How Yves Saint Laurent Pioneered the Fashion World

At the age of 14, Yves and his mother went to see a performance of Molière's École des femmes (School for Wives), which proved to be a pivotal experience for the young boy, awakening his enthusiasm for the arts. In particular, the painter and decorator Christian Bérard, who was in charge of the costumes and sets, had a great influence on Saint Laurent. Bérard, who worked as an illustrator for Christian Dior, Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel, influenced Yves' approach to creativity. "I was immediately struck by Bérard's power. He confirmed my vocation. Like him, I wanted to design for the theater. He knew how to portray a character. He knew how to construct a costume, reinventing it by capturing the essence of its silhouette and its time" (Yves Saint Laurent, interview with Yvonne Baby, "Yves Saint Laurent au Metropolitan New York. Portrait de l'artiste", Le Monde, 8 December 1983), Yves said in retrospect.
So it's clear that Saint Laurent realized early on that fashion is not just about clothes, but about the story they can tell.
After seeing the play, Yves' creativity really began to flourish.

He created his own little theater, dressing his cardboard dolls with old sheets from his mother or pieces of fabric cut from her dresses. Inspired by Christian Bérard, Yves also began to draw at a very young age, paying particular attention to the different types of clothing and even distinguishing between different types of fabric. He also expressed his creativity by illustrating books and writing until, at the age of 17, he found his new great passion: fashion.
Yves made eleven paper dolls for which he designed entire wardrobes. In total, he created an incredible number of over 500 garments and accessories for his two collections (A/W 1953/54 and 1954/55). His interest in fashion certainly wasn't accidental, as his mother says: "Yves was always interested in fashion. When he was 3 years old, he cried because he didn't like my dress. We bought all the papers: Vogue, L'Illustration, and Le Jardin des Modes. He did the sets of the Yacht Club and receptions and costumes for the dance school" (Yves Saint Laurent's mother, interview with Michèle Sider, "Yves Saint Laurent, mon fils", Femme, March 1992).

In 1953, Saint Laurent also entered his first design competition: The Secrétariat International de la Laine's annual competition in Paris, where he won third prize in the dress category. A year later he competed again and won first prize in the same category.
During his first stay in Paris, Yves met Michel de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of Vogue (Paris), who encouraged the young designer to enrol at the École de la Chambre syndicale, a prestigious fashion and design school, in order to pursue a career in the fashion industry. Shortly afterwards, Yves moved to Paris. Besides, Saint Laurent sent de Brunhoff some of his fashion illustrations, which were so similar to Christian Dior's sketches that the editor-in-chief of Vogue helped arrange a meeting. Christian Dior immediately recognized the 17-year-old's talent and hired him to work in his studio. In 1953, Yves entered the world of haute couture and made his childhood dream come true.

Four years later, when Christian Dior died unexpectedly of a heart attack, Saint Laurent, now 21, was named the label's new creative director. With his debut collection (S/S 1958), Yves clearly defined his approach to fashion by challenging the old. His Trapeze line was characterized by a flowing silhouette that eschewed Dior's signature cinched waist.
After his sixth collection for Dior, the Saint Laurent was called up for military service and returned to Algeria. There he suffered a nervous breakdown and was dismissed from the Maison Dior shortly afterwards.
However, this wasn't the end of Yves' career in fashion, as he went on to found the Maison Yves Saint Laurent with his partner Pierre Bergé, who was responsible for financial and strategic management, in order to give full expression to his creativity and visionary ideas.

In the years that followed, Yves made history and changed the fashion world more than once. First, in 1966, Saint Laurent designed the famous le Smoking, a garment that represented rebellion, emancipation and androgyny at a time when it was still controversial for women to wear trousers in public. "I wanted women to have the same basic wardrobe as a man. Blazer, trousers and suit. They're so functional. I believed women wanted this and was right",Saint Laurent told The Observer in 1977. Early on, the designer made it clear that he had no false modesty about challenging the status quo, and proved that he had an eye for the progressive.
Yves was also one of the first designers to break down racial barriers and prejudices by choosing women of color - such as Rebecca Ayoko, Dalma Callado and Katoucha Niane - for his catwalks. Naomi Campbell also said: "My first Vogue cover ever was because of this man. Because when I said to him 'Yves, they won't give me a French Vogue cover, they won't put a black girl on the cover' and he was like 'I'll take care of that', and he did".

Furthermore, it was Yves Saint Laurent who launched the first successful ready-to-wear line. In September 1966, he opened his Rive Gauche boutique, which soon flourished. Instead of being a cheap imitation of his couture line, Yves used his second line as a playground for experimentation. Therefore, he kept designing completely different collections.

In 2002, Saint Laurent officially retired and the Maison's haute couture collection was discontinued that same year. From then on, Yves lived a reclusive life at the Villa Majorelle in Marrakech until he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2007. He sadly passed away on 1 June 2008.
In 2012, Hedi Slimane, who had been YSL's creative director of menswear in the 1990s, returned to the house to become its chief designer. During his time at the house, he initiated the rebranding of the brand, changing the name of the house from Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent. He also revived the haute couture line and gave the label its edgy aesthetic.