Editing Yves Saint Laurent (designer) (section)

== YSL ==
After his release from the hospital in November 1960, Saint Laurent sued Dior for breach of contract and won. After a period of convalescence, he and his [[Significant other|partner]], industrialist [[Pierre Bergé]], started their own fashion house, [[Yves Saint Laurent (brand)|Yves Saint Laurent]] or YSL, with funds from American millionaire [[J. Mack Robinson]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Torpy |first=Bill |url=http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2008/06/02/stlaurent_0603.html |title=Metro Atlanta Business News |publisher=ajc.com |access-date=15 August 2010}}</ref> cosmetics company Charles of the Ritz, and others.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mulvagh |first1=Jane |title=Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion |date=1988 |publisher=Viking, the Penguin Group |location=London, England |isbn=0-670-80172-0 |pages=268–269 |chapter=1962 |quote=He received financial backing from a variety of sources, including a businessman from Georgia and the cosmetics company Charles of the Ritz...}}</ref> Many Dior staff joined him at his new enterprise.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mulvagh |first1=Jane |title=Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion |date=1988 |publisher=Viking, the Penguin Group |location=London, England |isbn=0-670-80172-0 |page=268 |chapter=1962 |quote=...Saint Laurent...was joined by many of the staff from Dior when he opened his own house.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Molli |first1=Jeanne |title=Dior to Sue Yves St. Laurent |journal=The New York Times |date=1962-10-24 |page=42 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/10/24/archives/dior-to-sue-yves-st-laurent.html |access-date=2024-03-15 |quote=Approximately 25 [Dior] employees...have gone to work for St. Laurent.}}</ref>

His debut collection, presented for spring 1962, was noted for its suits<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Better Living: The Best Suits Since Chanel |magazine=Life |date=1962-03-02 |volume=52 |issue=9 |page=91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kE0EAAAAMBAJ&dq=yves+saint+laurent&pg=PA91 |access-date=2025-02-05 |quote=Yves St. Laurent turned out to be the best suitmaker since Chanel. Mostly of tweed in off-beat color combinations, his suits had a crisp, young style...St. Laurent quickly sold out his first batch of suits to store buyers...}}</ref> and included early examples of the cut-outs that would be popular in fashion in a few years,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mulvagh |first1=Jane |title=Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion |date=1988 |publisher=Viking, the Penguin Group |location=London, England |isbn=0-670-80172-0 |page=269 |chapter=1962 |quote=...Saint Laurent...launched the brassière dress, an early example of the cut-out theme.}}</ref> but it received mixed reviews.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peterson |first1=Patricia |title=Yves St. Laurent in Debut on His Own |journal=The New York Times |date=1962-01-30 |page=F33 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/01/30/archives/yves-st-laurent-in-debut-on-his-own.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=2024-08-29 |quote=...St. Laurent, although he produced a very good collection, did not say anything new.}}</ref> His second collection, for fall 1962, was celebrated as his best since his 1958 Trapeze collection for Dior.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donovan |first1=Carrie |title=Paris Hit |journal=The New York Times |date=1962-08-12 |page=50 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/08/12/archives/paris-hit.html |access-date=2024-03-15 |quote=Called a prodigy...in 1957...[h]is success was not repeated until now....His first collection was less than a smash but his second...has lifted him to the pinnacle of Paris couture.}}</ref> Fashion writers ranked the collection with that of Givenchy as among the best in Paris.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donovan |first1=Carrie |title=Praise Given to Givenchy Rivals St. Laurent Acclaim |journal=The New York Times |date=1962-08-01 |page=35 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/08/01/archives/praise-given-to-givenchy-rivals-st-laurent-acclaim.html |access-date=2024-03-15 |quote=...[B]uyers are...acclaiming the Givenchy and St. Laurent showings as the great collections of the season...}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=First Color Views of '62 Paris Styles |magazine=Life |date=1962-08-31 |volume=53 |issue=9 |pages=77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fk4EAAAAMBAJ&dq=yves+saint+laurent&pg=PA80 |quote=...Yves Saint Laurent's second collection...established him firmly on a par with the Paris masters...}}</ref> It featured India-inspired evening dress, a mostly dark, rich color palette,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howell |first1=Georgina |title=In Vogue: Sixty Years of Celebrities and Fashion from British Vogue |date=1978 |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd. |location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England |isbn=0-14-00-4955-X |page=276 |chapter=1961-62 |quote=...his black ciré satins with ruffs of black mink, his rajah coats and tubular dresses worn with turbans and dark stockings, his long pulled-down tops and barrel skirts, all worn with rich dark jewellery.}}</ref> and a refinement of the bohemian influences seen in his fall 1960 Dior collection, evoking in many journalists' minds Paris's [[Rive Gauche|Left Bank]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howell |first1=Georgina |title=In Vogue: Sixty Years of Celebrities and Fashion from British Vogue |date=1978 |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd. |location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England |isbn=0-14-00-4955-X |page=277 |chapter=1961-62 |quote=The Left Bank look makes good now that Saint Laurent finds his independent fashion identity...}}</ref>

