Pierre Bergé, co-founder of the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house and one of France’s leading art patrons, passed away on September 8, 2017. In June of 2008, the world lost Yves Saint Laurent to brain cancer.
Watch Red Carpet Bay Area coverage of the gala opening for Yves Saint Laurent, The Exhibition, at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, November 2008:
Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection as a head designer was for the House of Christian Dior in 1958; it featured trapeze dresses and was an enormous success. That same year his friend and colleague, the Baroness Hélène de Ludinghausen, introduced him to Pierre Bergé, who would become his longtime partner. Berge helped Saint Laurent found his own fashion house in 1961 after leaving Christian Dior. Yves Saint Laurent’s debut collection for his own fashion house in 1962 was described by Life magazine as “The best collection of suits since Chanel.”
Video Credits
People in this video (by order of appearance): Marybeth La Motte, Linle Froeb, Sylvia Rubin, John Buchanan, Baroness Hélène de Ludinghausen, Dede Wilsey, Lucy Buchanan, Barbara Brookins-Schneider, Larissa Sabadash, Lynn Wyatt, Jennifer Raiser, Galila Pogue, Jamie Tish, Rita Fornino, Connie Nielson, Vanessa Getty, Deda Blair, Tatiana Sorokko, Denise Hale
MBL Media Productions: Original music and editing by Greg Marasso; director of photography, Mark Hamburg; assistant producer, Rita Fornino, still event images by Drew Altizer, makeup and hair for Marybeth La Motte by Deb Monti, Milvali Salon, San Francisco