Yves Saint Laurent was born in 1936, in Algeria to a wealthy French colonial family.
In 1955 Saint Laurent was hired as a design assistant by Christian Dior. His spectacular career launched after he was appointed to succeed Dior, following the legend's unfortunate sudden death. Saint Laurent is one of the most important designers of the 30th century, taking credit for many innovations in fashion, such as sheer clothing, le smoking tuxedos and safari suits.
In 1961, Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge founded their own fashion house, although his first collection received moderate reviews, he went on to take Paris by storm with his famed "Mondrian" dresses in 1965, one of his many designs inspired by modern art and changed the way women dressed. He was also one of the first couturiers to embrace ready-to-wear fashion, launching his Rive Gauche shops in 1966. During his career, Saint Laurent passionately designed for film, opera and ballet. In 1998 Saint Laurent and his longtime business partner Pierre Berge chose Alber Elbaz as the designer of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, but he was replaced by Tom Ford later on following the Gucci Group's purchase of the YSL ready-to-wear business in 1999. In 2000 Tom Ford appointed Stefano Pilati as design director for YSL Rive Gauche under his guidance. In 2002 Yves Saint Laurent retired from the world of fashion and when Tom Ford exited the Gucci Group in 2004 Stefano Pilati succeeded him at YSL. Stefano Pilati is continuing the YSL legacy, returning to those YSL classics leading one of the most iconic brands in French fashion.
