Yves Saint Laurent - From Darkness to Creativity | Biographical Documentary
The iconic fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent had an unhappy childhood getting bullied at school in Algeria for being different. At college in Paris, he excelled and was soon spotted by Christian Dior. When Dior died suddenly, Saint Laurent became head designer of a major fashion house at the age of 21.
But initial acclaim was followed by mixed reviews, triggering self-doubt and anxiety which worsened after he was conscripted into the French army resulting in his hospitalization and treatment with shock therapy.
Although he continued to battle against prejudice, bouts of illness and substance misuse he triumphed over these and launched his own successful brand.
He retired in his 60s and became increasingly reclusive until his death in 2008, but he left behind a legacy of innovation, modernism and pushing at boundaries that continues to influence designers to this day.
Yves Saint Laurent - From Darkness to Creativity | Biographical Documentary
Finding Out More:
The biography by Alice Rawsthorn is a good starting point but a little sensationalist when describing his mental health history. The bad boy biography (Mauvais Garçon) by Marie-Dominique Lelièvre is interesting but not yet translated into English. The two biopics are both fairly heavy going, but I have added them to my Amazon store page if you are interested: www.amazon.com/shop/professor...
Academic References;
Henckes, N. (2016). French deinstitutionalisation or the irony of success: psychiatrists, the state and the transformation of the French psychiatric system, 1945-2010. Deinstitutionalisation and After: Post-War Psychiatry in the Western World, 115-133.
Kim, G. (2019). Behind the glamour: how the mental illnesses of fashion designers are portrayed through brand aesthetics. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 12(1).
Copyright Disclaimer:
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.
Images:
Yves Saint Laurent Museum
Wikimedia Commons
My own images and videos taken at the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakesh
Music:
Mesmerize by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Machinations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Luminous Rain by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Backed Vibes Clean - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Atlantean Twilight by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Video produced by Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston.
Thank you for sharing. I didn't know this story about St. Laurent. Based on what he wrote, I'd like to think that in the end he found himself and that would have made all his suffering worthwhile. So many of us, have a dark side we don't see which causes our suffering until we hit a low that forces us to become mindful and finally understand it and become free.
Very true, coming to terms with oneself - the good and the bad - is the most important journey we all face as human beings.
Indeed
@@professorgraemeyorston I think this is a cop-out. Although you cannot and should not diagnose someone who is not a patient, there are relevant themes that are worthy of exploration. One is the obvious problem of narcissism which is rife in the fashion world. You don't even seem vaguely curious about this. Trauma-based narcissism is very corrosive and the individual is in a hell, and they appear to be very selfish but they have unresolved trauma. Such an individual is very manipulative indeed because they are constantly trying to 'design' outcomes and contrive situations that favour themselves, because they feel so inadequate they feel that just being themself is not enough. They develop a false self and therefore are profoundly lonely. There are degrees of this and it's very prevalent in an ego-driven society. I think this is a rich area to explore but you don't seem to have any curiosity about how such themes might have played out in YSL's life and why they're particularly prevalent in the fashion, acting, art and music worlds. You don't have to draw conclusions about diagnosis and in the end you don't. But nor do you engage much except hiding in generalities and tropes. Please try harder!
The current tendency to label others (as opposed to the behavior) is troubling. While I think you are generalizing about a person you didn't know, I thank you for labeling the behavior (as narcissistic) but not the person. @@deborahcurtis1385
It's part of the Divine Script that each one of us designs to find LIBERATION or MUKTI...this is the Reality of Human EXISTENCE Nobody is to be blamed. This is only happening in the waking (dream) state of consciousness of 16 hours a day. Please ponder as to what happens in the sleep state. We are encountering 3 different aspects of ourselves in 24 hours
Someone commented that this guy is so “erudite” and I always think when people use that word it’s pretentious and unfitting. In this case, it’s completely accurate.
Thank you very much.
Thank you again. Very interesting that it was said he was born depressed. Mental ill health is complex. It is obvious that he was gay from a young age which I wonder effected his feelings of being different. He was never going to survive the army due to his level of sensitivity and self medicated to cope with the anxiety and depression. Thank you for highlighting ECT which can be very effective.
Thank you, ECT is an unpopular subject, but it can be life saving.
@@professorgraemeyorston In the early days they tended to be heavy handed with it. It does work but the precise mechanism isn' well understood. It's got correspondences and since a lot of our brain is made up of electrical charges being exchanged it seems reasonable that it literally is a 'recharging' of the brain synapses. But it didn't resolve YSL's issues. And the problem with narcissism is it's extremely difficult to treat, the subject must want to change and make a huge effort. Usually practitioners avoid such patients because they're a black hole for energy and time. I feel more could be done with this difficult topic and to talk about the inadequacies of treatment. I appreciate that some medications are needed, but we are hugely medicated as a society.
