“Chanel liberated women, and I empowered them,” Yves Saint Laurent stated. Founded in 1961, the iconic house that bears his name has given us a repertoire of classic pieces (the Mondrian shift, Le Smoking, the safari jacket, the see-through dress) that gave a confident, global, and sexually free lexicon of dressing.
Saint Laurent and his lifelong lover (and business alter ego), Pierre Bergé, created the company in 1961, a year after the young designer was unexpectedly fired from Christian Dior, Paris' reigning couture house, where he had been the head.
His 1966 Le Smoking tuxedo suit was one of Saint Laurent's most controversial designs. Pantsuits for women were still a little risque before it, but in Saint Laurent's fertile imagination, the trouser suit communicated seductive femininity. And the timing of Le Smoking was impeccable: it spoke directly to the wants of the jittery young woman who was just acquiring access to birth control, political power, and an executive position at the time.
In 1966, Saint Laurent launched the Rive Gauche prêt-à-porter store to sell his designs directly to the public, bypassing the imitation trade. It was the first mass-produced ready-to-wear line by a French couturier to rival the success of couture.
In our Saint Laurent collection, you'll find fashionable and polished frames in timeless shapes. The collection includes aviators, cat-eyes, traditional round frames, and sleek rectangles, as well as rounded-edge and square designs. Saint Laurent frames are available in full-rim and semi-rimless styles to suit a wide range of preferences. These spectacles are also available in a range of sizes, including an additional fit that is ideal for people with a broader nose bridge and higher cheekbones.
Eyeglasses from Saint Laurent are casually elegant. Subtle embellishments add a touch of opulence, although most frames are charming even without them. The most common material for thick-rimmed frames is glossy acetate, a strong plant-based plastic praised for its vibrant color saturation. Rust-resistant Monel, a robust metal alloy that adjusts readily and preserves its shape, is widely used in thin-rimmed frames. Other frame types are made of a mix of materials.
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