Lonely God Father of Genuine Fashion

"The age of great designers has gone, and the age of giant fashion groups has come." "The age of genuine fashion has come to an end. "

French press releases dedicated to the retirement of fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent (65), never ends. Le Monde published a special retrospect on his 40 years in fashion on the 22nd when his farewell show was held.

A TV documentary titled `They call him Yves Saint Laurent` will aired until the end of the month. Pompidou Centre, which displays modern art masterpieces, willingly cleared its exhibition room for his farewell fashion show.

What makes the French people and press nervous about the retirement of the designer is that he is the pride of France and a symbol of the power of French culture.

Yves Saint Laurent, originally from Algeria, came on the fashion scene in 1953 when he entered Christian Dior at the age of 17. He later opened his own shop `haute couture` in Paris in 1962. With marvelous creativity, he introduced women`s suits with trousers and safari jacket in 1966 when skirts were everywhere, and overwhelmed the international fashion world in the 60s and 70s. His creations were seen as revolutionary then and as classics today.

The reason for Yves Saint Laurent`s retirement, who is praised as a `Mozart of modern fashion` has to do with the conflicts with fashion company Gucci, which bought the brand YSL in 1999, and the estrangement between the recent fashion trends and his world of design adhering to a classical style.

At the interview with le Monde, Mr. Laurent stated "We live in a world of confusion and decadence. This battle for elegance and beauty was causing me a lot of sadness. I feel lonely."

phark@donga.com