In the 1960s, Saint Laurent introduced or contributed to [[fashion trend]]s such as the [[beatnik]] look (1962),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howell |first1=Georgina |title=In Vogue: Sixty Years of Celebrities and Fashion from British Vogue |date=1978 |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd. |location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England |isbn=0-14-00-4955-X |page=276 |chapter=1961-62 |quote=His autumn [1962] collection brings the Left Bank into the couture with total success.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mulvagh |first1=Jane |title=Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion |date=1988 |publisher=Viking, the Penguin Group |location=London, England |isbn=0-670-80172-0 |page=277 |chapter=1963 |quote=Saint Laurent's 1960 beat look was belatedly adapted: Samuel Robery showed simple leather shifts, Scaasi presented black alligator trousers, Ellen Brooke used black lacquered alligator for windbreaker jackets, and mock alligator was chosen by Modelia for polo coats and by David Kidd for short coats.}}</ref> pea coats (1962),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mulvagh |first1=Jane |title=Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion |date=1988 |publisher=Viking, the Penguin Group |location=London, England |isbn=0-670-80172-0 |page=271 |chapter=1962 |quote=The most important coat to come out of the couture this year [1962] was Saint Laurent's 'pea jacket.' Modelled on the sailor's traditional double-breasted garment and already an American classic, it now gained lasting international popularity.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Paris Fashion Copies |magazine=Life |date=1962-04-06 |volume=52 |issue=14 |page=131 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bU4EAAAAMBAJ&dq=yves+saint+laurent&pg=PA131 |quote=Most Paris originals are first seen at high prices, gradually filter down to low. St. Laurent's famous pea jacket is an exception. He copied it from the humble sailor's coat...}}</ref> smock tops (1963),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howell |first1=Georgina |title=In Vogue: Sixty Years of Celebrities and Fashion from British Vogue |date=1978 |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd. |location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England |isbn=0-14-00-4955-X |page=280 |chapter=1963 |quote=From Paris,...Saint Laurent's painter shirt and peasant's smock...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cassini |first1=Oleg |title=Collier's 1964 Year Book Covering the Year 1963 |publisher=The Crowell-Collier Publishing Company |page=281 |chapter=Fashion |quote=By day the country look for the city was typified by St. Lauret's tweed smock worn de rigueur with heavy, textured stockings and walking shoes.}}</ref> thigh-high boots (1963, via his chosen shoe designer [[Roger Vivier]]),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peterson |first1=Patricia |title=St. Laurent and Chanel Designs New but Familiar |journal=The New York Times |date=1963-07-30 |page=16 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/07/30/archives/st-laurent-and-chanel-designs-new-but-familiar.html |access-date=2024-03-15 |quote=...[B]oots by Roger Vivier wrapped the leg to mid-thigh.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Peake |first1=Andy |title=Made for Walking |date=2018 |publisher=Schiffer Fashion Press |location=Atglen, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-7643-5499-1 |page=57 |chapter=Chapeau Melon et Bottes de Cuir |quote=Yves Saint Laurent's fall...1963...visored caps, black leather jerkins, and Roger Vivier's towering cuissardes [thigh-high boots] in black crocodile...gave what [the ''Daily Mail''{{'}}s Iris] Ashley called 'a real space girl effect...'}}</ref> the [[Le Smoking]] women's tuxedo suit (1966),<ref>{{cite web |title=First Tuxedo |url=https://museeyslparis.com/en/biography/premier-smoking |website=Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris |access-date=2023-07-18 |quote=In his Autumn-Winter 1966 collection, Yves Saint Laurent introduced his most iconic piece: the tuxedo....[T]he Saint Laurent Rive Gauche version was a success. The label’s younger clientele was quick to purchase it, making the tuxedo a classic. Saint Laurent would go on to include it in each of his collections until 2002.