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Yves Saint Laurent Jewellery and History

03/02/2016 1243 0 0
 

Yves Saint Laurent Jewellery

Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008) was the chief designer for Christian Dior at the age of 21 in 1958, and began his own fashion house in 1961. Although his earlier designs caused something of an outrage, by the start of the 1980's Saint Laurent's designs were considered to be classics in the fashion world. His jewellery line which was introduced in the 1970's was colourful and theatrical tying in with many of his wildest clothing lines, and included metal medallions, whimsical enamels, and ethnic beaded pieces

YSL Jewellery, Necklaces, Earrings, Bracelets,and Brooches

 His jewellery lines were manufactured by a variety of jewellery companies including Monet , however, Saint Laurent always maintained creative control. His catwalk pieces were fantastic creations and are highly sought after. His glass, plastic and lucite jewellery are  now also very popular and prized amongst collectors.

.Vintage Dior multi crystal star necklace       Vintage YSL arabesque style necklace
YSL vintage cabochon star necklace   and YSL vintage rare arabesque necklace

 

History

Yves Henri Donat Matthieu Saint Laurent was born on August the 1st, 1936, in  Algeria, to Charles and Lucienne Andrée Mathieu-Saint-Laurent. He grew up in a villa by the Mediterranean sea with his two younger sisters, Brigitte and Michelle. While his family was not poor—his father worked as a lawyer and was also an insurance broker who owned several cinemas—childhood for the future fashion icon was not that easy. Saint Laurent was not very popular in school, and was often bullied by other schoolmates. As a consequence, Saint Laurent was quite a nervous child, and sick nearly every day.He found comfort, however, in the world of fashion. He liked to create delicate and intricate paper dolls, and by his teenage years he was designing dresses for his  sisters and mother.

By the age of 17, a whole new world opened up to him when his mother took him to Paris for a meeting she had arranged with Michael de Brunhoff, the then editor of French Vogue.One  year later, Saint Laurent decided to move to Paris,  and enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, where his designs quickly got him noticed. De Brunhoff  introduced Saint Laurent to the fashion designer Christian Dior, a big player in the fashion world. "Dior fascinated me," Saint Laurent said. "I couldn't speak in front of him. He taught me the basis of my art." Under Dior's guidance, Saint Laurent's style continued to mature and grow and gain still further notice.

New Beginnings

In 1960 Saint Laurent was called back to his country of Algeria in order to fight for independence. He managed to secure an exemption based on his health, however, when he returned to Paris, Saint Laurent discovered that his job with Dior had disappeared. The news, at first, was very traumatic for the young designer. Then it became quite ugly, with Saint Laurent successfully suing his mentor for breach of contract, and being awarded the sum of £48,000
The freedom and the money soon presented Saint Laurent with a particularly unique opportunity. In cooperation with his partner Pierre Berge, the designer decided to open his own fashion house. With the rise of popular culture and a general yearning for fresh and original designs, Saint Laurent's timing was perfect.
Over the next twenty years, Saint Laurent's fashion designs were very popular in the fashion world. Models and actresses gushed over his designs. He outfitted women with blazers and smoking jackets , and introduced fashion styles like the pea coat to the catwalk. His signature pieces also included the jumpsuit and the sheer blous
Yves Saint Laurent in the 80's
By the 1980s, Yves Saint Laurent was a true fashion icon. He became the first designer to have a retrospective on his work exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Under the direction of business partner Berge, who continued to run  Saint Laurent's firm, the fashion company did well as a money making venture. But Saint Laurent was struggling. He became almost reclusive, and fought addictions to cocaine and alcohol. Some in the fashion world complained that the designer's work was tired and stale.
In the early part of 1990s, Saint Laurent found aclaim again. His designs were rediscovered by a fashion pack that had grown tired of the grunge movement that dominated the catwalks. Saint Laurent, too, seemed to have banished his demons. By the end of the nineties with Saint Laurent slowing down his work pace, he and Berge  sold the company they had started, netting the two men a large fortune.
In January 2002, Saint Laurent participated in his last show and then retired for good to Marrakech. Five years later, Saint Laurent's influence on French culture was cemented when he was given the  Grand Officer of the Legion d'honneur by the then President, Nicolas Sarkozy. Yves Saint Laurent passed away in Paris on  1st June  2008 after a short  illness