Yves Saint Laurent is one of fashion’s most resounding names today, but at its center for decades was the man who co-founded it and lent it its name.
Yves Saint Laurent, the man, had an intense life from the onset. To put it in perspective, by American standards, he became the head designer at Dior at the same age as he became legally allowed to drink. When Saint Laurent was 21, shortly after he was hired by the French fashion house as a contributing designer, Christian Dior died of a sudden heart attack, and he was suddenly left in charge of one of the world’s most beloved brands.
Despite initial success, Saint Laurent suffered subsequent failed collections, a rough stint in the military, and ultimately getting fired by Dior landed a still-young Saint Laurent in a psychiatric hospital, where he remained for two months. That would be the first major manifestation of a life-long battle with mental illness.
When and how did Yves Saint Laurent die?
Yves Saint Laurent lived to be 71. He died in Paris on June 1, 2008 from brain cancer. Pierre Bergé, YSL co-founder and an on-and-off life partner to the Algerian-born designer, reportedly chose not to tell Saint Laurent about his terminal diagnosis, believing he would not have been strong enough to handle it. A few days before Saint Lauren passed, the two were joined in a civil union.
Bergé was partially responsible for getting Saint Lauren on his feet again after his hospitalization. The two men worked on suing Dior for breach of contract and establishing the Yves Saint Laurent brand, which enjoyed overwhelming success in the ’60s and ’70s.
Fame and excess, however, only darkened Saint Laurent’s shadow and the man turned to drugs, prescribed and otherwise, to deal with bipolar disorder and bouts of depression. He is remembered for his genius and boundary-pushing fashion (among his most famous contributions to women’s wear are the Mondrian-print shift dress, the safari jacket, the female pantsuit, and one of the first-ever ready-to-wear services launched by a major fashion house), but some, including fellow designer Tom Ford, have said he was not a particularly kind person or co-worker.
Yves Saint Lauren retired from fashion in 2002 and spent the last years of his life mostly isolated in his Paris and Marrakesh homes, the latter of which became home to the designer’s ashes.