Yves Saint Laurent is one of the biggest designers in the history of fashion and is one of the most widely recognised names to date. Some of his first designs were widely controversial and very much out there, but his daring approach to fashion led to some of the most classic styles today. His jewellery and accessories were as bold and eye-catching, complimenting his unconventional fashion designs perfectly and elegantly.
When Yves Saint Laurent was just 17 years old, he moved to Paris to study fashion design and a well-known editor at French Vogue Michel De Brunhoff quick took notice of the young designer and his creativity. After noticing some very strong similarities in work, Brunhoff set up a meeting between Saint Laurent and Christian Dior. Dior then immediately hired Saint Laurent after seeing his work. Yves started at Dior in 1953, where he began working on small tasks and designs to show his worth, including decor and designing smaller accessories. As the years went on, Dior gave more opportunities to Saint Laurent and each season more of his sketches were included in the final collections, once again proving his worth immaculately. Sadly in 1957 Christian Dior passed away, where Yves Saint Laurent found himself as Dior’s chief designer at the age of just 21 years old!
1960 was a year of hardship, as the Algerian war had started in which Saint Laurent was made to serve in the French army. During his absence, he was shockingly fired from Dior and subsequently opened his own luxury fashion house in 1961, internationally known as Yves Saint Laurent (YSL). He’s often credited as the first designer to release a pret-a-porter or ready-to-wear as the term mainly used today, lines of clothing for many popular designs.
By the 1980s, the luxury fashion house became one of biggest forces in the industry. In 2001, Saint Laurent was honoured with the title of Commander of the Légion d’Honneur by the French president (which is a very big deal). 2002 then came around and at his final show he took one last bow as he announced his retirement. Sadly after his retirement he was ill for a very long period…in which he passed away June 1st, 2008 at the age of 71.
Since its start, Yves Saint Laurent has held one of the biggest influences both inside and outside the fashion industry. Over the years, its founder, have secured a reputation as one of the 20th century’s most popular designers and personalities. YSL’s creativity was the heartbeat of the brand itself, pushing boundaries forward at all times, and he was never afraid of shocking or provoking in the name of empowerment and freedom of thoughts. Saint Laurent’s status as a leading fashion House is fully established and recognized and engraved in the industry forever, with a very recognisable identity and strong codes that are perfectly identified which are keeping with the times.
Now the 21st Century, Saint Laurent competes globally with high-end exclusive luxury brands and maintains a leading position in the fashion industry. Saint Laurent designs and markets a broad range of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear clothes, Eyewear, Jewellery, handbags and so much more.
In terms of the Saint Laurent Sunglasses and Glasses collections, these are full of bold and unique designs that give your outfit that perfect finish. The brand has maintained and used vintage styles and retro producing an advertising campaign that looks straight out of 70’s and 80’s GQ. Their campaigns always maintain simplicity and beauty and really showcase the YSL eyewear collection immaculately. These signature eyewear pieces, successfully fuse modern design with ultimate craftsmanship, the exquisite unisex classic styles become superior luxury in one glance. For our full collections on Saint Laurent’s eyewear visit Tortoise+Black!
