This brand named after its creator Yves Saint Laurent, the great fashion designer, now is
considered one of the most controversial and successful at the same time. The creative
director Anthony Vaccarello, appointed in 2016, follows the main codes of the brand while
adding modern daring and unique style to the collections, which keeps the brand on the
leading global position.
The brand was established by Yves Saint Laurent in 1961. Saint Laurent entered the fashion
world when he was 17, working at first with Christian Dior as his assistant and four years
later becoming the head of the House of Dior. Altogether for the French House he created
6 collections memorable mostly because of trapeze dresses instead of slim fit. His first
collection is dated 1962 — it is the embodiment of sensual elegance. A pleated blouse of
transparent fabric is an example of this style. The designer created 4 collections a year —
haute couture and pret-a-porte, the last was named Rive Gauche — Left Bank. All his life
Yves Saint Laurent praised feminine beauty by creating glorious outfits and amazing
dresses. In 2002 he left the brand and in June 2008 he died. Yves Saint Laurent was the one
who made such fashion discoveries as trapeze shape, a tuxedo and pants suit for women,
pea-coat, transparent blouses, jumpsuit, safari jacket.
All these designers worked as creative directors of the brand: Alber Elbaz, Tom Ford,
Stefano Pilati and Hedi Slimane. The latter renamed Yves Saint Laurent brand to Saint
Laurent Paris and also introduced rock and grunge to the brand's aesthetics focusing on
the younger audience. In 2016 Slimane was succeeded by Anthony Vaccarello.