}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite journal |last1=Emerson |first1=Gloria |author-link=Gloria Emerson |title=A Nude Dress That Isn't: Saint Laurent in a New, Mad Mood |journal=The New York Times |date=1966-08-05 |page=R53 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/08/05/archives/a-nude-dress-that-isnt-saint-laurent-in-a-new-mad-mood.html |access-date=2023-07-23 |quote=Niki de Saint-Phalle, an American artist living in [France], has had the best influence of all on Saint Laurent...Miss Saint-Phalle...always wears trouser suits with...boots....Now Saint Laurent has copied her 'black tie' trouser suit in velvet and in wool....In wool, it has a very ruffly white shirt, a big black bow at the neck, a wide cummerbund of satin, and satin stripes down the rather wide pants. It is worn with...satin boots.}}</ref> and safari jackets for men and women (1967).<ref>{{cite web |title=First Safari Jacket |url=https://museeyslparis.com/en/biography/premiere-saharienne-pe |website=Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris |access-date=2023-07-18 |quote=Yves Saint Laurent first introduced the safari jacket in his 1967 runway shows. However, it was a one-off design created for a photo-essay for ''Vogue'' (Paris) the following year that made the design famous and quickly turned it into a classic.}}</ref> Many of his designs were inspired by women's lives in the sociopolitical climate of the time, particularly the trousers he showed in 1968 after witnessing the epochal [[May 68|French uprisings]] of that year.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Saint Laurent Has a New Name for Madison Avenue – Rive Gauche |journal=The New York Times |date=1968-09-16 |page=54 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/16/archives/saint-laurent-has-a-new-name-for-madison-ave-rive-gauche.html |access-date=2023-04-23 |quote=During the student upheavals in Paris in May [1968], [Saint Laurent] saw the girls and boys behind the barricades dressed...in pants...'They looked beautiful...,' he said...'Fashion is not only couture....Events are more important.'...[In] his last Paris couture collection, shown in July,...[p]ants outfits overshadowed more conventional attire.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Fashion: Paris Report |work=The New York Times |date=1976-08-15 |page=179 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/15/archives/fashion-paris-report-peasant-luxe.html |access-date=2022-04-04 |quote=In the late 1960's, [Saint Laurent] watched the student riots in Paris and came up with the pants suit, which everyone is still wearing.}}</ref> Saint Laurent is often said to have been the main designer responsible for making more widely acceptable the wearing of pants by women,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heathcote |first1=Phyllis W. |title=Britannica Book of the Year 1970: Events of 1969 |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. |isbn=0-85229-144-2 |page=341 |chapter=Fashion and Dress |date=1970 |quote=Leading Paris couturier Yves St. Laurent, from whose influence the vogue for trousers could be said to have stemmed, continued to promote them in his spring and fall [1969] collections.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Even the Restaurateurs Concede That Pants are Fashionable |journal=The New York Times |date=1968-10-07 |page=54 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/10/07/archives/even-the-restaurateurs-concede-that-pants-are-fashionable.html |access-date=2023-07-13 |quote=Pants...have the endorsement of...Yves Saint Laurent, who devoted a good part of his last Paris collection to them and now is selling them like blue jeans...The wider cut to the legs has won many adherents.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Saint Laurent's American Sportswear |journal=The New York Times |date=1970-03-10 |page=46 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/10/archives/saint-laurents-american-sportswear.html?searchResultPosition=7 |quote=Saint Laurent...helped put women all over the world in pants.}}</ref> after [[André Courrèges]] made the first strides in that direction in 1964.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peterson |first1=Patricia |title=This is the Look from the French Couture for Fall, '64 |journal=The New York Times |date=1964-08-07 |page=32 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/08/07/this-is-the-look-from-the-french-couture-for-fall-64.html?searchResultPosition=10 |quote=Paris has finally approved of the pants suit, first started by Andre Courrèges in his spring collection....}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Giraud |first1=Françoise |title=After Courrèges, What Future for the Haute Couture? |journal=The New York Times |date=1965-09-12 |page=SM50 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/09/12/archives/after-courreges-what-future-for-the-haute-couture-after-courreges.html?searchResultPosition=13 |quote=...[I]t was Yves St. Laurent who had the courage to say, 'We all needed Courrèges...He woke us up.'}}</ref>

Yves Saint Laurent brought in new changes to the fashion industry in the 60s and the 70s. The French designer opened his prêt-à-porter house YSL Rive Gauche in 1967, where he was starting to shift his focus from haute couture to ready-to-wear. One of the purposes was to provide a wider range of fashionable styles being available to choose from in the market, as they were affordable and cheaper.

