Perfume YVES SAINT LAURENT

The Yves Saint Laurent house was founded in Paris in 1961 by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. Saint Laurent had already worked at Christian Dior and had taken creative responsibility there at an exceptionally young age, but establishing his own Maison gave him the freedom to develop a complete personal vision of modern fashion. The first collection was presented in January 1962 and received immediate international recognition. One of Saint Laurent's most important contributions was connecting haute couture with contemporary life and youth culture. The opening of a dedicated ready-to-wear boutique in 1966 was revolutionary: a major couturier was giving ready-to-wear the same level of creative attention rather than treating it simply as a cheaper imitation of couture.

Yves Saint Laurent's creative language was closely connected with women's freedom and the exchange of masculine and feminine codes. Elements of classic menswear entered the female wardrobe, while art, Morocco, theater, historical periods and contemporary street life all became sources of inspiration. His objective was not merely to decorate women but to give them confidence and agency through clothing. This is why Saint Laurent's work became part of twentieth-century cultural history and continues to influence fashion long after the founder's own active career. Today, the fashion house operates as Saint Laurent, belongs to Kering, and remains under the creative direction of Anthony Vaccarello, appointed in 2016.

Fragrance entered the Maison remarkably early, in 1964, only three years after the house was founded. Scent was therefore not merely a late commercial licensing extension but an early part of the Saint Laurent beauty universe. In 2008, L'Oréal acquired YSL Beauté and secured the long-term worldwide license for the Yves Saint Laurent name in fragrance and cosmetics. It is important today to distinguish the two structures: Saint Laurent fashion belongs to Kering, while Yves Saint Laurent Beauté is developed within L'Oréal Luxe. Its current beauty philosophy still reflects the founder's attachment to freedom, combining fragrance, makeup and skincare with boldness, change and personal expression.