10 Revolutions in the fashion world created by Yves Saint Laurent that allowed women to dare

Many people wear leather jackets, but few know that we should thank Yves Saint Laurent for this opportunity. At the age of 21, the stylist became the head of Dior and with his first collection he showed the world that youth is not always synonymous with inexperience. Four years later, he founded his own brand, never failing to amaze the public and always organizing a revolution at each of his shows.

O awesome.club decided to remember Yves Saint Laurent’s main innovations in the fashion world, which forever changed women’s clothing around the world. Check out!

For the first time, Yves Saint Laurent impressed the public when he started his career at Dior. In 1958, instead of the cinched designer dresses, he proposed a straighter silhouette, hiding the contours of the female body🇧🇷 And it was a success. Her elegant and, at the same time, casual outfits quickly attracted international attention.

Yves Saint Laurent at work, 1958

The designer’s first trapeze dresses were minimalist: no flashy colors, prints or bright accessories. They were an important milestone for the creation of laconic minidresses in the following decade.

In his last collection for Dior, in 1960, the designer mixed street style with haute couture, dressing the models in leather jackets, like bikers. The pieces were made of crocodile leather and decorated with mink skin. Neither the conservative press nor the brand’s customers were prepared for such a novelty, and Saint Laurent soon left Dior for good, giving the position to fashion designer Marc Bohan.

Brigitte Bardot wearing a YSL coat, 1967

In 1962, the designer drew attention for having created the double-breasted coat, originating from the thick garments worn by sailors. The loose and elongated silhouette made it an ideal coat for women who were still embarrassed to wear pants that accentuated their curves. With this garment, the hips were covered, giving women more confidence: exactly what Saint Laurent wanted to achieve in fashion.

In 1963, especially for the brand YSL, French couturier and shoemaker Roger Vivier created a pair of above-the-knee crocodile leather boots. In this way, Yves Saint Laurent integrated into the women’s wardrobe everything that the musketeers and knights had always used.

Over the next few decades, designers increasingly created tight-fitting footwear in the sock boot style. This extravagant accessory went in and out of fashion. In the 1990s, her popularity was boosted by the film Pretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts.

Yves Saint Laurent became the first designer to bring art to the fashion catwalks. Her first and most iconic work in this sector were six dresses based on the abstract works of Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, created in 1965.

A year later, he presented a new collection, but this time inspired by the pop art style of Tom Wesselmann’s works. Later, in 1988, the paintings of Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Matisse “came to life” in YSL clothing.

The designer wanted to give women a comfortable and functional wardrobe. In 1966, he introduced the first women’s tuxedo. The public criticized Yves Saint Laurent for having “taken off” the women’s dresses and dressed them in trousers. Many were bothered by the idea of ​​a lady wearing a tuxedo.🇧🇷 But celebrities, such as Catherine Deneuve, Liza Minnelli and Bianca Jagger, immediately joined the look and wore clothes that until then were considered exclusively male.

At first, women in tuxedos were misunderstood in the eyes of others. On one occasion, socialite Nan Kempner was banned from entering a restaurant because she was wearing a YSL tuxedo. Perplexed by the situation, she took off her pants and entered the establishment in just her jacket.

Inspired by the uniform of the African military, Yves Saint Laurent presented in 1967 a safari-style shirt, made of cotton gabardine, which became a comfortable garment for the sultry summer. Haute couture outfits inspired by military uniforms became a real challenge for the demure French society of the time.

Betty Catroux, Yves Saint Laurent and Loulou de la Falaise wearing safari-style pieces

Two years after its introduction, the safari style could be bought in the brand’s boutiques. Gradually, women all over the world began to enjoy wearing shirts and dresses with patch pockets, bows and wide belts.

In the late 1960s, at the height of the second wave of feminism, Yves Saint Laurent included sheer organza blouses in your collections. It was risky, but it reflected the climate of freedom that prevailed at the time. The stylist was not limited to just blouses. He went further and shocked the audience with a fully transparent chiffon dress decorated with ostrich feathers.

“Fashion would be sad if it only served to dress rich women”, said Saint Laurent. He opened his first prêt-à-porter boutique in Paris in 1966, selling casual clothes aimed at young fashionistas that cost much less than typical haute couture attire. And these weren’t cheap versions of runway clothes, but a separate collection carefully created by the stylist.

One of Yves Saint Laurent’s greatest contributions was his desire to bring variety to fashion. He was one of the pioneers to bring black models to participate in his fashion showssuch as Iman, Katoucha Niane and Dalma Callado, who became his muses.

Naomi Campbell credits her success to Saint Laurent. According to the supermodel, the stylist helped her to appear on the cover of Vogue for the first time.

Which of these Saint Laurent-style pieces do you have or would you like to purchase for your wardrobe? Comment!