Episode 24 - The Man Behind the Icon: Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent redefined women's fashion, pioneering designs that empowered women through self-expression and autonomy. Celebrated for his innovative spirit and ability to merge art with fashion, his legacy continues to influence the industry today.

• Exploration of Yves Saint Laurent's early life and influences 
• Transition from Dior to establishing YSL 
• Significant contributions to women's fashion, including trousers and tuxedo jackets 
• Impact of his work on feminism and fashion accessibility 
• Investigation of his fragrance line and its connection to his fashion work 
• Personal struggles with addiction and their influence on his career 
• Lasting legacy and contemporary relevance of YSL in the fashion world

Transcript

Yves Saint Laurent Fashion Journey

Speaker 1 0:00

Hi divas , and welcome to Magnifique , your favorite fashion designer deep dive podcast . I'm your host , gabrielle , and today we talk about Saint Laurent . But first , how we doing Today is kind of a weird day for me . I've noticed that if I start my day while being like and grabbing my phone immediately , my day is kind of just a wash . And guess what I did this morning ? Yup , I got on my phone and I haven't put it down , and this is post TikTok . I've been watching YouTube shorts all day . So we're really dealing with that . Phone addiction is a real thing . I understand . I am trying to have a superiority complex , so step one is addressing it and maybe one day we'll fix it . But for now , I come to you in my oversized One Direction blanket hoodie to discuss staying the round . So welcome , get all cozy . Yes , even you in your car you're driving right now . Go ahead and grab a blanket , warm up a cup of hot chocolate . Come on , guys , let's go on an adventure .

Speaker 1 1:13

So Saint Laurent is a couture powerhouse , someone who revolutionized women's fashion while also influencing women's liberation . His longtime business partner , pierre Pierre Briget , is cited saying Gabrielle Chanel gave women freedom , yves Saint Laurent gave them power . Maybe this is some internalized misogyny that I need to address within myself . But it always does give me pause when a male designer goes immediately to designing women's clothing . My first thought is why ? Why do I feel that way ? You might be asking that . I've asked myself that and I'm not sure . Perhaps it's due to a lack of knowledge . So I do reserve the right to change my opinion , and I did . I did change my opinion while researching YSL . You can tell that he doesn't love women , but he loves women , and you can see that shine in every piece that he masters up . So I chose this topic because I had long heard about Yves Saint Laurent being a star in the fashion space , a one-of-a-kind designer who pushed the boundaries of fashion , though I still never knew the details or extent of his reach . So I set out on this journey and now I hold the deepest respect for him and his legacy . What a treat it was to learn about such a fashion prodigy .

Speaker 1 2:41

So Yves-Henri Donat Mathieu Saint-Laurent was born on August 1st 1936 in Oran , algeria , to French parents , charles and Lucien André Mathieu Saint-Laurent . Now why is everyone in fashion a Leo ? I have been noticing this time and time again . All y'all are born in August . What's going on . Is it the stars , who's to say ? Anyway , he grew up in a sister's household by the Mediterranean Sea , with two younger sisters , michelle and Bridget . You know how I feel about sister households . I really resonate with sister households . I resonate with sister people . He loved to create intricate paper dolls for his sisters and into his teen years he enjoyed designing dresses for his mother and sister to don . He comes from a locally affluent family . With the Mathieu Saint-Laurent family arriving in Algeria in the 1870s .

Speaker 1 3:40

Yves Saint-Laurent's great-grandfather , pierre Mathieu de Metz , fled Alsace . So Yves Saint Laurent went to a strict Catholic school where he had some trouble thriving . I too struggled to thrive in Catholic school , however . Mine was just kindergarten . Saint Laurent was not popular in school and was often bullied by his schoolmates for appearing to be a little flamboyant . He was a bit of a nervous child and sick nearly every day , but he found solace in the world of fashion . At home he took refuge in the world where he created all of his drawings and designs , and at the age of 17 , he won first place in a contest by the International Wool Secretariat and was invited to attend the award ceremony . His mother then took him to Paris , where she had arranged to meet with Michael de Braunhoff , the éditeur French Vogue .

Speaker 1 4:40

He then moved to Paris where he enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture who remembers Haute Couture from last episode , thank you , charles Frederick Wirth where his designs quickly gained notice . Mitchell de Brunhoff , the editor of Vogue , introduced Saint-Laurent to designer Christian Dior . Saint Laurent decided saying Dior fascinated me . I couldn't speak in front of him . He taught me the basis of my art and with Dior's tutelage Saint Laurent's style continued to mature and gain even more notice . Dior hired him as an assistant and later named him the successor of the brand . So he graduated from the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture that is such a long name I feel like I have to rush through it , the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture . He graduated as a star pupil and he re-entered the International Wool Secreté competition again and won , beating out German student Karl Lagerfeld .

