Saint Laurent, Yves

Yves Mathieu Saint Laurent was born in Oran, Algeria in 1936. At the age of 16 he enrolled in a fashion school in Paris, where he entered a student design contest sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat and won for best dress design. The winning sketch came to the attention of the director of French Vogue, who showed it to Christian Dior. Dior hired the young designer as his assistant. After Dior's death in 1957, Saint Laurent was named head designer of the House of Dior. While on compulsory military duty in the French Army, he was replaced by Marc Bohan as chief designer. In 1961, he opened his own couture house, and with the help of his assistant, Pierre Bergé, his first showing in February 1962 was a success. The firm grew steadily, and in 1999 merged with Gucci. In addition to his couture and prêt-à-porter line, Rive Gauche, Saint Laurent expanded his designs to include accessories, furs, men's wear and perfume.