Yves Henri Donat Matthieu Saint Laurent was born on August 1, 1936, in Oran, Algeria,
to Charles and Lucienne Andrée Mathieu-Saint-Laurent. He grew up in a villa by the Mediterranean with his two younger sisters, Michelle and Brigitte. While his family was relatively well off — his father was a lawyer and insurance broker who owned a chain
of cinemas — childhood for the future fashion icon was not easy. Saint Laurent was not popular in school, and was often bullied
by schoolmates for appearing
to be homosexual.

In 1960 Saint Laurent was called back to his home country of Algeria to fight for its independence. He managed to secure an exemption based on health grounds, but when he returned to Paris, Saint Laurent found that his job with Dior had disappeared. The news, at first, was traumatic for the young, fragile designer. Then it became ugly, with Saint Laurent successfully suing his former mentor for breach of contract, and collecting £48,000. The money
and the freedom soon presented Saint Laurent with a unique opportunity.
In cooperation with his partner and lover, Pierre Berge, the designer resolved
to open his own fashion house.

Over the next two decades, Saint Laurent’s designs sat atop the fashion world. Models and actresses gushed over his creations. He outfitted women in blazers and smoking jackets, and introduced attire like the pea coat to the runway. His signature pieces also included the sheer blouse and the jumpsuit.

By the 1980s, Saint Laurent was a true icon. He became the first designer to have a retrospective on his work at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Under the direction of Berge, who continued to manage Saint Laurent’s firm even though the two had broken up in 1986, the fashion house flourished as a money making venture.
But Saint Laurent struggled. He became reclusive, and fought addictions to alcohol and cocaine. Some in the fashion world complained that the designer’s work had grown stale.

There have been good designers in the past. Many of them have been greatly important in the little niche they have created for themselves. There are many who, like Vionnet and Madame Grès, impacted the very idea of what cloth could be used to achieve. But none of them had the over-riding authority to set the highest standards for fashion over many years and to change not only how we dress, but also how we think
of ourselves, whilst posing the challenge
of excellence to mode designers.

To Fashion with love