Yves St Laurent
Yves St Laurent is one of the most famous French fashion houses, launched in 1962 by Yves St Laurent and Pierre Bergé. It is now more often referred to by just the initials YSL.
Yves St Laurent has broken new ground in the fashion world on several occasions. It was one of the first luxury designer brands to branch out into ready-to-wear and was one of the first fashion houses to hire black models to take part in the catwalk shows. Amongst the designer’s muses is Catherine Deneuve, the French actress.
The label was bought by Gucci fashion house in 1999, and Tom Ford was brought in to design the ready-to-wear collections, while Yves St Laurent himself concentrated on the haute couture. The couture business closed in 2002 after Yves St Laurent had suffered several years of ill health, and several collections had received negative reviews.
The YSL brand still produces a ready-to-wear collection and also has a very successful cosmetics range. The ready-to-wear designs are produced by Stefano Pilati, and are influenced by French chic.
Yves St Laurent was one of the first lines to produce clothing for women that had been influenced by men’s clothes. The first tuxedo for women was produced by YSL. The brand also popularised the trouser suite and blazer for women. Customers are able to purchase YSL online through the company’s own website. Fans will find that there are items that they can buy online which are not available in the shops.
YSL logo
Picture courtesy of wvfonseca