Yves Saint Laurent: A Biography [Anglais] [Relié]

British journalist Rawsthorn capably depicts the neurasthenic personality of France's famous fashion designer, born in Algeria in 1936. She really excels, however, in her savvy account of the industry's transformation as emphasis shifted from haute couture handmade for the rich to ready-to-wear designed for the (fairly affluent) masses. Saint Laurent and his astute lover/business manager, Pierre Berg launched many trends, including the licensing of his name to adorn everything from sheets to sunglasses. A business book as much as a biography: nice work on both counts.

Rawsthorn brings to her subject a combination of experience as a financial journalist (Financial Times) and as a member of the British Design Council. Her hero, Yves Saint Laurent, joined the venerable house of Christian Dior in 1955 as a junior assistant. His subsequent career has mirrored profound changes in both fashion and society. Rawsthorn chronicles the inexorable shift away from the exquisitely handcrafted clothes of haute couture, shown only to the rich and famous in Paris shows, somewhat like royal audiences. YSL was among the first to realize the opportunities of mass production, pret a porter. He opened his chain of Rive Gauche stores to sell his fashion vision to the woman in the street. Accompanying the detailed portrait of an industry in turmoil is the tale of a frail genius, his ferocious and savvy lover, Pierre Berge, architect of much of the YSL licensing empire and the company's several changes of ownership. There's a supporting case of international jet-setters many of whom?like Andy Warhol, Catherine Deneuve and Rudolf Nureyev?stayed loyal to YSL throughout his anguished retreats to Morocco and the world of drugs and alcohol. This is a powerful story, told with a winning combination of passion and objectivity. Rawsthorn writes with strong narrative flair and instinct for the vivid detail. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Not just gossip: This biography of the great fashion designer was written by a former Financial Times journalist who now claims media and entertainment as her beat.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Is it a sign of our culture's seemingly endless fascination with money that ... Alice Rawsthorn ... get[s] so caught up--and so bogged down--in the annals of stock quotations and license contracts? ... As an account of the troubled life of a brilliant designer, this book contains too many long-winded passages of economic exposition to sustain the interest of a reader in search of the man himself.

Decades ago, it was fashionable to write biographies of celebrities postmortem. Today, not only are tales told of the living, they are related in unauthorized, lurid detail. Although Financial Times writer Rawsthorn prefers a responsible brand of journalism in chronicling the life of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, readers will still feel a tiny sense of voyeurism as hidden facts and figures are revealed. After all, given that fashion is ethereal, fleeting, and sometimes a mask for souls as well as bodies, doesn't a similar principle of maintaining the facade hold true for a couturier's persona? Even so, readers learn here about Saint Laurent's battle with drugs, drink, and despondency; of his complicated relationship with business partner and sometimes lover Pierre Berge; and of the flirtation with and occasional rejection by high society. This well-written portrait is characterized by a subtle theme of waste; again and again, this line is repeated: "A man of exceptional intelligence practicing the trade of an imbecile." Barbara Jacobs

A soft but thorough take on the life and legacy of the neurotic, brilliant designer. Born in 1936 into a French upper-middle-class family in the Algerian town of Oran, Yves Saint Laurent was a slight, quiet boy tormented by his classmates. As a teenager, he dreamed of designing theater sets, but a fashion design contest in Paris-Match prompted him to submit some sketches; he won third place. In Paris, fate led him to an assistant's position at Dior. The famous designer died unexpectedly in 1957 and Saint Laurent, at the age of 21, became the firm's principal designer. He spent the next several decades shocking and moving the public, shifting hemlines several inches from one season to the next, offering his unorthodox takes on the Beat movement, Pop Art, and hippie culture, mingling elegance and comfort in his designs. Guided by Saint Laurent's tyrannical lover, Pierre Berg‚, the company, despite numerous setbacks, was built into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. Saint Laurent's loyal clients included Catherine Deneuve, Bianca Jagger, and Marie-H‚lŠne Rothschild. Things began to go wrong when, in his early 30s, Saint Laurent became addicted to a variety of drugs; they left him a nervous, strung-out wreck and made him a chronic habitu‚ of sanitariums. His collections deteriorated; even a brief resurgence in 1990 could not halt Saint Laurent's withdrawal from the limelight. He is now, the book suggests, largely a recluse. Unfortunately, while Rawsthorn, who has covered fashion and other industries for the Financial Times of London, offers a fact-filled narrative, she never convincingly grasps her subject's personality. She is clearly more comfortable dealing with the world in which Saint Laurent moved, and the great internal changes in the fashion business over the last several decades, than with his character. Yet her study fails to catch the verve and transcendent quality inherent in Saint Laurent's best work. A frustrating and dispassionate study of an enigmatic figure and his glamorous and decadent milieu. (24 pages b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Blend a biographer's financial background with a consideration of a designer whose career corresponded with vast social and fashion changes and you have a fine and well detailed examination which includes a healthy dose of business-type savvy. Insights into Saint Laurent's career, creations and approaches consider company ownership, architectural changes, and the social influences on his life and productions.

