Saint Laurent by era: who designed your piece

The name on the label has stayed almost the same for sixty years. The clothes have not: six different people have designed them. So before the cut, the fabric or the price, the first question about any Saint Laurent piece is a date. The date tells you who made it, and often what it is worth to a collector.

1961 to 2002: Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé created the couture house on 4 December 1961 and showed the first collection on 29 January 1962. The designs the house is still known for came early: the Mondrian dresses in 1965, the first women's tuxedo (Le Smoking) in 1966 and the first safari jacket in 1968.

In 1966 the house opened SAINT LAURENT rive gauche, its ready-to-wear line and boutique. This is the part that matters most if you are buying today: vintage Yves Saint Laurent clothing on the market is usually Rive Gauche ready-to-wear rather than couture.

Vintage Yves Saint Laurent is usually Rive Gauche ready-to-wear, not couture.

The company was sold to Elf-Sanofi in 1993 and to Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (today Kering) in 1999. Yves Saint Laurent announced his farewell on 7 January 2002 and showed for the last time at the Centre Pompidou on 22 January 2002. The couture division closed that year. He died on 1 June 2008.

1996 to 2000: Hedi Slimane's first menswear

Pierre Bergé hired Hedi Slimane in 1996 to direct the men's ready-to-wear, sold as Rive Gauche Homme. His last collection there was Black Tie, for autumn/winter 2000–01, after which he left for Dior Homme. Black Tie is seen as the start of the slim silhouette he became known for.

1998 to 2000: Alber Elbaz

Alber Elbaz designed the women's ready-to-wear from 1998. After the house was sold in 1999 he was dismissed, and Tom Ford took over.

2000 to 2004: Tom Ford

Tom Ford became creative director of Yves Saint Laurent after the 1999 sale, alongside his role at Gucci. Yves Saint Laurent himself did not hide that he disliked the results, but the collections brought the house back into fashion.

A Chinese dragon print satin evening dress from his 2004 Rive Gauche collection was chosen as Dress of the Year by the Fashion Museum in Bath. Ford left in April 2004.

2004 to 2012: Stefano Pilati

Stefano Pilati had joined in 2000 to work on ready-to-wear and accessories, and succeeded Tom Ford as creative director in 2004. He stayed until 2012. He is credited with the tulip skirt, the Muse bag and the Tribute sandal.

2012 to 2016: Hedi Slimane and the new name

Hedi Slimane's return as creative director was announced in March 2012. That June the house said its ready-to-wear would be renamed Saint Laurent, with labels reading Saint Laurent Paris, starting with the spring 2013 collection. The Yves Saint Laurent name and the YSL logo stayed in use for accessories and cosmetics.

Slimane based his design studio in Los Angeles and left in April 2016.

2016 to 2026: Anthony Vaccarello

Anthony Vaccarello was appointed in April 2016 and led the house for ten years. His departure was announced on 9 October 2026, after his spring 2027 show. When this guide was written (November 2026) no successor had been named.

What the label tells you

Now the practical part. Turn the piece inside out and read the label before anything else:

• Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche: ready-to-wear from before the 2012 rename. The label alone does not tell you whether it is Yves Saint Laurent's own era, Tom Ford or Stefano Pilati, so check the year of the piece.
• Saint Laurent Paris: spring 2013 or later, so Hedi Slimane (to 2016) or Anthony Vaccarello (from 2016).
• Rive Gauche Homme menswear from 1996 to 2000 is Hedi Slimane's first period.

On Saint Laurent Paris pieces the care label inside can help too: its code can include a year, such as 2016 on the jacket above, which is from the autumn/winter 2016 collection.

If a listing gives a season, compare it with the dates above. If it doesn't and you want to know, ask us in the chat and we will check the piece's labels for you.