YVES SAINT LAURENT

Yves Henri Donat Matthieu Saint Laurent was born on August 1, 1936, in Oran, Algeria. A giant in the world of fashion for more than four decades, Saint Laurent set the stage for style during much of the 1960s and 1970s. Unconventional and at times controversial, Saint Laurent retired in 2002 and passed away in Paris after a short illness on June 1, 2008. 

Early Years

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. As a consequence, Saint Laurent was a nervous child, and sick nearly every day.

He found solace, however, in the world of fashion. He liked to create intricate paper dolls, and by his early teen years he was designing dresses for his mother and sisters. At the age of 17, a whole new world opened up to Saint Laurent when his mother took him to Paris for a meeting she'd arranged with Michael de Brunhoff, the editor of French Vogue.

A year later, Saint Laurent, who had impressed de Brunhoff with his drawings, moved to Paris and enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, where his designs quickly gained notice. De Brunhoff also introduced Saint Laurent to designer Christian Dior, a giant in the fashion world. "Dior fascinated me," Saint Laurent later recalled. "I couldn't speak in front of him. He taught me the basis of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I never forgot the years I spent at his side." Under Dior's tutelage, Saint Laurent's style continued to mature and gain still more notice.

Going His Own Way

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. With the rise of pop culture and a general yearning for original, fresh designs, Saint Laurent's timing couldn't have been better.

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.

Later Years

By the 1980s, Yves 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.

In the early 1990s, Saint Laurent found firmer footing. His designs were rediscovered by a fashion elite that had grown tired of the grunge movement that dominated the runways. Saint Laurent, too, seemed to have conquered his demons. By the end of the decade, with Saint Laurent slowing down his work pace, he and Berge had sold the company they'd started, netting the two men a fortune.

In January 2002, Saint Laurent participated in his final show and then retired for good in Marrakech. Five years later, Saint Laurent's imprint and importance on French culture was cemented when he was appointed Grand Officer of the Legion d'honnerur by French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Yves Saint Laurent passed away in Paris on June 1, 2008 after a brief illness.

Fashion Quotes By Audrey Hepburn

• For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.
• Your heart just breaks, that`s all. But you can`t judge, or point fingers. You just have to be lucky enough to find someone who appreciates you.
• The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.
• I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.
• Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it`s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.
• People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
• My look is attainable. Women can look like Audrey Hepburn by flipping out their hair, buying the large sunglasses, and the little sleeveless dresses.
• If I get married, I want to be very married.
• Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you`re exactly the same.
• There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl`s complexion
• A quality education has the power to transform societies in a single generation, provide children with the protection they need from the hazards of poverty, labor exploitation and disease, and given them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their full potential.
• I never thought I`d land in pictures with a face like mine.
• I was asked to act when I couldn`t act. I was asked to sing `Funny Face` when I couldn`t sing, and dance with Fred Astaire when I couldn`t dance - and do all kinds of things I wasn`t prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it.
• I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people`s minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing.
• I probably hold the distinction of being one movie star who, by all laws of logic, should never have made it. At each stage of my career, I lacked the experience.
• If I blow my nose, it gets written all over the world.
• Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present - and I don`t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.
• It`s that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so `don`t fuss, dear; get on with it.`
• I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it.
• I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it`s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It`s probably the most important thing in a person.
• (On filming "Funny Face", while coping with extreme Paris weather and a grumpy co-star) Here I`ve been waiting for 20 years to dance with Fred Astaire, and what do I get? Mud in my eye!
• My own life has been much more than a fairy tale. I`ve had my share of difficult moments, but whatever difficulties I`ve gone through, I`ve always gotten a prize at the end.
• There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl`s complexion.
• I was asked to act when I couldn`t act. I was asked to sing "Funny Face" when I couldn`t sing and dance with Fred Astaire when I couldn`t dance - and do all kinds of things I wasn`t prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it.
• I know I have more sex appeal on the tip of my nose than many women in their entire bodies. It doesn`t stand out a mile, but it`s there.
• Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it`s at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: the first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.
• (talking about a severe coughing attack she had when she was six weeks old, slowly turning blue and finally stopping breathing until her mother`s prayers and spanking brought her back to life) If I were to write a biography, it would start like this: I was born in Brussels, Belgium, on May 4, 1929 . . . and I died six weeks later.
• I don`t want to be alone, I want to be left alone.
• For me, the only things of interest are those linked to the heart.
• (about her "comeback" in 1976) Whatever happens, the most important thing is growing old gracefully. And you can`t do that on the cover of a fan magazine.