Yves Saint Laurent is arguably the greatest fashion designer of this century. World-renowned since the age of twenty-one, when he shot to fame as the savior of Christian Dior, he has changed the way that women dress with a series of innovations--from trouser suits and leather boots to peasant shawls and safari jackets--now regarded as classics. His business empire has become a role model for the fashion and beauty industries, establishing Rive Gauche as the first chain of ready-to-wear boutiques, launching Opium as a bestselling perfume, and opening up the vast Asian market.

Raised in colonial Algeria, Saint Laurent was taken on by Dior as an assistant while studying in Paris as a teenager. Hailed as a hero in France for saving the company after Dior's death, his world collapsed when he was conscripted into the French army. Saint Laurent broke down and was committed to a military hospital where he was brutally treated. His lover, Pierre Berg, rescued him and set him up in his own couture house. Thanks to Saint Laurent's genius and Berg's business acumen, their company dominated fashion throughout the 1960s and '70s, making them fabulously wealthy. But the pressures of fame and the commercial constraints of fashion took a toll on Saint Laurent. The charismatic young man who partied with Rudolf Nureyev and Andy Warhol fell prey to addiction and depression, retreating from the world to live as a recluse, while Pierre Berg became a force in the French arts and in politics. As Saint Laurent withdrew, his financial affairs came under scrutiny, culminating in the political storm over the sale of his empire in 1993 to a state-controlled company.

Alice Rawsthorn has followed the fashion industry for many years for the Financial Times of London, and her unique access has enabled her to write this biography, the first full account of Saint Laurent's life and business. Full of the drama and excitement of the fashion scene, Yves Saint Laurent is the remarkable story of a remarkable man.

A behind-the-scenes look at the life and times of one of the fashion world's brightest stars details Saint Laurent's innovative collections, his multi-million-dollar fashion empire, and his turbulent private world of celebrities, glamour, drugs, and sex.

Yves Saint Laurent is arguably the greatest fashion designer of thiscentury. World-renowned since the age of twenty-one, when he shot to fame asthe savior of Christian Dior, he has changed the way that women dress with aseries of innovations--from trouser suits and leather boots to peasant shawlsand safari jackets--now regarded as classics. His business empire has become arole model for the fashion and beauty industries, establishing RiveGauche as the first chain of ready-to-wear boutiques, launching Opium as abestselling perfume, and opening up the vast Asian market.

Raised in colonial Algeria, Saint Laurent was taken on by Dior as an assistantwhile studying in Paris as a teenager. Hailed as a hero in France for savingthe company after Dior's death, his world collapsed when he was conscriptedinto the French army. Saint Laurent broke down and was committed to a militaryhospital where he was brutally treated. His lover, Pierre Bergé, rescuedhim and set him up in his own couture house. Thanks to Saint Laurent's geniusand Bergé's business acumen, their company dominated fashion throughoutthe 1960s and '70s, making them fabulously wealthy. But the pressures of fameand the commercial constraints of fashion took a toll on Saint Laurent. Thecharismatic young man who partied with Rudolf Nureyev and Andy Warhol fell preyto addiction and depression, retreating from the world to live as a recluse,while Pierre Bergé became a force in the French arts and in politics. AsSaint Laurent withdrew, his financial affairs came under scrutiny, culminatingin the political storm over the sale of his empire in 1993 to astate-controlled company.

Alice Rawsthorn has followed the fashion industry for many years for theFinancial Times of London, and her unique access has enabled her towrite this biography, the first full account of Saint Laurent's life andbusiness. Full of the drama and excitement of the fashion scene, Yves SaintLaurent is the remarkable story of a remarkable man.