“Chanel gave women freedom. Yves Saint Laurent gave them power,” said Pierre Bergé, the designer’s ex-lover and lifetime business partner. First known as a boy wonder, then as a living legend, the shy, bespectacled young man from what was then French-governed Algeria shot straight into the Parisian couture stratosphere. And he stayed there. Before his death in 2008, Saint Laurent made a singular contribution to fashion, reinventing the modern woman’s wardrobe over the course of his 50-year career. See how well you know the talent’s life and work with our 12-question quiz.
Questions by Lisa Santandrea. Santandrea is a NYC-based writer who teaches fashion history at Parsons School of Design.
