"Could 'a child of twenty-one,' as many Parisians referred to Saint Laurent, possibly rescue the French economy by sustaining the allure of the century's most famous couturier? It was immediately obvious that he could. The applause began as soon as his very first models strode out, wearing relaxed day dresses that hovered comfortably at the knee; slim, sensible suits; romantic ballerina-style ball gowns. Saint Laurent instantly reassured the public by blending the opulence and the brilliant tailoring of Dior's designs with a greatly increased fluidity. In fact, the reception accorded the Trapeze, which was the name of Saint Laurent's first collection, was even more impassioned than that of the New Look pioneered by his predecessor. One Frenchwoman, tears in her eyes, exclaimed to her neighbor, 'My dear, France is saved. It's Joan of Arc!'"

["Everybody was crying," the New York Herald Tribune reported. "It was the emotional fashion binge of all time." People gathered in the street below, cheering "Saint Lau-rent! Saint Lau-rent!" ]


Saint-Laurent, Yves [born Henri Donat Matthieu] (1936-    ) Algerian-born French fashion designer [noted for his pioneering ready-to-wear fashions and for his adaptation of menswear for women]

[Sources: Francine du Plessix Gray, The New Yorker, 1996-11-04]

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