Saint Laurent also consistently used Black models, like Mounia, Iman and Naomi Campbell, and he drew endless inspiration from different ethnicities and cultures, in no small part because of his Algerian roots.īorn to French parents in Oran, Algeria, in 1936, Saint Laurent went to Paris at age 17 to study fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Many of his designs are today considered timeless classics. By blurring gender-specific design, he empowered individual style while creating a scissor-sharp fashion aesthetic of sensual ease and beauty. Using traditional menswear fabrics and designs for women, he also literally cross-dressed, giving men and women alike chic pant suits, elegant tuxedo jackets and urban safari gear. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture. The store featured Mies van der Rohe chairs and played host to actor Catherine Deneuve during its grand opening.

The inaugural Rive Gauche boutique - a modern shop in Paris’s bustling, bohemian Left Bank district - offered stylish garments and accessories that were intended to be affordable for a younger generation of fashion enthusiasts. Visionary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter.

Rive gauche bag