The style community joins together today to mourn the passing of YVES SAINT LAURENT at age 71.
A true visionary, and the namesake of the famed couture house in Paris, Saint Laurent suffered from brain cancer. He was in the presence of longtime friends Betty Catroux and Pierre Berge in Paris at time of death. Funerary services will be held on Thursday, and Saint Laurent's remains will rest in his famed Majorelle Garden in Marrakech.
Apprenticed to the late Christian Dior, Saint Laurent went on to become the inventor of ready-to-wear as a category of fashion, and routinely broke new ground as a designer by challenging conventions. The designer found himself in a category with Coco Chanel, Cristobal Balenciaga, Karl Lagerfeld and Monsieur Dior himself—a very small and ingenious collective of creative minds. Contemporary designers often saw him as an inspiration, looking to Saint Laurent as one of the godfathers of fashion.
"He's my big fashion hero and always has been, and it's really sad that he's gone," said Marc Jacobs. "I just think to me and so many others he has been such a great inspiration in terms of everything, first and foremost in terms of design. Saint Laurent was the first to look at youth and street culture and take elements and make them chic."
The designer left a huge body of work andan amazing legacy that will no doubt inspire many future generations of designers to come. Adieu, Yves.