He was the first French ''couturier'' to come out with a full ''[[prêt-à-porter]]'' (ready-to-wear) line; although [[Alicia Drake]] credits this move with Saint Laurent's wish to democratize fashion;<ref name="drake">[[Alicia Drake|Drake, Alicia]]. ''The Beautiful Fall: Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris''. Little, Brown and Company, 2006. p.49.</ref> others{{who|date=May 2011}} point out that other couture houses were preparing ''prêt-à-porter'' lines at the same time – the House of Yves Saint Laurent merely announced its line first. The first of the company's Rive Gauche stores, which sold the ''prêt-à-porter'' line, opened on the rue de Tournon in the [[6th arrondissement of Paris]], on 26 September 1966. The first customer was [[Catherine Deneuve]].<ref name="alice" /> He ended up doing many costumes for her in films such as [[La Chamade (film)|''Heartbeat'']], ''[[Mississippi Mermaid]],'' and ''[[Liza (1972 film)|Love to Eternity]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0756721/|title=Yves Saint-Laurent|website=IMDb|access-date=30 December 2019}}</ref>

During the 1970s, Saint Laurent came to be considered the most prominent designer in the world,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Paris Report: Last Winter's Wardrobe Need Not Go to Thrift Shop – Yet |journal=The New York Times |date=1971-04-24 |page=34 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/24/archives/paris-report-last-winters-wardrobe-need-not-go-to-thrift-shop-yet.html?searchResultPosition=11 |access-date=2024-08-24 |quote=The presence of one designer — Yves Saint Laurent —  overshadows the collections.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Yves Saint Laurent: He's Still Flirting with the Midi Length |journal=The New York Times |date=1971-04-23 |page=47 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/23/archives/yves-saint-laurent-hes-still-flirting-with-the-midi-length.html?searchResultPosition=10 |access-date=2024-08-24 |quote=...[H]is work...has been reflected in almost every showing of ready‐to‐wear designers...[O]ther designers have been borrowing liberally from him.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Courreges's Fun Belies Uncertainty of Couture |journal=The New York Times |date=1974-07-26 |page=38 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/26/archives/courregess-fun-belies-uncertainty-of-couture-blouses-for-250.html?searchResultPosition=10 |quote=...[W]hen Saint Laurent gets behind a style, the world generally follows.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hyde |first1=Nina S. |author-link=Nina Hyde |title=Saint Laurent: On the Scent of a New 'Seduction' |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1978-09-21 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/09/21/saint-laurent-on-the-scent-of-a-new-seduction/8a19f270-4c0b-4dbd-ab8d-2182863ed7f8/ |access-date=2022-03-18 |quote=He is the most influential fashion designer in the world...}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burgess |first1=Anthony |title=All About Yves |journal=The New York Times |date=1977-09-11 |page=237 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/11/archives/fashion-all-about-yves-fashion-yves.html?searchResultPosition=11 |quote=...Yves Saint Laurent...is now universally acknowledged ''roi de la mode'' [king of fashion].}}</ref> adapting his designs to modern women's needs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Saint Laurent: The Theme is Mannish |journal=The New York Times |date=1976-01-29 |page=52 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/01/29/archives/saint-laurent-the-theme-is-mannish.html?searchResultPosition=2 |quote=...Yves Saint Laurent...simply tunes into the mood of the times and reflects it in uncomplicated clothes.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Saint Laurent: A Classic Mood, A Comfortable Look |journal=The New York Times |date=1975-04-10 |page=45 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/10/archives/saint-laurenta-classic-mood-a-comfortable-look.html?searchResultPosition=10 |access-date=2024-08-26 |quote=Yves Saint Laurent['s]...clothes...are nice, clean, casual clothes to keep a woman looking calm and controlled as she moves through the anxieties of modern living.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Saint Laurent: The Clothes are the Message |work=The New York Times |date=1978-04-12 |page=C14 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/12/archives/saint-laurent-the-clothes-are-the-message.html |access-date=2021-12-01 |quote=The reason why he is the most copied designer in the world is because he looks at the way people live and the way they dress and then tries to make them look a little better.