1936-
"Boy Wonder " of French Fashion and Christian Dior's Successor

Born in Algeria.

Born and raised in Oran, Algeria, Yves St. Laurent went to Paris at age seventeen to try his luck in theatrical and fashion design. After winning first prize for a cocktail dress he designed for the International Wool Secretariat competition, he was taken to meet Christian Dior, the famous designer. After a fifteen-minute interview Dior hired the nineteen-year-old St. Laurent. Dior became St. Laurent's mentor and said of him, "St. Laurent is my right arm. I need him."

House of Dior.

Dior died unexpectedly in October 1957, and twenty-one-year-old St. Laurent was named to succeed the master as head designer of the House of Dior. His first showing, in 1958, was a smash hit as his Trapeze, or "little-girl look," took the fashion world by storm. After the showing Parisians demonstrated in the street...