IndiaPost.com - YSL gave new dress code to women

LONDON: Fashion king Yves Saint Laurent, considered as one of the greatest designers of 20th century who revolutionized women's clothing with an audacious new dress code, has died. The French maestro, whose slinky tuxedo suits and safari jackets became a symbol of women's liberation in the 1960s, died at his Paris home at the age of 71, his former romantic partner and longtime business associate Pierre Berge said.

Laurent was suffering from a brain tumor. The last of a famous generation that included Christian Dior and Coco Chanel and made Paris the fashion capital of the world, Laurent designed clothes that foresaw the rise of working women and their changing role in society.

He was credited with reworking the rules of the world of designing, providing for both the functional and fashion needs of women. His beatnik chic - a black leather jacket and knit turtleneck with high boots - and sleek pantsuits focused on equality of the sexes.

From see-through blouses, safari jackets and glamorous gowns, Laurent created instant classics that remain stylish decades later. He once said he felt "fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves." "I found my style through women.

That's where its strength and vitality comes from, because I draw on the body of a woman," Laurent had said. Controversial supermodel Naomi Campbell is set to replace Kate Moss as the face of France's late legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent's (YSL) prestigious fashion house. Naomi has signed a deal worth $400,000 deal with YSL and will feature in the autumn-winter 2008 campaign. Contactmusic.com quoted her saying:

"I'm blessed and grateful to be working with YSL again, a house that gave me a start in my career." Naomi had worked with YSL in the early 90s. "The loss of YSL is immense," says Vogue India editor Priya Tanna. "He invented power dressing for women.

His smoking jacket was iconic along with his other notable creations - the jumpsuit and the sheer blouse." Designer Narendra Kumar agrees: "His designs reflected changing times and blurred the lines between men and women.

He is so relevant to today's India where more and more women are making their mark in male-dominated fields. He brought this certain masculinity to women's wear that's incredible."

Along with designing the safari jacket for men and women, tight pants and tall, thigh-high boots, and the creation of the famous classic tuxedo suit for women in 1966, YSL was also the first to popularize ready-to-wear fashion and use black models in his shows.