Yves St. Laurent Dead at 71
Famous French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent died Sunday in Paris at the age of 71. Laurent will be remembered best perhaps for making menswear sexy for women. His Le Smoking tuxedo for women was considered shocking when it was created in 1966. He was also known for dressing Catherine Deneuve in smart skirts and coats in her turn as a lady of the evening in "Belle de Jour." Laurent retired from designing in 2002 and Gucci bought the YSL brand in 1999. As my colleague Jared Paul Stern mentioned last week, and exhibit of Yves St. Laurent's work is currently on display in Montreal (also see his recent column on Laurent's famed 1962 fashion show). He was also a man of great personal taste as his former New York apartment shows, he will be much missed in a world that often seems short of men of style.
