Updated Jan. 29, 2024 at 12:25 p.m.
On this day in 1962, the famous fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent presented his first personal couture collection in Paris at just 26 years old.
Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.
What was special about Yves Saint-Laurent’s first show?
The show attracted the rich and famous, including the Countess of Paris, Princess Anne, the Baroness de Rothschild, Roland Petit and Zizi Jeanmaire, Geneviève Fath, Françoise Sagan, and various high-profile members of the fashion industry. Historically constrained by a severe silhouette, the female form disappeared under layers of clothing throughout his designs. The first piece that was presented, a pea coat worn with white pants, was called “the most beautiful collection since Chanel” by Life Magazine that season.
How did Yves Saint-Laurent get his start?
After working for Dior in his early adult life, he enlisted in the army. Upon his return, and after a lawsuit with Dior, he went his separate way along with his then partner, Pierre Bergé. Together, they started the Yves Saint Laurent YSL fashion house with funds from American millionaire J. Mack Robinson.