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mulvagh |first1=Jane |title=Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion |date=1988 |publisher=Viking, the Penguin Group |location=London, England |isbn=0-670-80172-0 |page=296 |chapter=1968-1975 |quote=[Quote from Catherine Deneuve] 'Saint Laurent designs for women with double lives. His day clothes...permit her to go anywhere without attracting unwelcome attention...In the evening..., he makes her seductive.' }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Russell |first1=Mary |title=What They're Wearing in Paris, Milan, Tokyo |journal=The New York Times |date=1978-03-05 |page=AS11 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/05/archives/what-theyre-wearing-in-paris-milan-tokyo-paris-milan-paris-milan.html?searchResultPosition=12 |access-date=2024-04-07 |quote=Paris: On the Right Bank, Saint Laurent can be seen in all his glory, worn by women of every age and nationality...}}</ref> Even in his sometimes lavish Russian peasant collections of the middle of the decade,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Peake |first1=Andy |title=Made for Walking |date=2018 |publisher=Schiffer Fashion Press |location=Atglen, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-7643-5499-1 |page=113 |chapter=The New Ease in Fashion |quote=...[I]n 1974,...Saint Laurent created a Russian-themed collection....Saint Laurent's collection featured full skirts that fell below the knees, thick sweaters, capes, quilted gold jackets, velvet and satin knickerbockers, long fur coats and matching fur hats, and a new, and very distinctive, style of knee-length fashion boot...loose-fitting...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Saint Laurent Was Hailed and Adored; For Kenzo, Tumult and Frenzy |work=The New York Times |date=1976-04-07 |page=47 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/07/archives/saint-laurent-was-hailed-and-adored-for-kenzo-tumult-and-frenzy.html |access-date=2022-02-18 |quote=Next fall's peasants, according to Saint Laurent, will wear boots and babushkas...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Freund |first1=Andreas |title=The Empire of Saint Laurent |work=The New York Times |date=1976-08-08 |page=87 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/08/archives/the-empire-of-saint-laurent.html |access-date=2022-02-18 |quote=The noise about Saint Laurent's big silhouette and folkloric look served to enhance his reputation...}}</ref> the clothes themselves remained comfortable and wearable.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=This Year, Fashion Casts Its Vote for Freedom |journal=The New York Times |date=1977-01-02 |page=48 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/02/archives/this-year-fashion-casts-its-vote-for-freedom.html?searchResultPosition=1 |quote=...Saint Laurent's peasant look...did not attempt to constrict the body.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Styles Through History: The Roots of the New New Look |journal=The New York Times |date=1976-08-07 |page=38 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/07/archives/styles-through-history-roots-of-new-new-look.html?searchResultPosition=7 |quote=...Yves Saint Laurent's glorified peasant collection...bouffant skirts, small waistlines and...luxury, paradoxically within a peasant silhouette....Though...there are corselet belts at the waistline, nothing is cinched in tightly.}}</ref> He is credited with initiating in 1978 the prominently [[shoulder pads (fashion)#Fall 1978|shoulder-padded]] styles that would characterize the 1980s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Donovan |first1=Carrie |title=Why the Big Change Now |work=The New York Times |date=1978-11-12 |page=226 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/12/archives/why-the-big-change-now.html |access-date=2021-11-18 |quote=What Saint Laurent sprang on the fashion world last January when he introduced man‐tailored suit jackets with shoulders squared out with padding...has now become staple fashion in Italy, France and America.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1978 Broadway Suit Collection |url=https://museeyslparis.com/en/biography/collection-broadway-suit |website=Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris |quote='YSL's...mannequin...got ovations every time she sauntered out on the runway in another version of the spencer jacket'.}}</ref>

