Yves Saint Laurent

No matter which fileld of life we are talking about we need to have a knowledge of the past, what has been done before and where we are coming from. We can not expect to grow if we don't take the time to scrutinize the mistakes and the triumphs of those that came before us.

Yves Saint Laurent is one of the strongest influences on the fashion world which will live on even though he left us in 2008. He was born in Algeria in 1936 and moved to Paris after secondary school to pursue a career in fashion. At 17 he was hired by Dior and when Dior died Saint Laurent became head of the fashion house at the tender age of 21.

In 1961 he opened his own fashion house and pushed the boundaries of the industry. He is proclaimed to be the one who saved haute couture and legitimised ready to wear fashion. He introduced masculine touches to women's fashion like the tuxedo. Saint Laurent was the first designer to use ethnic models in his catwalk shows and who used influences outside of the western world.

He forged a strong legacy. Even though he was frail and prone to depressions he delievered more in a lifetime than most. He was bullied in school and vowed to see his own name in neon light, and he succeeded.

//P.