marked by a very individual use of line and colour which often made reference to contemporary art and the mood of the time. Yves Saint-Laurent was a designer who preferred to please women with clothes adapted to their movements and their new responsibilities rather than dazzle with the extravagance of an egocentric style. He also surrounded himself with living models who became icons and rejected wooden mannequins.
Yves Saint-Laurent is still famous for his invention of beatnik style, the originality of his inspirations that included the Mondrian collection, a Moroccan inspired collection and a Russian inspired collection. Above all he will be remembered for designing the classics of the emancipated woman including the ‘Smoking' tuxedo suit in 1966, the trouser suit in 1967 and the Saharienne in 1968.
The pharmaceutical group, Sanofi, acquired the YSL group in 1993 but not the haute couture part of the business which Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé never gave up and which was eventually closed in 2002.
the designer Tom Ford took over the artistic direction of the YSL group in 1999, it was then bought by François Pinault of the Gucci group. Tom Ford was replaced six years later by the Italian, Stefano Pilati.
Yves Saint-Laurent died in 2008.
At the request of Pierre Bergé, Hedi Slimane, the designer known for his excellent work at Dior from 2000 to 2007, is the current creative director at the YSL group.
