His works and life
Fashion Designer Yves Saint Laurent was born 1936 in Oran, Algeria. After winning first prize in the International Wool Secretariat contest for his asymetrical cocktail dress in 1954, Saint Laurent went immediately to work for Christian Dior. Saint Laurent became Haute Couture designer when Dior died in 1957. He introduced the trapeze dress in his first collection for Dior in 1958. He was replaced by Mark Bohen in 1960, when he fulfilled his military obligations. Afterwards, he opened his own couture house, financed by Pierre Berge, in 1962.
The Rive Gauche boutiques for women were established in 1966, and men's wear was added in 1974. His CEO is still Pierre Berge, volatile critic of the Chambre Syndicale. His muse has been Catherine Deneuve for many years.

Saint Laurent frequently uses ethnic themes in his garments, as well as bright colors contrasted with black. His day clothes have a slightly masculine flavor, and his luxurious evening wear is tinged with fantasy. He is famous for "Le Smoking" tuxedo jacket, see-through blouses (1968), peasant blouses, bolero jackets, pantsuits, and smocks.

Last true couturier
Although a shy person, Saint Laurent believes he is the last true couturier. He maintains the highest standards of classic cut and tailoring, and he receives a standing ovation after every collection is presented.

1996 marks two surprising developments concerning the presentation of his new collections. In Summer of 1996, Saint Laurent was the first courturier to show his Haute Couture show live on the Internet. The other move was the decision to stop making big fashion shows for his Pret-a-Porter collection after 30 years of doing so. He now shows his new models only to a few selected journalists on appoitment basis.

Pierre Berge was sentenced to a 1 million Francs (about $197000) fine for insider-trading in 1996. In 1992, he sold Yves Saint Laurent shares right before alarming economic figueres about the company were published.

Yves Saint Laurent is a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter.


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Selected Products

* YSL
* Rive Gauche (diffusion)
* YSL Variation (diffusion)
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Selected Honors and Awards
Retrospective Exhibits

* Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1983), the first living designer so honored
* Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
* Musee des Arts de la Mode, Louvre, Paris
* Victoria and Albert, London (1995)
Awards

* Neiman-Marcus Award (1958)
* Council of Fashion Designers of America (1981)
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Economic Data
Ownership
Since 1989, Yves Saint Laurent Groupe has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. The Yves Saint Laurent SCA owned by the designer himself and by his partner Pierre Berge was sold in January 1993 to the French-government controlled Elf-Sanofi group (which belongs to the petrol and chemical giant Elf Acquitaine) for $650 million. Since in 1992, the net profits slumped by 44.2% the deal caught much attention in the French national assembly.

Performance
In 1995, total sales remained stable at around $837 million. In 1993, sales were at $665 million, compared to $568 million in 1992. 80% of those sales are said to be made through cosmetics and fragrances. Clothing sales worth of $107 million were achieved in 1995. In 1992/1993 those sales were at $96 million, compared to around $100 million in 1991.

Distribution
The number of stores is said to be around 200 throughout the world.

Production/ Licences
Since the diffusion-line "Variation" (which is 30% to 50% cheaper than "Rive Gauche") has not had the expected success, another line will be introduced for the collection for Winter 1997, which will be even less expensive than "Variation". This line will be targeted at younger customers than the parent-lines. Over 200 licenses are given by Yves Saint Laurent.