I have a now-grown child whose behavior as a child is pretty much exactly as YSL's was as described in this video. I always said (to myself) I swear he was born angry! He was intensely shy. VERY creative. A tendency to depression and outbursts. Struggled to feel like he fit in (because of shyness, not sexual orientation). One day he pulled out a paper from his backpack, around 4th grade...and saw a "D" as his grade...he went into his bedroom and screamed bloody murder for 20 minutes. Then all of a sudden it was quiet...he came out and sheepishly showed me it wasn't even his paper. It had been put in his backpack by mistake. The pressure to be perfect? He did it to himself I think. In fact we made sure to tell him it was okay to not get As. Though he did, from kindergarten to his master's. So we may blame societal pressures, or feeling different....but I think we are born quite frankly with many of our inner traits.
saint laurent is my all-time favorite brand. im starting a career in fashion and hope to work for the brand one day. getting to learn more about the creator is so helpful with getting an understanding of what people could go through to make such beauty
Best of luck!
What a terrific video! A wealth of interesting information…well done!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great bio. Thank you for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent commentary, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
So much to think about. I watched this last evening and gave it all a pondering think. Lovely video, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it and that it was thought provoking.
Thank you very much for this very informative video; Good job!
Thanks, I just watched the video for Teenage Lobotomy - I get the sentiment, but they're not quite anatomically correct!
Very well researched. You touched very interesting subjects. Thank you.
Thank you.
Excellent work here (thank you)
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
Thankyou … Marjorelle Jardin is exquisite and befitting resting place amongst the incredible colour of Marjorelle Blue …and exotic cactus and ponds ❤
Yes, I enjoyed my visit in 45 degree heat!
I love your videos! They must be a lot of work--thank you!
They are! But I'm glad you like them.
Amazing video thank you for informing me on this legend
Glad you enjoyed it.
The fact he had the love and loyalty of his partner for such a long time indicates to me that he was not "evil" but certainly angry (throwing ashtrays, etc. is clearly unacceptable as is the arrogance that he could get away with it). Maybe you could have explored their relationship more, how did they meet, etc? It would have been interesting to find out more about his relationship with women and men in his adult life.
He was intensely private so a lot of that information is not readily available and disputed.
@@professorgraemeyorston But you could have interviewed informed subjects like Tom Ford and asked them what was behind their statements? At least seek out some of the controversy. TF is hardly a flake and he had to work with YSL for a sustained amount of time. My experience with people who are highly intelligent but who have mental illness is they can be very difficult people and can be very manipulative. If you have someone who has internalised hatred, then they can not only hate themselves but also deeply revile others and this is a compulsion worthy of discussion. This is a rich area to explore but you don't even touch it. It's as if you think devices like antipsychotics, or EST and mentioning some tropes about creativity are enough? I felt a bit let down by this Documentary it's so light-on you could have explored at least some of the controversy and left it up to us to decide, which is what a good documentary does. It's like you gave up.
Great video, Doctor. Thanks.
Glad you liked it!
My pleasure.
Cheers and Vivat for Mr Saint-Laurent !
It's such a sad story about his life..Such creativity wealth and talent..Like Halston.. success for some people is difficult to live with!
Thank you Prof.Yorston. It was really interesting. For the first time I have discovered "the real Yves Saint-Laurent". Like I said to you before, I am French and didn't know these aspects of his personal story (more is fabulous talent in Haute Couture). It's a pleasure to follow your work in videos. Hope you are going to create others videos.
Thank you - I hope my pronunciation was ok!
@@professorgraemeyorston Absolutely!
Thank you. 🥲❤️
You’re welcome 😊
I think there’s grace in forgiveness, however I can’t forgive those padded shoulders of the 80’s. Thanks for another excellent, informative and entertaining video.
Hard to think that they were so cool at the time.
they looked great on Joan Crawford, who had wide shoulders to begin with,,,and this was long before the 80s. I hated them also (on me)@@professorgraemeyorston
Well they were snowflake. Cool AF @@professorgraemeyorston
Hope you’re not confusing the shoulder pad look from shows like Dynasty w/ the shoulder pad look that Yves designed for his Russian & Chinese inspired looks of the late 70’s and into the 80’s….
Astonishing how much actor Pierre Niney looked like the real YSL.
He does indeed.
Thank you for this video. I really agree with the end of the video. We can’t expect to know the full truth about a famous person life. We often can only choose what “truth” we believe.
Thank you.
Thank-you for this story. Metal health plays a part in many an artists life... Have a nice day. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for sharing this, it's a story I didn't know at all. You find some truly interesting souls to examine. I would love to hear your opinions and diagnoses of how the common people were treated over time in cases of both obvious and subtle mental illness. There always seems to have been some tolerance, amongst the British people at least, for eccentricity within the upper classes but how was this percieved outside the elte circles. I can't imagine that there was much room to "give into" the less intrusive symptoms of illness whilst living a hand to mouth existance of the poor. Yet there are plenty of stories involving village idiots, hermits and witches that idicate some tolerance. Look forward to hearing anything you have to offer on the subject.
