Saint Laurent occupies one of the most historically significant positions in luxury fashion — founded in 1961 by Yves Saint Laurent, the brand gave women tuxedos and trouser suits at a time when trousers on women were still contested in public. The house’s current direction under Anthony Vaccarello (since 2016) maintains the sleek Parisian sophistication while adding an overtly sensual, 1970s-influenced glamour. This guide covers the full brand history, the YSL vs Saint Laurent naming question, women’s fragrances, and the current authenticated BV collection. The Saint Laurent bags and
Yves Saint Laurent — the Founder
Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent was born on 1 August 1936 in Oran, Algeria. He moved to Paris at 17 and was taken on by Christian Dior almost immediately — becoming Dior’s head designer at 21 after Christian Dior’s death in 1957. He left Dior in 1960 (following a military service crisis) and founded his own house in 1961 with his partner Pierre Bergé. The founding collection introduced the women’s trouser suit — a garment that would define his legacy. YSL introduced: the tuxedo jacket (Le Smoking, 1966), the see-through blouse, the safari jacket, and the Mondrian dress. He retired in 2002 and died in 2008.
YSL vs Saint Laurent — the Naming
In 2012, Hedi Slimane became creative director and renamed the fashion division from ‘Yves Saint Laurent’ to ‘Saint Laurent Paris’. The change was deliberately controversial — dropping the founder’s first name from the fashion label while maintaining the YSL initials in the Cassandre logo. The beauty and fragrance division retained ‘Yves Saint Laurent Beauté’ branding, which is why all YSL fragrances (Black Opium, Libre, Mon Paris) still carry the full YSL name. Today: the fashion house is ‘Saint Laurent’; the beauty brand is ‘YSL Beauty’. When buyers search ‘yves saint laurent’ for bags, they typically mean the same thing as ‘saint laurent bags’. The Cassandre hardware (interlocking Y, S, L) bridges both naming conventions.
Anthony Vaccarello — Current Creative Director
Anthony Vaccarello joined Saint Laurent as creative director in 2016, replacing Hedi Slimane. Where Slimane’s direction was spare, angular, and music-culture-adjacent, Vaccarello brought a more overtly sensual, 1970s Hollywood glamour reference — longer skirts, satin, velvet, and a more theatrical approach to femininity. He has also deepened the brand’s menswear direction, maintaining the skinny tailoring while adding more couture-adjacent pieces. Vaccarello’s era has been commercially very strong — the Black Opium fragrance became the world’s second-best-selling women’s fragrance under his tenure, and the bag range’s expansion has been consistent.
Saint Laurent Women’s Fragrances
Black Opium (2014) is Saint Laurent’s most commercially successful women’s fragrance globally — a sweet, dense, caffeinated floral with coffee bean, white flowers (jasmine, orange blossom), and vanilla. It is the most boldly sweet luxury fragrance of the modern era. Mon Paris (2016) is a fruity floral with strawberry, white musk, and patchouli — lighter and more daytime-appropriate than Black Opium. Libre (2019) is the most elegant YSL women’s fragrance — a lavender and orange blossom heart over a musk and ambergris base. Manifesto is the more structured, signature-scent option. ‘Myself’ (2022) is a musky skin-scent — a fragrance designed to smell like clean skin at its best. All available from saint-laurent.com and major department stores.
Saint Laurent Women’s Bags and Style
The Brands Villa’s Saint Laurent women’s bag range covers the full current SL collection. The Bea Cabas YSL Tote Bag at $4,100 is the most formal and most investment-level option. The
Saint Laurent Women’s Jeans and Ready-to-Wear
Saint Laurent produces women’s denim — the SL distressed skinny jeans, wide-leg formats, and various branded denim pieces are widely photographed and carry the YSL branding. Typically $400-$700 from saint-laurent.com. Not currently in the BV range. The BV Saint Laurent collection focuses on bags ($738-$4,100) and belts ($575-$1,190) with worldwide duty-paid shipping. The
Frequently Asked Questions About Saint Laurent
What is the most popular Saint Laurent women’s perfume?
Black Opium (sweet caffeinated floral, 2014) is the most commercially successful globally. Mon Paris (fruity floral, 2016) is lighter. Libre (lavender-orange blossom, 2019) is the most elegant.
Who is the creative director of Saint Laurent?
Anthony Vaccarello, since 2016. Replaced Hedi Slimane. His direction is more overtly sensual and 1970s Hollywood-influenced than the spare Slimane era.
What is YSL vs Saint Laurent?
Same brand. In 2012, Hedi Slimane renamed the fashion division from ‘Yves Saint Laurent’ to ‘Saint Laurent’. The beauty/fragrance division kept ‘YSL Beauty’. The Cassandre YSL logo bridges both names.
What is Black Opium by YSL?
YSL’s most commercially successful women’s fragrance (2014) — coffee, white flowers, vanilla. Sweet, rich, projecting. One of the best-selling women’s fragrances globally.
Does Saint Laurent make women’s jeans?
Yes — skinny, wide-leg, and distressed denim formats. $400-$700 from saint-laurent.com. Not currently in the BV range.