Design Bitch

A tragic day in fashion. Yves Saint Laurent died last night at 71 after a long battle with brain cancer. The official YSL site posted the following hommage to the designer:

“The entire Yves Saint Laurent organization is overwhelmed by the news of Monsieur Yves Saint Laurent’s death. His unmatched genius revolutionized the world of fashion and left on it an inimitable mark. We are profoundly saddened by his passing, yet also humbled by the great heritage he leaves with us. The DNA of a brand is essential, and Stefano Pilati and I will do all in our power to preserve it. Our thoughts are with his family and friends, and particularly with Pierre Berge.” – Valerie Hermann, CEO of YSL

Pierre Berge was YSL’s close friend and business partner for the last four decades. Yves Saint Laurent was one of the original true genius creators that cemented Paris as the capital of Haute Couture. He inspired and empowered women by breaking the fundamental rules of fashion for them. He not only made it ok for women to wear pants, but he transformed them into elegant and sexy. Truly daring for his era, YSL was the first to experiment with color combinations: black & brown, orange, red and pink, violet & yellow. The fashion idol extraordinaire and the man behind the thick signature black frames will be kindly remembered and deeply missed by the fashion community.

Yves Saint Laurent’s iconic Safari Jacket from 1968.

Yves Saint Laurent has been the paragon of class, elegance and simplicity since the beginning. This mod inspired dress is no surprise, but a confirmation of “less is more”. Yet, simplicity is sometimes harder to achieve than we think. We tend to either overkill with jewelry or understate with flats. Stripped of superfluous accessories, this look is so clean and fresh that it needs little else. Let your glowing skin get all the attention this spring!