RIP: Yves Saint Laurent

The fashion world said goodbye to 71 year old Algerian French-born fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent after he passed away on the 1st of June 2008 . The man behind the iconic words which still remain as a vogue precedent today; "Fashions fade, style is eternal", has created his mark in the fashion world and through the revolutionising of his pieces to create fashion which was liberating for women and a change to the feminine fashion of the 90's through the introduction of the suit and pants as everyday attire for the modern female.

Montreal designer Marie Saint Pierre exemplified Yves Saint Laurent's importance saying, "At the time, women needed to dress to enter the work force. They needed to be able to live a life that was not about sex, gender." and through this, Saint Laurent made a statement not only about fashion, but about the way people live and the freedom and liberation fashion should encompass. Yves Saint Laurent's clothing is a representation of the times in which society demanded femininity and yet the designer effectively made the more masculine fashion acceptable for women as evident in his classic ready-to-wear collections.

In 2002 the designer stated "I tell myself that I created the wardrobe of the contemporary woman, that I participated in the transformation of my times" and amongst his battle with depression and alcohol, transforming the fashions of the times and directing society to be one of independence and power is exactly what he did and as a result; the one and only Yves Saint Laurent will be remembered not only as a designer but as a human being who has made fashion history.

Written by Lisa Chau for Le Black Book.