Yves Saint Laurent
The legendary and much celebrated designer Yves Saint Laurent died on 1st June 2008 at the age of 71 following a long illness. He was considered the last of a towering 20th century fashion generation that included Christian Dior that made Paris the fashion capital of the world.
Born on 1st August 1936 in Algeria his father worked was a shipping executive and Yves Saint Laurent at the tender age of 17yrs emerged as the next promising designer after winning the prize in the International Wool Secretariat for his cocktail dress designs.
In 1954, he was introduced to Christian Dior who was so impressed he hired Yves Saint Laurent immediately.
Dior died in 1957 and Yves Saint Laurent became head of the House of Dior at only 21years of age.
In 1971 Saint Laurent controversially posed nude for a photographer to promote his new perfume line.
In 1978 he launched his 2nd women’s perfume in the United States; it was called Opium Perfume and was as much controversial as it was extremely successful. With a massive launch party in New York onboard a 350 foot yacht the Peking the cost was reportedly $250K.
The launch of the Opium Perfume brand marked Yves Saint Laurent’s deep fascination for the Orient and showed his unique understanding for a woman’s hidden passions and emotions. Opium Perfume promotes its’ exotic blend of deep wood notes and rich spices. Its notes include Coriander, Rose, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Cloves, Plum, and Tangerine
The famous named Opium fragrance was the centre of controversial protests coming from Asian-Americans who argued that it was denigrating. Saint Laurent was quoted as saying that it was the only name he wanted for the fragrance and after h launched ‘Y’ he wanted a heavier indolent perfume which was captivating and evoked all that was love. The controversy on the Opium Perfume brand continued forward through to the next decade although the perfume has lasted much longer than all the fuss!
His fragrance business continued to thrive, Jazz, a men’s aftershave, was launched in 1988.
In 1993, YSL introduced another new perfume, Champagne, it flopped with French vintners and Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton won a court battle against the use of the name because it violated trademark laws. The fragrance had to be pulled off the shelves throughout France.
