In 1983, Yves Saint Laurent became the first designer to be given the honor of having a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Saint Laurent had many muses who inspired him to create incredibly beautiful outfits. Chief among them was Victoria Detrelu, a fashion model at the house of Dior. He was also inspired by Loulou de la Falaise, the daughter of a French marquis; Somali supermodel Iman, whom he once called his “dream woman”; Betty Cathro is the daughter of an American diplomat; French actress Catherine Deneuve; Dutch actress Talitha Paul-Getty; Nicole Dorier, a YSL model from 1978-83 who later became one of his assistants; Guinean-Senegalese supermodel Katusha Nayan; Tomolese supermodel Rebecca Ayoko and supermodel Laetitia Casta, who modeled YSL wedding dresses from 1997-2002.
In 2008, Saint Laurent was diagnosed with brain cancer. He had a couple of weeks to live. His faithful partner Pierre Berger and the doctor decided that it was better for Yves not to know about his impending death. Berger said: “I have the conviction that Yves was not strong enough to accept this.”
Saint Laurent died on June 1, 2008 at his residence in Paris.
