Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent was born in Oran, Algeria on August 1, 1936. At the age of 17, he went to work for the French designer Christian Dior. After Dior's death in 1957, Saint Laurent was credited with salvaging the designer's collection, continuing the house's legacy, and saving it from financial disaster. He left Dior in 1962 and started his own label YSL. He was known for his sleek haute couture and his ready to wear styles. In 1983, he was the first living fashion designer to be honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He showed his last collection in 2002 and died on June 1, 2008.
