Yves Saint-Laurent is one of the most famous names in the history of fashion.

Saint-Laurent's ascention to the highest level of fame and influence began when he was aged only twenty-one, when he was hailed by the French fashion industry as "Christian the Second" (a reference to the great Christian Dior).

YSL was born in the year 1936 in the Algerian town of Oran. This genius of design founded his own House in 1962 at the unprecedented age of twenty-six, and in the year 1966 showed his revolutionary Rive Gauche line of prêt à porter (ready to wear), allowing stylish women across the world to access fine French fashion design with uncommon ease, for the times. The Rive Gauche line launched two garments to classic status: the bush shirt (in 1968), and the pantsuit (in 1969).

Yves Saint-Laurent had his share of professional scandal, as well, with the invention of the see-through blouse (in 1968), and the perfume Opium (in 1977), which was banned in many conservative countries due to it's challenging name.

At the close of the twentieth century, the Yves Saint-Laurent name stands for pure classicism, and is the natural heir to the Houses of Chanel and Balenciaga.

Yves Saint-Laurent: "A happy woman is a woman in a black skirt, with a black pullover, black stockings, a piece of costume jewellery and a man who loves her by her side."

research sources include the French ministère des Affaires étrangère & YSL corporate materials

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