Fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent died June 1 of his long-term illness at his home in Paris. Yves Saint Laurent was born on 1 August 1936 in Oran, in what was then French Algeria. He worked for the French designer Christian Dior at age 17. Following Dior's death in 1957, Yves, at the age of 22, was put in charge of the effort of saving the Dior house from financial ruin.
Shortly after this success, he was conscripted to serve in the French army during the Algerian War of Independence. He had a nervous breakdown as soldiers hazed him.
In 1962, in the wake of his nervous breakdown, Saint Laurent was released from Dior and started his own label, YSL, financed by his companion, Pierre Bergé. The couple split romantically in 1976 but remained business partners.
In 1983, he became the first living fashion designer to be honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 2001, he was awarded the rank of Commander of the Légion d'Honneur by French president Jacques Chirac.
Saint Laurent retired in 2002 and became increasingly reclusive. From then until his death he spent much of his time at his house in Marrakech, Morocco.
He also created a foundation with Pierre Bergé in Paris to trace the history of the house of YSL, complete with 15,000 objects and 5,000 pieces of clothing.
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