Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (1936 - 2008)

Born 1 Aug 1936 in Oran, Oran, Algérie

Ancestors

Died 1 Jun 2008 at age 71 in Paris VII, Paris, Seine, France

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Biography

Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent is Notable.

Yves Saint Laurent est un grand couturier français.

Early life

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent was born August 1st, 1936 in Oran, French Algeria to Charles and Lucienne Andrée Mathieu-Saint-Laurent ^[1]. He had two younger sisters, Michèle and Brigitte. Yves' father was a lawyer and and businessman. Yves' began an interest in fashion at an early age, making dresses for his mother and sisters as a teenager. At the age of 17, Yves' mother took him to Paris to meet the editor of French Vogue, Michael de Brunhoff. A year later Yves' moved to Paris and enrolled in the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, where his designs quickly gained notice. de Brunhoff was impressed by Yves' fashion drawings and introduced Yves to fashion giant Christian Dior ^[2][3].

Dior years

Christian Dior took Yves on as an assistant. Yves Saint Laurent would work for two years alongside Dior, learning the secrets of haute couture. When Christian Dior died in 1957, Yves took over the position of artistic director of the fashion house. In 1960, Yves was called back to Algeria to serve in the military as Algeria fought for its independence. Although, Yves was exempt from military service, upon his return to Paris, Dior had fired him. Yves was devastated but eventually received 48,000 pounds for Dior's breach of contract ^[3][4][2].

Fashion Independence

With the new freedom from Dior, Yves started his own brand in collaboration with his romantic partner Pierre Bergé, dropping the hyphen from his name to become Yves Saint Laurent. Yves Saint Laurent or YSL had its first collection presented on January 30, 1962. Yves Saint Laurent was established as a haute couture brand. He reinvented fashion staples such as the pea-coat and the trench coat and introduced new fashion ideas such as the "smoking jacket" tuxedo for women and the jumpsuit ^[4].

Yves wanted to also dress the everyday woman. He began a ready-to-wear collection under his Saint Laurent: Left Bank boutique opening in 1966 in Paris. It was an immediate success expanding to New York and London.

Partnership with Pierre Bergé

Yves met Pierre Bergé in 1958 while he was working for Dior and they began a romantic relationship. Pierre would become his personal and professional partner in 1960 after Yves' firing from Dior. Their romantic relationship ended in 1976, when Pierre Bergé moved out of their shared home on Rue Babylone due to Yves' alcohol and drug addiction. They would remain professional partners however until Yves' death in 2008 ^[5].

Later Years

On the urgence of Diana Vreeland, the editor of american Vogue, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York presented a retrospective of Yves Saint Laurent's work in 1983. In 1993, the Yves Saint Laurent group was sold to Sanofi. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé retained control of the fashion house however with the exceptions of perfumes and cosmetics. In 1998, Yves stops designed for the ready-to-wear collection Left Bank, he is replaced by artistic director Alber Elbaz. In 2002, he stops designing for haute couture as well, closing the haute couture faction of YSL entirely. Yves instead puts his efforts into establishing the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent foundation opening in 2004 to promote Yves Saint Laurent's creations globally and preserving the artist's works ^[4].

Death

On June 1st, 2008 Yves passed away in his home on 55 rue de Babylone from a brain tumour. His ashes are deposited in his villa in Marrakech in the heart of the Majorelle garden ^[4].

Biographie

Il est né à Oran (Algérie française) le 1er août 1936^[1].

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Site Web du musée Yves Saint-Laurent, Une enfance oranaise, consulté le 19 mars 2018
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Biography.com-Yves Saint Laurent
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Musée YSL
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Yves Saint Laurent
5. ↑ Wikipedia Pierre Bergé

• Wikidata: Item Q171556

See also:

• Yves is mentioned in the book 'BOOSEY & HAWKES: THE PUBLISHING STORY' written by Helen Wallace.'Boosey & Hawkes, the Publishing Story' by Helen Wallace-1