Speaker 1 5:50

Dior recognized his talent immediately and Laurent spent his first years at the House of Dior on kind of mundane tasks decorating the studios , designing accessories , designing accessories , decorating for shows . He really did it all . But he was also allowed to submit sketches for the couture collection Each season . Dior gradually accepted more and more sketches from Saint Laurent and some of Dior's collection from this time would contain themes that appear later in Saint Laurent's independent work , such as the smock tops and the safari jackets from Dior's 1957 Libre line . In August 1957 , dior met Saint Laurent's mom and chose Saint Laurent to succeed him as designer . Dior then passed away two months later , in October 1957 , from a heart attack during his stay in Italy . According to his wishes , saint Laurent became his successor and named artistic director of Haute Couture at just the age of 21 .

Speaker 1 7:00

The head designer of the House of Dior , really so . His first spring-summer 58 collection almost certainly saved the enterprise from financial ruins . The collection which was scheduled to present on January 30th , he created over 600 drawings in just 15 days and at 10 am and just 15 days and at 10 am on Thursday , january 30th 1958 , eustain Laurent presented his first collection for Christian Dior . An hour later there was a standing ovation for his collection , his masterpiece , and this collection was called the Trapeze Line . It was a variation of Dior's 55A line , but it catapulted him to international stardom . The collection featured a narrow shoulder that flared ever so gently to the hem , just to cover the knee . The press was in a state of euphoria and deemed the little prince of fashion .

Speaker 1 8:03

Between 1958 and 1960 , yves Saint Laurent designed six collections for Dior . His second collection for Dior , presented in fall 58 , with lowered hemlines by about five inches , and it did not receive the same level of approval , with many even considering it a misstep by the brand . For the Spring 59 collection , mark Bohan was hired to assist Saint Laurent . This collection brought links back to the knee and that was received much better . But then in his third release , there was a press statement that came out that said the figure was lost in favor of style . His last collection for Dior , named Souplet les Gris de Fé , was very dark , featuring purples and grays . There was a crocodile-styled leather jacket paired with a turtleneck , and it made Saint-Laurent seem a bit like a provocative designer . The collection was not unanimously well-received and in 1960 , saint-laurent was called back to his home country of Algeria to fight for its independence during the Algerian War . After the disastrous 1958 season , the brand reversed course and asked that the designer be conscripted so that he would be replaced .

Speaker 1 9:24

Saint Laurent was in the military for 20 days before the stress of hazing by fellow soldiers led him to be admitted to a military hospital . I feel that in my soul you will not catch me dead in the military because I won't last 20 days . I might not even last 20 hours , but he had secured an exemption based on health grounds . However , when he went to return to Paris , his job with Dior had disappeared . He received news that he had been fired from Dior and to be replaced by Marc Bohan , his assistant , which exacerbated his conditions and he was transferred to Val-de-grace Military Hospital where he was given large doses of sedatives and psychoactive drugs and subjected to electroshock therapy . His release from the hospital was in November of 1960 , and he sued Dior for breach of contract and won reach of contract and won collecting 48,000 pounds Euros .

Speaker 1 10:32

After his time at Dior , he and his partner , industrialist Pierre Bourget , idealized the fashion house Yves Saint Laurent , or YSL , with funds from American millionaire J Mack Robinson cosmetic company Charles of the Ritz . Many Dior staff joined him at his new enterprise and Saint Laurent and Berger were briefly romantically involved but split and remained business partners in 1976 . Ysl and Pierre Berger were both present at Dior's funeral . However , they would not meet until a few months later . The debut YSL collection was presented in spring 62 , and the cutouts modeled would be popular in fashion for a few years . The second collection for fall , 62, . The house was celebrated as this was his best since his 58-hit trapeze collection for Dior . The collection was ranked with that among Givenchy as the best in Paris .

