A brief history of one of fashion’s most iconic luxury brands.

Yves Saint Laurent: Childhood, Christian Dior and YSL
Yves Saint Laurent was born in 1936 in Oran, French Algeria. From an early age, he expressed interest in fashion. His first work involved designing costumes for paper puppets. By 13, he was designing <a href="https://www.goat.com/apparel/dresses">dresses</a> for his mother and two sisters, and by 17, Yves had moved to Paris to study fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture (Trade Union Chamber of Couture).
During his time at the Chambre, the then-editor of Vogue Magazine, Michel de Brunhoff, introduced Yves to Christian Dior, who took him under his wing. Over the next few years, Yves worked closely under the fashion superstar, honing his craft and developing his own style. At first he performed simple tasks such as designing accessories and decorating the atelier, but with each passing season, more of his work was included in seasonal collections until, eventually, Dior confided to Yves’ mother that he believed her son would succeed him as creative director.
In 1957, following Dior’s sudden and unexpected death, Yves was indeed appointed creative director of the house—at just 21 years old. Early collections were a marked success, subtly borrowing from contemporaries such as <a href="https://www.goat.com/brand/chanel">Chanel</a>, while injecting influences from street movements such as the leather-clad beatnik underground. It was a tendency that would characterize much of Yves’ finest collections; an innate ability to synthesize high-fashion sensibilities with an understanding of fashion as lived, worn and used by real, everyday people.
In 1962, following a traumatic experience as a conscript in the French army during the Algerian War of Independence, Yves teamed up with his then-partner Pierre Bergé to launch his eponymous label, Yves Saint Laurent (YSL).

YSL Into the ’60s and ’70s
For the first few years, Yves ran his namesake fashion line strictly as a couture operation. Aside from ballgowns and eveningwear, he experimented with incorporating fashion cues from the culture around him, establishing a loyal customer base and a reputation for sociopolitical responsiveness. In 1966, he affected a monumental shift in popular understandings of fashion with the launch of his ready-to-wear line, Saint Laurent Rive Gauche.
The line offered clothing that could be bought off the hanger, produced in higher numbers than his couture pieces. Among the most renowned pieces of this era was the “Le Smoking” tuxedo, a women’s pantsuit that resonated powerfully with the era’s progressive gender politics. Perhaps even more influential and an early example of <a href="https://www.goat.com/editorial/artist-fashion-collaborations">art x fashion collaborations</a>, Yves’ FW68 collection paid tribute to Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, producing dozens of pieces referencing Mondrian’s grid paintings.
By the turn of the 1970s, Yves had established himself as one of the most respected designers of his generation, particularly with regards to the needs, tastes and desires of women. His 1971 ‘Quarante’ collection featuring a green fox fur jacket with oversized sleeves and squared-off shoulders, for instance, went on to become a cultural icon, while his 1976 ‘Peasant’ Rive Gauche collection demonstrated his inquisitive eye for how women dressed.
Towards the end of the decade, Yves began experimenting with an aesthetic that would come to define the ’80s: narrow skirts paired with shoulder-padded jackets. The style was so impactful, in fact, that it became woven into the broader cultural landscape, earning the title of “power suit.”

The ’80s, the ’90s and New Perspectives
Despite the background of unprecedented cultural, political and economic uplift, Yves’ own output remained largely unchanged throughout the decade. The ’90s continued this pattern, with Yves gradually relinquishing control of the house and, in 1997, a young Hedi Slimane was promoted to collections and art director. During his stint, Slimane’s collections showed flashes of his later signature, mixing leather and sheer fabrics with the house’s casual luxury.&nbsp;
Israeli designer Alber Elbaz’s tenure as creative director was equally short lived, joining in 1998 and departing in 2000. During his brief time with the house, Elbaz designed three collections, showcasing early signs of the work that would come to define his legacy while adhering to Yves’ pioneering vision.