Many of his collections were positively received by both his fans and the press, such as the autumn 1966 collection, which introduced ''[[Le Smoking]]'' tailored tuxedo suit, and his 1965 [[The Mondrian collection of Yves Saint Laurent|Mondrian collection]]. Other collections raised controversy, such as his spring 1971 collection, which was inspired by 1940s fashion. Though 1930s and [[Shoulder pad (fashion)#1970s|'40s revival]] had been a trend among some London designers like [[Ossie Clark]] since the late sixties<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howell |first1=Georgina |title=In Vogue: Sixty Years of Celebrities and Fashion from British Vogue |date=1978 |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd. |location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England |isbn=0-14-00-4955-X |page=296 |chapter=1967-68 |quote=Ossie Clark...turns to the recent past for fawn jersey tailored suits with square shoulders, a forties-through-sixties-eyes look.}}</ref> and although Saint Laurent had presented a few 1940s looks late in the previous year,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Saint Laurent, Ungaro and Dior: Many Styles, No New Look |journal=The New York Times |date=1970-07-24 |page=37 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/24/archives/saint-laurent-ungaro-and-dior-many-styles-no-new-look.html |access-date=2021-12-03 |quote=Yves Saint Laurent was good for a few laughs...An obvious tart...sashayed through the salon. She represented the spirit of the nineteen-forties....The first spurts of laughter were followed by nervous reflection....Was Saint Laurent making fun of the nineteen-forties – or the audience? Or was the whole collection one big parody of fashion?}}</ref> for a designer of his stature to devote an entire couture collection to the 1940s raised some hackles.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Saint Laurent Retorts |journal=The New York Times |date=1971-02-19 |page=30|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/19/archives/saint-laurent-retorts.html |access-date=2022-01-11 |quote=...[C]ritics...attacked [Yves Saint Laurent's] World War II floozy look...When his mannequins paraded like 1940s streetwalkers..., one critic cried 'hideous' and a...news magazine renamed him 'Yves St. Debacle'.}}</ref> Some felt it romanticized the [[German occupation of France during World War II]], which he did not experience, while others felt it brought back the unattractive utilitarianism of the time. The French newspaper ''[[France Soir]]'' called the spring 1971 collection "Une grande farce!"<ref name="alice" /> Criticism notwithstanding, Saint Laurent's influence was such that the collection did lead to some general fashion changes in shoulder and lapel shape and increased the popularity of tailored blazers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sweetinburgh |first1=Thelma |title=The 1972 Compton Yearbook: A Summary and Interpretation of the Events of 1971 to Supplement Compton's Encyclopedia |publisher=F. E. Compton Co., William Benton |isbn=0-85229-169-8 |page=249 |chapter=Fashion |quote=...Saint Laurent's 1940's revival had its effect. As it turned out, the tailored style came back, with a slightly lifted shoulderline and wider, more pointed lapels, and the blazer became a mainstay of U.S. fashion in the fall.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=Blazers and Chubbies Galore |journal=The New York Times |date=1971-05-19 |page=40 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/19/archives/blazers-and-chubbies-galore.html?searchResultPosition=12 |access-date=2024-08-24 |quote=...Yves Saint Laurent...hard-edged blazers and fluffy fur jackets...have cropped up all over Seventh Avenue....Shoulders are significantly broadened, some of them showing a suspicion of padding.}}</ref>

During the 1960s and 1970s, Saint Laurent was considered one of Paris's "[[jet set]]".<ref name="drake" /> He was often seen at clubs in France and New York City, such as [[Regine's]] and [[Studio 54]], and was known to be both a heavy drinker and a frequent user of [[cocaine]].<ref name="alice" /> When he was not actively supervising the preparation of a collection, he spent time at his villa in [[Marrakech]], Morocco. In the late 1970s, he and Bergé bought a neo-gothic villa, ''Château Gabriel'' in [[Benerville-sur-Mer]], near [[Deauville]], France. Yves Saint Laurent was a great admirer of [[Marcel Proust]] who had been a frequent guest of [[Gaston Gallimard]], one of the previous owners of the villa. When they bought ''Château Gabriel'', Saint Laurent and Bergé commissioned [[Jacques Grange]] to decorate it with themes inspired by Proust's ''[[Remembrance of Things Past]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.christies.com/features/2009-november-introduction-to-chateau-gabriel-by-j-284-1.aspx?languagetypeid=0 |date=21 October 2009 |title=An Introduction to Château Gabriel |first=Jacques |last=Grange |access-date=20 October 2014 |publisher=[[Christie's]]}}</ref>

