Yves Saint-Laurent, the legendary fashion designer, has passed away at the age of 71. The reclusive French couture giant was one of the most dominant forces in 20th Century fashion along with Christian Dior and Coco Chanel. Saint-Laurent had retired form haute couture in 2002 and had been of poor health for a long time at his passing.

After winning several Parisian design contests as a young man, Saint-Laurent was hired to design for Christian Dior. After Dior abruptly passed away three years later, YSL took over the revered fashion house. However in 1960 Saint-Laurent was drafted to fight in the French-Algerian War. He was granted an exemption three weeks later, but by that time had already been replaced at Dior. It was then that Saint-Laurent with the help and business management of his longtime partner and lover Pierre Berge ventured out to form his own label, which would revolutionize the fashion of the second half of the 20th Century. You can see a film from one of Saint-Laurent’s early fashion shows with his own label after the jump.

Though his career was the envy of the entire fashion world, Yves Saint-Laurent spent much of his life in deep depression and hopelessly dependent on tranquilizers and narcotics. You can takepart to stop destructive drug addiction by learning more about Narcotics Anonymous, one of the world’s foremost organizations fighting drug abuse.

LINKS:

USA Today: Fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent, 71, dies in Paris

Daily Telegraph: Yves Saint Laurent

AP: Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent dies at 71