Speaker 1 11:38

In the 60s , saint Laurent introduced and contributed to fashion trends such as the beatnik look in 62 , the pea coat , as well as in 62 , thigh-high boots , the women's tuxedo jacket , boots , the women's tuxedo jacket , safari jackets for both men and women . Many of his designs were inspired by women's lives in the socio-political climate of the time , and he was the main designer responsible for making more widely acceptable wearing of pants by women . Laurent brought in new changes to the fashion industry in the 60s and 70s . During the 60s he introduced transparent and sheer tops to his collection in an effort to assert gender equality , kind of like the Free the Knit movement . He was like one of the first to lean into that . Undoubtedly , saint Laurent was the first to completely merge art and fashion and put art on the runway and countless garments that featured existing art pieces in themselves . It was in his 1960s collection who would make up 26 looks inspired by Mondrian's 1920 color compositions . In 1966 , it released a collection inspired by pop art . In 66 , it released a collection inspired by pop art , rant felt the need to expand his empire in a way that would allow more women to wear his creations . Women should be put on a pedestal , he said , with the world at their feet . He was an active campaigner for social liberation , really supported wifehood , motherhood and career , deeming that women could indeed have it all , including a wardrobe that was both functional and feminine , sexy and fashionable . This helped shape his decision to launch a ready-to-wear line In 1966 , yves Saint Laurent continued to innovate .

Speaker 1 13:32

He showed women how to dress wearing heels with their trousers , or trance coats over their evening wear . He also showed women how to really mix it up with feminine creations having a tinge of a masculine twist . With a 66 tuxedo from Saint Laurent , the French designer opened his Pret-a-Porter house , ysl Rive Gauche , in 1967 , as he was starting to shift his focus from haute couture to ready-to-wear . If you remember from last episode , pret-a-porter is just ready-to-wear the first French couturier to successfully launch a ready-to-wear line in Paris . It earned immediate success and was distinct from previous conceptions of ready-to-wear , simply thought of as less luxurious versions of haute couture concepts . One of the purposes was to provide a wider range of fashionable styles for a more affordable and cheap price . This is considered one of the first French coutures couturiers to come out with a full Predaporter couture house . The first customer of this line was Catherine Deneve .

Speaker 1 14:43

In the 1970s , ysl was considered the most prominent designer in the world , adapting his designs to modern women's needs , leaning into comfortable and wearable . Adapting his designs to modern women's needs , leaning into comfortable and wearable . It was also around this time that YSL was often seen at clubs in France and New York City and he was known to be both a heavy drinker and a frequent user of snow . And he is credited with initiating , in 1978 , the prominent shoulder padded styles that would honestly take over the 80s , following his 78 introduction of the big shoulder pads look . He relied on this restricted set of styles based on largely big shouldered jackets and narrow skirts , and that didn't really vary much in this decade . He lost the former inventiveness and he was one of the last designers to give up shoulder pads . He just would not let them go . He soon after sold the ready-to-wear business to Gucci for some $1 billion in 1999 and shut down the couture house completely when he retired in 2002 .

Speaker 1 15:52

Yves Saint Laurent was met with many accomplishments in his life . In 1983 , saint Laurent became the first living fashion designer to be honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a solo exhibition . Then , after a disastrous 1987 Predaporter show in New York City , he turned over the Predaporter line to his assistants later selling to Gucci . And in 2001 , he was awarded the rank of Commander of the Légion d'honneur by French President Jacques Serac . Again , ysl retired in 2002 and became increasingly reclusive . In 2007 , he was awarded again the rank of Grand Officer de la Légion d'Honneur by France President Nicolas Sarkozy .

Evolution of Yves Saint Laurent

Speaker 1 16:40

Paul Perret was the first to establish a connection between haute couture and perfume . He created his house signature fragrance in 1921 . And Chanel followed closely with releasing number 5 , which was a bold yet simple and timeless scent . And then , 1964 , ysl followed in the footsteps of these major names and launched Y , his first fragrance . He wanted to be lush and heavy perfume . At just 21 , he opened his very own couture house , enabling him to truly express his creative and fashion expertise . So this meant perfume time . In 1964 , he created his first fragrance . Why ? A collaboration with Jean Amic . It was an olfactory expression of the elegance and luxury of his couture fashion , tailored for the beautiful women he dressed . In its original packaging , the green cyphery juice was housed in a bottle cut to reflect the silhouette of a woman's head and shoulders . The letter Y was placed to represent the neckline on her dress .

Speaker 1 17:47

In 1971 , YSL launched his first fragrance for men , port Aume by YSL . It was a comforting and sophisticated scent coupled by modernity and audacity . He created a fragrance for the independent , free-spirited woman who loved to shop at his boutique Riv Gauche . I keep reading Riv Gauche and seeing Give Roche , so that is not fun for me at all . The fragrances were presented in classically feminine bottles , best stored on the dressing table at the home . This was the first fragrance to be launched packaged in a tin can .

