Breaking Fashion Rules From The Start: Yves Saint Laurent

            The well-known fashion house, Yves Saint Laurent, quickly became known for taking traditional clothing and breaking the “societal norm” by reinventing women’s confidence in structured tailoring, like suits. While keeping the iconic, wealthy French heritage, YSL managed to do something out of the ordinary, something unspoken. Women, traditionally in the French culture dress feminine with flowy silhouettes and ruffles. By introducing the concept of fierce, tailored women’s tuxedos, YSL did more than just create an iconic brand, he showed women how to be fearless with their self-expression.

            Yves Saint Laurent found his love for fashion and perfect tailoring at home in Algeria. As a teenager, he made clothes for his mother and sisters. At 17, he entered in a competition with the jurors being Hubert de Givenchy and Christian Dior, among others. Saint Laurent placed third in the dress category. When he met the editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris at the time, Michel de Brunhodd, he cheered him on and influenced him to continue his career in fashion. Later, Michel de Brunhodd showed Christian Dior his other designs. It was cosmic. The stars had aligned, and YSL started at Dior.

            YSL started an apprentice at Dior before taking over as the head designer at just 21 years old. His debut collection was a collective success but before his career could continue to take off, he was drafted to the military. Yes, the YSL served in the French military. While this time in the military was dark, impacting his mental health, the idea of starting his own company, YSL, came to be.

            In 1966, the women’s tuxedo was created by YSL, one of the most pivotal moments in fashion. The overall reaction to the collection was mixed, but like all things iconic, the public realized how great the pieces really were. Women can wear a structured tuxedo with an unspoken confidence, and YSL helped break that “societal norm”.

            Over the years, YSL kept one thing in mind amongst all his collections, women. In various ways, pieces in the collections were meant to empower women. Whether it was through structured tailoring or mesh fabrics, the underlying message is women are beautiful and strong. There is something so important behind this. Sure, women empowerment isn’t necessarily a new concept, but YSL spoke up when others didn’t, and he did it through his designs.

            He didn’t stop here. Not only did he break the barrier through his first collection, including women’s tuxedos, he made the first ready-to-wear line by a luxury designer. This changed everything. Before this, high fashion was made for the high-class. YSL changed the luxury industry. Today, ready-to-wear collections are implemented by fashion houses. We have YSL to thank for that.

            One French actress, Catherine Deneuve recognized the talent Saint Laurent had. In 1965, Deneuve was going to meet Queen Elizabeth II. Surely, she needed a fabulous dress for this occasion. YSL agreed to make her a dress, and the rest is history. They remained lifelong friends. Beyond making clothing for her movies and her personal wear, they connected on their humor and view on life.

            Riddled in debt, Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, found themselves selling part of the company to Sanofi in 1993. Sanofi owned all YSL Perfumes while YSL couture remained with Saint Laurent and Bergé. Throughout this time, Sanofi was the third most known, and wealthy, fragrance group.

            This didn’t stop YSL from continuing to break barriers. In 1998, YSL hosted a fashion show at the FIFA World Cup to celebrate the fashion house’s 40th anniversary. A 15-minute event with: 300 archived designs, 900 people helping organize, and 1.7 billion people watching history unfold on live television. 300 models walked the soccer field like a runway platform. To put it in perspective 300 people fills a standard Boeing 787 plane, it’s a lot of people.

            In 2002, Yves Saint Laurent retired with one last runway show. All the most known models helped honor this moment by wearing his most significant designs. Catherine Denueve was even there singing and being there for such a huge moment, proving their important relationship. The fashion house remains just as iconic and timeless today.

            Yves Saint Laurent helped pave the way for women’s confidence through his designs, changed the luxury industry by creating ready-to-wear collections, and left an everlasting mark on the history of fashion.

P.S: What is your favorite YSL item? I wear YSL Opium perfume everyday!