Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent was born in 1936 in Oran, Algeria. He moved to Paris at 17 to study fashion design, won a Vogue Paris competition the same year, and was hired by Christian Dior in 1955. When Dior died suddenly in 1957, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was appointed Head Designer at Christian Dior — a position he held until being conscripted to the French Algerian War in 1960. He launched his own house in 1961 with business and life partner Pierre Bergé. Saint Laurent designed the first ready-to-wear collection from a major couture house (Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, 1966), dressed women in Le Smoking tuxedos (1966), and built one of the most influential design careers of the 20th century. He died in 2008.

1971 — Y, the first YSL fragrance for women. 1971 — YSL pour Homme. 1977 — Opium launches and is immediately controversial; Saint Laurent is sued for using the name. 1981 — Kouros, the famously polarising masculine. 1995 — Opium pour Homme. 2002 — M7, the first oud-heavy designer fragrance to reach mainstream Western markets. 2006 — Elle. 2014 — Black Opium launches and becomes the brand's biggest commercial success. 2017 — Libre development begins. 2019 — Libre launches. 2008 — Yves Saint Laurent dies; same year L'Oréal acquires YSL Beauté from PPR (now Kering). The fashion and beauty arms are now permanently separated, with fashion under Kering and beauty under L'Oréal.