Speaker 1 18:25

In 77 , ysl wanted to glorify another facet of ysl femininity , sensuality and seductiveness with ysl's Opium , the amber and vanilla , made by perfumers Jean Amique and Jean-Louis Susiak . This audaciously named fragrance sparked immediate controversy . Testers were stolen , posters were ripped down and stores sold out in a matter of hours on the launch date . It was a very polarizing scent , but decades later , opium has never ceased to reinvent itself . Laurent paid tribute to the city that has always loved and supported him , paris , with a quintessential floral fragrance . For the women of YSL , it launches with brilliant top notes of peach and nectarine , with warm hearts of oak moss and cinnamon . 2014 black opium composed by four master perfumers Marie Salamange , natalie Lorson , oliver Cresp and Honorine Blanc , with Eddie Campbell as its face of the designer .

Speaker 1 19:38

Saint Laurent's design sat at the top of the fashion world Blazers and smoking jackets and introduced attire like the peacoat on the runway . Signature pieces also included the sheer blouse and the jumpsuit . I love a jumpsuit , so knowing that , I get to attribute it to YSL fabulous Couldn't love anything more . To be honest , on June 1st 2008 , yves Saint Laurent was diagnosed with brain cancer At his residence in Paris . He and Berger had been joined in a same-sex civil union known as Pacte Civil des Solitaires PACS for short in France . His diagnosis was terminal , with only a few weeks left to live , but Berger and the doctor mutually decided that it would be better if he didn't know how long he had left to live .

Speaker 1 20:28

Along with his cancer diagnosis , ysl struggled a lot with drug addiction and mental health issues . He traces this origin back to when he was in his hospital in his hospital era post-war . His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Marrakech , morocco , in February 2009 . After his death , an auction of 733 items was held by Christie's at the Grand Palais , ranging from paintings by Picasso to ancient Egyptian sculptures . Pierre Bergé opted to sell the collection and took the proceeds to pose a creation for a new foundation for AIDS research . His death was announced by Pierre Berger that he had died at the age of 71 . Pierre remembers Saint Laurent fondly . He says Gabrielle Chanel gave women freedom . Yves Saint Laurent gave women power .

Speaker 1 21:28

Alongside Coco Chanel and Christian Dior , saint Laurent was considered a member of the French fashion world's Holy Trinity . Saint Laurent coined styles for women that changed the way they dress in the modern world . His influence can still be seen today , arguably more so than Chanel's and Dior's . Christian Lecroy says that the reason for Saint Laurent's success was his versatility . Chanel , schiaparelli , balenciaga and Dior all did extraordinary things , but worked within a particular style . Ysl is like a combination of all of them . Diana Vreeland , the legendary American fashion magazine editor , dubbed him Pied Piper of fashion . She says whatever he does , women of all ages from all over the world follow . He's so influential .

Speaker 1 22:21

Heidi Slimane , who was named creative director of the brand in 2012 , changed the brand's name from Yves Saint Laurent to just Saint Laurent Paris . This rebranding also included the incorporation of an edgy aesthetic , with celebrities like Zoe Kravitz becoming frequent endorsers of the brand . Today , blackpink's Rosé is the biggest brand ambassador . Heidi revived the brand . He also changed Weissel's focus on elegant and avant-garde styles to one that would incorporate more rebellious pieces such as rock and street style , to open up the market for young consumers . Heidi also redesigned the campaign and the brand's website consistently and used his expertise in photography as part of the new brand image . Today , the brand is under the creative direction of Anthony Varcaglio since 2016 . He built a solid foundation for its development and is pursuing its evolution to continue enhancing its influence in the market . In 2017 , a museum dedicated to YSL's work opened in his former Haute Couture house in Paris .

Speaker 1 23:34

Some of his legacies include nipped in trousers , slinky tuxedos and safari jackets . They still look perfectly modern decades after their shocking debuts . Saint Laurent's style epitomized a certain way of seductive , wealthy and intelligent French women . Again , catherine Deneau was his muse . She frequently sat in the front row at his shows , and this look that YSL went for is still desirable today as it was 40 years ago . His shamelessly sexy clothes dovetailed perfectly with feminism's inception , as did his advent of trousers for a women's daily wardrobe . He was one of the first to use black models , and he also is credited with beginning to democratize the fashion world by shifting the industry's attention from rarefied haute couture to relatively more accessible pret-a-porter . The brand is owned by Kering as part of the Gucci group .

