In the 1960’s and 1970’s YSL made fashion trends such as the Beatnik look, tight pants, tweed suits, tall, thigh-high boots and the famous classic tuxedo suit made especially for women in 1966 and called the Le Smoking Suit.
Some of Saint Laurent’s muses were Lou Lou de La Falaise, who was the daughter of a French Marquee’s and an Anglo-Irish fashion model, Betty Cotoux was a half Brazilian daughter of an American diplomat and wife of a French decorator and Catherine Deneuve which was an iconic French actress.
Diane Boulting-Casserly Vandelli during the late 70’s and early 80’s was a London socialite millionaress, she wore YSL brand and made it more popular among the upper classes and the European jet-setters.
The Saint Laurent fashion house was sold to the pharmaceutical company Sanofi, for approximately $600,000,000 in 1993. Gucci bought the YSL brand and Tom Ford designed the ready-to-wear collection while Saint Laurent designed the haute couture collection in 1999.
Saint Laurent retired in 1998; he has become a reclusive individual and spends most of his time at his Marrakech, Morocco home.
Plagued by years of drug abuse, depression, alcoholism, poor health, criticisms of YSL lead designer Tom Ford, Saint Laurent along with Gucci closed the YSL Couture House.
The house no longer exists but the YSL brand survives through Gucci as a parent company.
Saint Laurent was the first living fashion designer to be honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, circa 1983. He put dedication and his insight into all his designs and all where very popular and still is to this day.
In January 1958, one of the most best-known pictures of saint Laurent was taken just after his first collection for the House of Dior. He is pictured leaning out of a balcony window calmly staring into the lens, while photographers all around are straining for the perfect shot of him.
Saint Laurent spent a lot of his career on the cutting edge of fashion. Today the YSL label is very popular with the socialite or elite ladies ho love to go to lunch. He opened the Rive Gauche Boutique in 1966, it was the first ready-to-wear boutique that was associated with a couture house.
Saint Laurent also has perfumes available not just clothing along with accessories and men’s wear designs. YSL’s Opium perfume appeared with a very provocative ad campaign featuring Jerry Hall in 1977, it showed off the sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyles of the people who inhabited the newly opened Studio 54 Disco in Manhattan.
Signature pieces of Saint Laurent that have become staples in fashion today are the smoking, pantsuits and safari wear.
In 1994 Saint Laurent sued Ralph Lauren over a Tuxedo dress he thought was way too similar to his 1970 YSL design and he won a substantial damages.
The Yves Saint Laurent 2006-2007 Fall /winter line includes belted jackets, shirred print dresses, new winter whites, trench coat styles, legging and shiny fabrics along with everyone’s favorite color Black.