French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent has passed away today at the age of 71.
Pierre Berge, St. Laurent’s longtime friend & associate, reported to the press that Yves died this evening in his Paris home following a long illness. The reclusive designer (whose full name was Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent - what a mouthful) retired from haute couture in 2002 after 40 years at the top of the industry. Though the fashion house closed with his retirement, St. Laurent’s ready to wear label Rive Gauche (bought by Gucci in 1999) is still sold worldwide.
Yves Saint Laurent once said he felt “fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves.” Fellow designer Christian Lacroix respected YSL’s versatility: “Chanel, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and Dior all did extraordinary things. But they worked within a particular style,” Lacroix explained. “Yves Saint Laurent is much more versatile, like a combination of all of them. I sometimes think he’s got the form of Chanel with the opulence of Dior and the wit of Schiaparelli.”
No designer will ever replicate the complicated and beautiful spirit of Yves Saint Laurent’s art. His unique outlook brought a new form of beauty to the fashion world that will be utterly missed.
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