Speaker 1 24:35

Yves Saint Laurent is a luxury brand specializing in both men's and women's ready-to-wear , in addition to handbags . Brand specializing in both men's and women's ready-to-wear , in addition to handbags , shoes , accessories , sunglasses , fragrances and cosmetics . In 1961 , ysl has had both financial success and good aesthetics . Saint Laurent has been a second-tier brand for the caring group in the past . However , they did see a spike from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 , where Saint Laurent became the brand with the best revenue performance in the first quarters , with a 43% increase .

Speaker 1 25:14

So what makes Saint Laurent's performance so interesting ? What is bringing in this performance ? So one of the big things are their ready-to-wear products , their shoes , their leather goods . 70% of the brand's turnover is from leather goods and leather production . Another factor is pricing . The price range for ready-to-wear is $30 to $3,100 and for a handbag it's anywhere from $1,700 to $7,800 . So , due to being more accessible , it attracts younger consumers through this handbag pricing strategy . The cheapest bag is priced at about $1,300 USD . And again , the new ambassador , such as Rosé from Blackpink , with the huge fan base of K-pop icons , lead the younger generation to finding new attractions in the brand . Third is the strategic store concepts . Saint Laurent stands out from competing brands thanks to its projection in upscale boutiques and is the most prestigious department shops . Prestigious department shops .

Speaker 1 26:25

Ysl subverted the conservative dressing style using lace smoking suit design so that women could be liberated and free in dressing . In 1966 , yves Saint Laurent boldly pioneered an androgynous style , designing the first women's smoking suit . Without Saint Laurent as women , people might not even have the right to wear trance coats . Now the rise of female consciousness , unisex outfits is not just a style trend , but the meaning behind it is also a symbol of women breaking free from the shackles that Coco Chanel also liberated us from with the corsets . Ysl empowers women . Yves-henri Donat , mathieu Saint-Laurent possesses the romantic traits of a creative person . Yves Saint-Laurent distinguished himself by creating modern classics . Ysl changed the way women view clothing . He is a cultural icon , From shoulder pads to spearheading the free , the knit movement . He's a designer worth treasuring and I hope to continue to explore his repertoire .

Speaker 1 27:28

I did save this best for last because I wanted to talk about my most favorite perfume , which is YSL Leib Little Miss Doula Peep and the Leib commercials sold me on this fragrance in 2021 . And I've been addicted to this young woman ever since . So I grabbed a couple of stats from Google AI , mainly because I was relying on my own love for this scent to carry me through most of it . But I'm gonna read some stats if you don't mind . The development of Leib began in 2011 and took seven years to complete . It is kind of heartbreaking that YSL himself will never be able to smell this , because I love it so much and it's it's just delicious . The original fragrance's code name was Boyish Lieb has since expanded into five variations , including L'Hive Intense , which was released in 2020 .

Speaker 1 28:25

My take on this fragrance is that it is as if Elegance and Conti married each other and had a champagne soiree to celebrate the festivities . I love her so much . I did bring her with me to record this , so I'm just sniffing it as I talk to you . I've had the same bottle since 2021 , and she's dwindling quickly , so I'm going to need to buy a new one . I love her . I genuinely love her so much . This is my signature scent . I wear her every day if I'm not trying a new one or if I'm not in the mood to try a different one . She's my tried and true . I would name my firstborn child after her . Well , I'd have to talk to my husband about that first . Actually , I love her . I love her so much . Anyway , that is Yves Saint Laurent . I am just enamored by that man .

Post-Ysl Reflections and Promotions

Speaker 1 29:22

I hope you enjoyed . I hope you learned something new . I didn't go too much into like the business business part post YSL's death , truly , because it wasn't something I was interested in , but I will provide my links so you can go read about that if that piques your interest . But yes , thank you for listening . I hope you found it somewhat entertaining and please , please , give this show a rating . I'd prefer five stars , but you do what feels true to you and yourself . Go ahead and follow the show , please . Girl , I'm trying to be famous , so , thank you , I'll have my links in the bio if you want to keep up with me . Um , I'm not . I spoke about this in the fashion week pod . I'm not super on social media right now , but I mean that is just bound to change because I'm gonna get bored . I've been microdosing real life lately , and by microdosing I mean trying to stay off my phone but , as mentioned when I started , the pod not doing too well on it . So , yeah , okay , bye , guys , appreciate you .