The ’00s, More Reshuffles and the Death of Yves
After Elbaz, the house installed Tom Ford as creative director of ready-to-wear (concurrent with his creative director role at <a href="https://www.goat.com/brand/gucci">Gucci</a>), while Yves continued his couture work—until 2002, when Yves closed the house’s couture atelier. Ford’s tumultuous time at YSL has since become the stuff of fashion legend, overshadowed by his blockbuster tenure at Gucci and scarcely acknowledged by even Ford himself.
In 2004, after Ford left his position, the creative director role was held by Stefano Pilati. His inaugural collection for Spring 2005 introduced what would become known as the “tulip skirt,” featuring a high, cinched waist with a billowing hemline. Beyond this now-iconic silhouette, Pilati reworked and reimagined classic YSL designs from earlier periods, such as the Le Smoking tuxedo and the safari jacket, a silhouette first seen in 1967.
In 2008, Yves Saint Laurent passed away at the age of 71. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech, Morocco, where the two often went for creative inspiration. Paying tribute to Yves’ connection with the site, the house hosted its Spring 2023 Men’s show in the historic city.

The 2010s and the Reign of Hedi Slimane
In 2012, Slimane returned to the house, replaced Pilati and immediately shook things up. First, he removed “Yves” from the label’s name in order to align the house with the original name for Yves’ ready-to-wear line, Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Simultaneously, he replaced the brand’s classic logo with a modern, sans-serif typeface. (The distinctive YSL monogram symbol, however, was retained for use across garments and accessories.) And those were just the warm-up acts.
Across the board, Slimane reinvigorated the label by injecting it with a sense of rock ‘n’ roll chic, creating blacked-out, tight-fitting collections modeled by rock stars in black-and-white campaigns, from Courtney Love and Kim Gordon to Beck and Daft Punk. His work underscored the stylistic developments of the 2010s, mixing angst and rebellion with muted and restrained luxury. Put simply, Slimane reinvented Saint Laurent in a way that remained true to the original designer’s work—even the injection of rock ‘n’ roll aesthetics drew from Yves’ own early beatnik influences—while the return of Rive Gauche as a centerpiece of the label’s DNA solidified how well the designer truly understood Yves’ vision.&nbsp;
In 2016, after four whirlwind years at the house, Slimane announced he would be leaving Saint Laurent in one of the century’s most shocking departures and only a year after reviving the label’s couture line. Soon, it was announced that Anthony Vaccarello (of Versus Versace) would be replacing him, with Slimane joining Celine as creative director following Phoebe Philo’s departure.

Anthony Vaccarello Onward
Since Vaccarello’s arrival at the house, Saint Laurent has continued to refine its rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic. Vaccarello’s debut collection, featuring models covered in silvery glitter, signaled an addition of glamour to Slimane’s distinctive point of view, while a wide variety of lifestyle products—from surfboards to knee-high rollerskates—indicated an increasingly modern approach to luxury.
Today, <a href="https://www.goat.com/brand/saint-laurent">Saint Laurent</a> stands firmly as one of the unwavering centerpieces of fashion. What sets the house apart from others is the world a young Yves laid out over 60 years ago—a world defined by instinctual notions of luxury interpreted through a shifting cultural lens. This heritage, combined with the house’s legacy of innovation, all but promises Yves’ world will be here 60 years from now, defining, underscoring and leading style from one decade to the next.

Saint Laurent YSL Sweatshirt 'Faded Navy'

Saint Laurent YSL Quilted Monogram Bag 'Crema Soft'

Saint Laurent YSL Monogram Kate Bag 'Green'

Saint Laurent Matelassé Small Envelope Wallet 'Dark Beige'

Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Hoodie 'Grey Rinse'

Saint Laurent SL-06 Court Leather 'White Black' 2020

Saint Laurent Leopard Shirt 'Beige/Fauve/Noir'

Saint Laurent SL-10 High 'Black'

Saint Laurent Jacket With Shearling Collar 'Caramel'

Saint Laurent Teddy 'Blue'

Saint Laurent Mini Gaby Monogram Satchel Bag 'Rose'

Saint Laurent Hobo Bag 'Bubblegum'

Saint Laurent Logo T-Shirt 'Black'

Saint Laurent Leather Fitted Knee Length Skirt 'Black'

Saint Laurent Card Holder 'Dark Beige'

Saint Laurent Teddy Jacket 'Black/White'

Saint Laurent Logo Monogram Card Holder 'Black'

Saint Laurent Logo Plaque Cardholder 'Nero'

Saint Laurent Wallet 'Fuchsia Couture'

Saint Laurent Floral Bi Fold Wallet 'Multicolor'

Yves Saint Laurent: The Person, the House and the Legacy

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Yves Saint Laurent: The Person, the House and the Legacy

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