Yves Saint Laurent

Books about Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent was born on August 1, 1936 in Oran, Algeria. He was the founding figure for modernity in fashion. In 1955, Christian Dior took him on as his assistant at his eponymous fashion house. When Dior died suddenly in 1957, Saint Laurent was named head designer at Dior, he was only 21. In 1961 Saint Laurent launched his own couture house. He was largely responsible for changing the way modern women dress, putting them into pants both day and night, into peacoats and safari jackets, into “le smoking”, and, for a time in the 1970s, peasant-inspired clothing in rich fabrics.
We were especially proud of the opportunity to show our visitors the new exhibits of the Fashion Museum – the jackets of Catherine Deneuve, the elegant film star. They were designed by Yves Saint Laurent. The Museum bought them at the auction of the clothes of this great actress held at the beginning of this year and organised by Christie’s. Catherine Deneuve and Yves Laurent had been friends for several decades. They first met when Deneuve was only 22 and she had to be presented to the Queen of the United Kingdom. The actress decided that she would order a dress to be made at Saint Laurent for this special occasion. He also designed her clothes for the cult film of Luis Bunuel entitled “Belle de Jour” (1967).