The ''prêt-à-porter'' line became extremely popular with the public and eventually earned many times more for Saint Laurent and Bergé than the ''haute couture'' line. However, Saint Laurent, whose health had been precarious for years, became erratic under the pressure of designing two ''[[haute couture]]'' and two ''prêt-à-porter'' collections every year. In 1976, Saint Laurent and Bergé split romantically but remained business partners.<ref name="glbtq">{{Cite news |url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/saintlaurent_y.html |last=Cole |first=Shaun |title=Saint Laurent, Yves |periodical=[[glbtq.com]] |year=2002 |access-date=25 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814081121/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/saintlaurent_y.html |archive-date=14 August 2007 }}</ref> Saint Laurent increasingly turned to alcohol and drugs.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Horyn|first=Cathy|date=24 December 2000|title=Yves of Destruction|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/24/magazine/yves-of-destruction.html|access-date=11 June 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> At some shows, he could barely walk down the runway at the end of the show, and he had to be supported by models.<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 June 2015|title='Saint Laurent': Another view of the great fashion designer|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/saint-laurent-another-view-of-the-great-fashion-designer/|access-date=11 June 2021|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US}}</ref>

Following his 1978 introduction of the [[Shoulder pads (fashion)#Fall 1978|big-shoulder-pad]] looks<ref>{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Kathy |title=1979 Collier's Yearbook Covering the Year 1978 |publisher=Crown-Collier Publishing Company |pages=251–252 |chapter=Fashion |quote=...Saint Laurent...confirmed huge shoulders, puffed sleeves to emphasize width further...}}</ref> that would dominate the 1980s, he relied on a restricted set of styles based largely on big-shouldered jackets and narrow skirts and trousers<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Bernadine |title=The Ultimate Luxury |work=The New York Times |date=1981-08-30 |page=206 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/30/magazine/the-ultimate-luxury.html |access-date=2022-03-06 |quote=Saint Laurent emphasized suits that were squared at the top and tapering to the hem, like a triangle standing on its point.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Donovan |first1=Carrie |title=Fashion: Feminine Flourishes |work=The New York Times |date=1985-03-31 |page=80 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/31/magazine/fashion-feminine-flourishes.html |access-date=2022-03-09 |quote=Karl Lagerfeld..., Yves Saint Laurent, Emanuel Ungaro and Hubert de Givenchy...continued with their versions of the rather aggressive broad-shouldered silhouette...}}</ref> that didn't vary much during the decade,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hyde |first1=Nina S. |title=Saint Laurent: On the Scent of a New 'Seduction' |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1978-09-21 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/09/21/saint-laurent-on-the-scent-of-a-new-seduction/8a19f270-4c0b-4dbd-ab8d-2182863ed7f8/ |access-date=2021-12-03 |quote=His classics,...he says, 'are the modern things and they are for the future. They are now as good as they can be....The basic things have been made. Now we can stop'.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Russell |first1=Mary |title=Fashion/Beauty Fallout from Paris |work=The New York Times |date=1979-04-08 |page=SM19 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/08/archives/fashionbeauty-fallout-from-paris-fashionbeauty.html |access-date=2022-03-03 |quote=Yves Saint Laurent has retreated into an autocritical contemplation of his years as the established 'No. 1' of Paris fashion. These days, he is creating refined and rethought versions of his legendary look.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Donovan |first1=Carrie |title=American Designers Come of Age |work=The New York Times |date=1979-05-06 |page=254 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/06/archives/fashion-view-american-designers-come-of-age-fashion.html |access-date=2022-04-04 |quote=...Saint Laurent may have reached the point where he feels that he has made his basic contribution to fashion and that now, like Chanel who kept on and on with her famous suit — he wants to reinforce his legend.