‘A Shock of Modernity’

The curtains are drawn at Yves Saint Laurent's elegant apartment on the Rue de Babylone. There are no flowers at his door, and the small knots of chic Parisian women are silent as they pause briefly outside to pay homage to the man considered the most influential fashion designer of the 20th century. "We are humbled by the great heritage he leaves us," says Valérie Hermann, CEO of the fashion house that still bears his name.

Saint Laurent, who died of a brain tumor on Sunday at the age of 71, was known in France as "le Petit Prince of Haute Couture." He was convinced, said French President Nicolas Sarkozy in one of the many tributes that poured in following news of the death, "that beauty was a necessary luxury for all men and women." During his 45-year career Saint Laurent changed the way modern women dress, spearheading both the resurrection of couture from the ashes of the 1960s and prêt-à-porter when he launched his Rive Gauche collection in 1966. Drawing on influences such as the 1920s androgynous garçonne look, which marked the advent of masculine femininity, as well as the rich exoticism of the Orient, he left an indelible mark on fashion. His clean, elegant cuts, his use of sensuous fabrics, his alluring play with light, color and transparency were trademarks of cool, timeless sensuality and elegance that won him acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. "I often think of the shock I felt as a child in front of the cover of Paris-Match which showed Yves Saint Laurent's first collection for Dior," recalls designer Christian Lacroix. "It was simply a shock of modernity. It transcended time. His hour came neither too early and nor too late. It is this punctuality which is the mark of kings."

Saint Laurent first achieved fame in 1957, when he was appointed head designer at the House of Dior, shortly after Christian Dior's death from a heart attack. A former fashion assistant, Saint Laurent proceeded to launch the much acclaimed "Trapeze" collection. In 1962, after suffering from a nervous breakdown following conscription in the national military service, executives at the house replaced him with couturier Marc Bohan. Saint Laurent joined forces with business partner, friend and longtime personal companion Pierre Bergé to open his own couture house, quickly becoming the global spokesman for each season's style.

It was Saint Laurent who could dictate a slight change to a hemline or shift in waistline, and then watch the repercussions spread across the globe. He put women into sexy trousers, finely cut trench coats and safari jackets. He created beatnik chic, African-style beaded dresses, peasant-inspired skirts, and leopard prints. If Gabrielle [Coco] Chanel gave women freedom, Saint Laurent gave them power," stated Bergé in a statement on Radio France Info.

Saint Laurent dressed some of the world's most beautiful women, including Claudia Cardinale, Paloma Picasso and Lauren Bacall. In 1966 he created the iconic "Le Smoking" and put Catherine Deneuve in a man's tuxedo. And as a man who loved women, his biggest gift to them may have come when Saint Laurent then made the "revolutionary" suggestion that women wear pants as an everyday uniform. (To get a sense of how remarkable that was for the time, consider that a pantsuited Nan Kempner was refused entry to a dinner at New York's La Cote Basque restaurant in 1968. The socialite responded by simply taking off the pants and walking in wearing jacket and blouse.)

The designer retired in 2002, but his fashion house—where the current creative designer is Italian Stefano Pilati—promises to continue that revolutionary tradition. Indeed, it was business as usual at the Rive Gauche and Rive Droite flagship stores on Paris's iconic Place Saint Sulpice and Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré the day after his death. The mood was solemn, but among disciples who have always preferred understated elegance to flamboyant displays of emotion it was an adieu that couldn't have been any different.

With Clara Zabludowsky in Paris

© 2008