Yves Saint Laurent would spend two years working alongside Christian Dior, learning the secrets of haute couture from the master himself. Collections comprised of some two hundred designs would emerge from sketches, toiles, and fittings.

Yves Saint Laurent trapeze dress for Dior, 1958. In 1957, Saint Laurent found himself at age 21 the head designer of the House of Dior. His spring 1958 collection almost certainly saved the enterprise from financial ruin.

Jan 6, 2024 · In the glamorous realm of haute couture, the names Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent stand as pillars of influence. While they may not have shared a mentor relationship in the conventional sense, the connection between these two …

Jan 16, 2025 · At the Maison’s 10th anniversary in July 1957, Christian Dior confessed to Time magazine that from 180 designs in his last collection, 34 belonged to Yves Saint Laurent. When his mother visited him in Paris in 1957, Christian Dior confided that Saint Laurent would be the one to succeed him.

Jul 8, 2021 · F or his first collection at Dior, Yves Saint Laurent needed something groundbreaking to make an impact on the world of haute couture. He found it in his trapèze silhouette, taking Dior’s classic 1947 A-line skirt shape and marrying it to the waist-less silhouettes of the 1920s.

4 days ago · As Dior’s protégé, Saint Laurent was named head of the House of Dior after Dior’s sudden death in 1957. Following the “little-girl” look and the A-line silhouette, he introduced more sophisticated, longer skirts and, in 1959, drastically shortened skirts.

This was the beginning of one of the most celebrated fashion collaborations, that between the master Christian Dior and young Yves Saint Laurent. Yves Saint Laurent worked alongside Monsieur Dior for two years.

On June 20, 1955, Saint Laurent met Dior, who was also impressed by his talent and immediately hired him as his assistant. One of Saint Laurent’s first dresses for Dior was immortalized by Richard Avedon in the famous photograph “Dovima with Elephants,” taken at the Cirque d’Hiver.

In 1955, aged only 19, Yves Saint Laurent was named assistant to Christian Dior. Following the sudden passing of the founding couturier in October 1957, he became the Creative Director of the House. His emblematic first collection, Trapèze, freed the body and instilled a spirit of emancipation, encapsulating the youth of the 1960s.

As head of the house of Dior, Yves Saint Laurent imbued haute couture with a youthful air. He simplified clothing and ignored the dictates of fashion. In his view, style had to continue from collection to collection.