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hyde |first1=Nina |author-link=Nina Hyde |title=YSL |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1983-12-06 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/12/06/ysl/0952dbbf-dee8-479e-8019-5da58b852276/ |access-date=2022-03-07 |quote=Saint Laurent says the day of big fashion changes is over. What he cares about is refining the classic, the basics, perfecting what he has already put into the fashion vernacular.}}</ref> resulting in some fashion writers bemoaning the loss of his former inventiveness<ref>{{cite news |last1=Donovan |first1=Carrie |title=Paris Cachet: Infinite Ideas |work=The New York Times |date=1986-06-22 |page=39 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/22/magazine/fashion-view-paris-cachet-infinite-ideas.html |access-date=2022-06-22 |quote=Saint Laurent's...ready-to-wear efforts have been slowly sagging season after season.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Cunningham |first1=Bill |title=Bright Spring Fashion Takes a Brave New Direction |magazine=Details |date=1986-03-01 |volume=IV |issue=8 |page=90 |publisher=Details Publishing Corp. |location=New York, NY |issn=0740-4921 |quote=Yves Saint Laurent, the acknowledged king of the status quo in Europe, may have been a revolutionary in his early days...Now, however, St. Laurent has imposed a paralyzing primness...that suggests a retreat to the philistine cathedral of acceptable good taste.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Cunningham |first1=Bill |title=Fashionating Rhythm |magazine=Details |date=1988-03-01 |volume=VI |issue=8 |page=121 |publisher=Details Publishing Corp. |location=New York, NY |issn=0740-4921 |quote=The saddest moment of the spring ready-to-wear collections was the hackneyed offering of Yves Saint Laurent. What a pathetic decline for the former king of world fashion, who dominated design for...twenty years. One couldn't believe that the same man was responsible for what was paraded before the buyers and press. The loss of Saint Laurent's legendary color mixing, the rehash of decade-old designs, the afterthought accessories, left the audience confounded. One wanted to believe that Saint Laurent was not involved....[H]e appeared to have lost a very rare gift – his creative talent.}}</ref> and others welcoming the familiarity.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hyde |first1=Nina S. |author-link=Nina Hyde |title=The Phases of Yves |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1980-04-02 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/04/02/the-phases-of-yves/afdcf6c6-c175-4fc5-9800-086051ead849/ |access-date=2022-03-06 |quote=When did he first do the Mondrian styles? When was the first smoking jacket? How about the first tiered challis printed baby dress, the first cowboy styles, the first ruffled peasant styles? If you didn't remember exactly, it didn't matter, since the current versions, while new, look familiar enough to be the original versions.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hyde |first1=Nina |author-link=Nina Hyde |title=YSL, At the Ready |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1988-10-27 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/10/27/ysl-at-the-ready/b56f0c3c-33c8-450e-8982-e71c5b806a9c/ |access-date=2022-03-01 |quote=...Saint Laurent revived things from past collections to assure his customers that they can keep on wearing his styles no matter what the year.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |editor1-last=Finley |editor1-first=Ruth |title=Paris Designer Focus |journal=Fashion International |date=1989-12-01 |volume=XVIII |issue=3/4 |page=5 |location=New York, NY, USA |quote=Yves Saint Laurent shows his signature timeless classics in new and original versions...}}</ref> He was one of the last designers to give up big shoulder pads at the end of the eighties.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hyde |first1=Nina |author-link=Nina Hyde |title=Clear Signs of Spring |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1988-11-06 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/11/06/clear-signs-of-spring/6319c770-93d1-4c2c-99e9-d626c4c6aae2/ |access-date=2022-08-20 |quote=Shoulder pads have collapsed in many of the collections, though Yves Saint Laurent makes it all right with the fashion world to keep on wearing them...}}</ref> After a disastrous 1987 ''prêt-à-porter'' show in New York City, which featured US$100,000 jeweled casual jackets only days after the [[Black Monday (1987)|"Black Monday" stock market crash]], he turned over the responsibility of the ''prêt-à-porter'' line to his assistants. Although the line remained popular with his fans, it was soon dismissed as "boring" by the press.<ref name="alice" />