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| Yves Saint Laurent |
Legendary fashion designer,
Yves Saint Laurent, died Sunday night at his home in Paris after a year long battle with brain cancer according to a statement released by
Pierre Berge, Saint Laurent’s business and personal partner for four decades.
Though he was taunted for being gay as child, Yves Saint Laurent went on to become one of the most influential and enduring designers of the 20th century.
According to an
Associated Press
report, Berge said of his late partner’s talent, "Chanel gave women freedom," and Saint Laurent "gave them power." He also called Saint Laurent a "true creator" who went beyond the aesthetic to make a social statement.
"In this sense, he was a libertarian, an anarchist and he threw bombs at the legs of society," he said. "That's how he transformed society and that's how he transformed women."
Today, the tributes celebrating the late fashion icon rolled in from all corners.
President
Nicolas Sarkozy praised Saint Laurent for "putting his mark on a half-century of creation, in luxury as well as ready-to-wear." First lady
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who graced Saint Laurent's runway during her modeling career, said she had a "heavy heart" on learning of his death.
"He was an exceptional artist and human being," she said. "He made not only beauty, but also women's strength sublime."
Meanwhile Britain's
Vivienne Westwood described Saint Laurent as "one of the great couturiers".
Even
Sarah Jessica Parker, who says she never met the designer, weighed in.
“I was a great admirer of his,” said Parker outside a celebration for the
Sex and the City big weekend at the box office. “I am very sad to hear of his passing. But he left an extraordinary and singular legacy and was very important… enormous in the world of fashion. I am grateful for the time he gave us.”
Yves Saint Laurent was born Aug. 1, 1936, in Oran, Algeria, where his father worked as a shipping executive. He first emerged as a promising designer at age 17, winning first prize in a contest sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat for a cocktail dress design.
A year later, in 1954, he enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale school of haute couture, but student life lasted only three months. He was introduced to Christian Dior, then regarded as the greatest creator of his day, and Dior was so impressed with Saint Laurent's talent that he hired him on the spot.
When Dior died suddenly in 1957, Saint Laurent was named head of the House of Dior at age 21.
He opened his own haute couture fashion house with Berge in 1962. The pair later started a chain of Rive Gauche ready-to-wear boutiques.
Yves Saint Laurent retired from haute couture world in 2002, amid rumors of his ill health.
Despite his wildly successful career, which saw him awarded the Legion d'Honneur in 1985 and.the Metropolitan Museum of Art make him the first ever living designer to be honored with a show to devoted to his work him, Yves Saint Laurent suffered bouts of depression throughout his career.
Mr. Berge was quoted as saying that Saint Laurent was born with a nervous breakdown.
A funeral ceremony was scheduled for Thursday at the Saint Roch Church in central Paris, Berge said, moving the date announced earlier forward by a day. Saint Laurent's ashes are to be placed in a vault in the Majorelle botanical garden in Marrakech, Morocco, which he and Berge purchased in the 1980s, their foundation said.
