Yves Saint Laurent (fashion house) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yves Saint Laurent SAS

Saint Laurent location in Midtown Manhattan
Trade name	Saint Laurent
Type	Subsidiary (SAS)
Industry	Fashion
Founded	1961; 64 years ago (1961) in Paris
Founder	Yves Saint Laurent Pierre Bergé
Headquarters	37 Rue de Bellechasse 75007 Paris France 48°51′25″N 2°19′18″E / 48.8569469°N 2.3216936°E / 48.8569469; 2.3216936
Key people	Cédric Charbit (CEO), Anthony Vaccarello (creative director)
Products	Ready-to-wear couture leather accessories footwear
Revenue	€2.9 billion (2024)
Parent	Kering

Yves Saint Laurent SAS, also known as Saint Laurent or YSL, is a famous French luxury fashion company. It was started in 1961 by designer Yves Saint Laurent and his business partner, Pierre Bergé.

The company is known for its special couture (custom-made high fashion), ready-to-wear clothes, leather bags, and shoes. YSL also has a beauty line called YSL Beauty, which is owned by another company, L'Oréal.

Cédric Charbit has been the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Yves Saint Laurent since 2024. Anthony Vaccarello has been the creative director, guiding the designs, since 2016. In 2024, Yves Saint Laurent made 2.9 billion euros in sales.

History of Saint Laurent

Logo of YSL from 1962 to 2012

Logo of Saint Laurent Paris since 2012

Yves Saint Laurent dress (Autumn/Winter 1981) inspired by Matisse's La Blouse Roumaine

The Yves Saint Laurent brand began in 1962. Its famous logos were created in 1963 by A. M. Cassandre.

During the 1960s and 1970s, YSL made popular new styles. These included the "beatnik" look, safari jackets, tight pants, and tall boots. In 1966, YSL introduced Le Smoking, which was a tuxedo suit designed for women. This was a big step in fashion!

YSL also helped make fashion more available to everyone. In 1966, they started making "ready-to-wear" clothes with their Rive Gauche line. This meant clothes were made in standard sizes and sold in stores, not just custom-made. YSL was one of the first to make this idea popular.

YSL's designs often took ideas from different cultures and art. They used styles from traditional Chinese clothing and themes from Pop Art. They also found inspiration in the Ballets Russes and the art of Picasso. In 1978, Saint Laurent started the trend of broad, shoulder-padded styles. This look became very popular in the 1980s.

Many famous women were muses for Saint Laurent. These included Loulou de La Falaise, Betty Catroux, Talitha Pol-Getty, Catherine Deneuve, and Laetitia Casta.

YSL dress "Hommage à Piet Mondrian" (Autumn/Winter 1965) on left, inspired by Composition in red, blue and white II by Piet Mondrian on right

Models in cocktail dresses (Autumn/Winter 1965) by Yves Saint Laurent, inspired by Piet Mondrian art, 1966

The brand grew in the 1980s and early 1990s. They added perfumes for men and women, building on their makeup line from 1978. In 1993, Yves Saint Laurent was sold to a company called Sanofi.

In 1997, Pierre Bergé brought Hedi Slimane to the company. Slimane helped restart the Rive Gauche Homme menswear line. He left two years later.

In 1999, the company Kering bought YSL. They hired Tom Ford to design the ready-to-wear collection. Yves Saint Laurent himself still designed the special haute couture clothes. Tom Ford's designs for YSL won "Dress of the Year" awards in 2001 and 2004.

In 2002, the haute couture part of the business was closed. In 2004, Tom Ford left, and Stefano Pilati became the new creative director. Yves Saint Laurent passed away in 2008.

In 2012, Kering announced that Hedi Slimane would return to the brand. He became the new creative director for YSL. In 2015, Slimane decided to bring back Yves Saint Laurent's couture line. He also moved the design studio to Los Angeles, where he lived. The couture workshop stayed in France.

When Slimane returned, there was a change to the brand's name. The ready-to-wear line was renamed "Saint Laurent," dropping "Yves" from its name. The full "Yves Saint Laurent" name and the YSL logo still stayed for accessories and the beauty products. Slimane got the idea for this name change from the original "Saint Laurent Rive Gauche" name.

A store in Paris called Colette had a disagreement with Saint Laurent. Colette was selling shirts that said "Ain't Laurent without Yves." Saint Laurent asked them to stop selling these shirts. Colette later received a letter from YSL about selling products that hurt the brand. Because of this, Saint Laurent canceled Colette's order for its Spring 2014 Collection.

In 2016, Slimane left Saint Laurent. Anthony Vaccarello was then chosen as the creative director. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vaccarello found a way to sell handbags at a lower price to other stores. This helped the brand reach more customers. In 2017, Vaccarello chose Charlotte Gainsbourg as the face of the Autumn/Winter 2017 campaign. In July 2020, Rosé, a singer, became the first global ambassador for Yves Saint Laurent.

In April 2023, the company started Saint Laurent Productions. This is a film production company that makes art films. The costumes for these movies are designed by Saint Laurent's creative director, Anthony Vaccarello. The company's first films were Strange Way of Life and Trailer Of The Film That Will Never Exist: Phony Wars. Both films were shown at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. More recently, the company has worked on films like The Shrouds, Parthenope, and Emilia Pérez. Emilia Pérez even received an Oscar nomination and won a prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. In November 2024, Cédric Charbit became the new CEO of Yves Saint Laurent.

Company Leadership

Chief Executive Officers

• 2013–2024: Francesca Bellettini
• Since 2024: Cédric Charbit

Creative Directors

• 2000–2004: Tom Ford
• 2005–2011: Stefano Pilati
• 2012–2016: Hedi Slimane
• Since 2016: Anthony Vaccarello

Financial Performance

This table shows how much money Yves Saint Laurent has made in sales each year.