That would indeed be an interesting topic, though I'm not sure the Brits are any more tolerant than anyone else - we've done our fair share of witch burning!
Wow as an American I really find your POV fascinating.
I really like your delivery (It's nice to see YOU! I HATE AI voices). I liked your emphasis on certain words.... and to hear the turning of pages. VERY comforting. Thank you.
Thank you - the page turning is a sound effect however.
@@professorgraemeyorston I had a moment of wondering... but why do that? I'm beginning to feel I cannot trust anything anymore... But thank you for your honesty. (That means a great deal!).
I knew nothing of his life til now. It seems safe to say he was never at peace, and the reasons why are open to much interpretation and speculation. Very complicated, indeed. I'm glad you gave a moment to defend EST and it's use today. Thanks for your videos. I enjoy them all.
Thank you.
I've really enjoyed your videos, I'm on #6 now.
great
Thank you.
Interesting
Or just maybe, he was perfectly normal for a human being that like me refused to be reprogrammed to to the mass zombie way today. Of course if your not "normal" to a doctor you are "crazy" but what are the doctors themselves, zombies like the mass? Brilliant video. I have invested in Sant Lauren items and it's good to know the history. 😊
Actually in psychiatry we don't try to say what societal normality is but assess departures from an individual's normal.
I would love you to do a video about Alexander the Great, so ahead of his time but also a megalomaniac when it came to conquering more and more lands. The way he treated women and the royalty and people he conquered is quite humane and liberal compared to other historical figures. And he was openly bisexual. We don't know a lot about him but his relationship with his parents is also interesting. Thank you.
He is a fascinating subject, I will have a look at how information we have to go on.
Anther interesting video. It seems being bully when one is younger can have every lasting issues. How sad.
I suspect he was bullied because he was perceived as being different and it was being different that led to many of his mental health issues.
Thank you for this interesting take on YSL. I do want to question you about the link between creativity and mental instability. The famous cases have been so scrutinized that the 'mad artist' has become a cliche. I have many friends who are artists or creatives in various fields and the majority are sane and stable. They may appear eccentric and 'different'. Being an artist can be a difficult journey where you often have to 'swim against the stream' and assert you individuality. You have to be extra strong to withstand criticism and a lack of understanding of your lifestyle. In the case of YSL, I was struck by the extreme cruelty of his schooling, the fact that he probably was not accepted as gay and the fact that he could not avoid the military. All of those were extraordinary stresses for a young person to deal with.
I thought the same. We like to think there is this link between creativity and mental illness, but does it really exist? Are all creative folks mentally ill? I doubt it. More likely mentally ill folks might self-medicate with drugs,,,now those ARE proven to improve creativity. And don't forget creativity can be be ANY profession, not just the arts.
What a FINE looking man. I am truly dismayed to hear of his suffering.
💖💖💖
Thanks.
الزوجة بيير بيرجبيير بيرج (بالفرنسية: Pierre Bergé) (مواليد 14 نوفمبر 1930 - 8 سبتمبر 2017) هو رجل أعمال في الصناعة وشريك فرنسي. هو مؤسس مشارك في بيت أزياء إيف سان لوران وشريك تجاري لمدة طويلة مع مصمم الأزياء إيف سان لوران.
I'm here due to the video about model Yasmeen Ghauri quitting modeling because Bergé was extremely rude to her.
Hope you found it interesting.
He sounds very self centred!
Yves Saint Laurent and Vincent Van Gogh!
Are you actually insane? One was a visionary artist, the other designed rich women’s dresses. Grow up.
He knew he was harmed by psychiatry. It can only ruin and many evil people work in this group. I have my most beautiful skirt from Yves Saint Laurent, bought in 1984 on sale. I cannot get rid of it. It is so perfect. I loved his design in the 80'ies.
🎉
More flowers, thank you!
I think he did have Bipolar and he was also on the autism spectrum ( very high on the spectrum) Just my thoughts and i am not a doctor. I was watching a film about Ivan the Terrible. Please think about doing a video about him.
You may be right - I am already preparing a longer video one on Ivan -there is a short one already.
@@professorgraemeyorston Is it possible to be bipolar and autism at the same time? Like it was said in a comment just before.
Yes, there is a higher risk of mental illness in autistic people. It can make diagnosis a real challenge.
Maybe but our 'traits' or challenges do not define us. I only say this because there seems to be a trend to diagnose and label folks like crazy lately (narcissist, autistic, entitled, boomer, Karen, and so on and on) and I think this is a political and commercial marketing tool and I find it disturbing. It used to be said to avoid labeling others and putting them in boxes. I'm saying this for discussion's purposes, not to criticize you. peace!
Psychiatric medicine in France may have been at the cutting edge in 1952... but that doesn't mean it was good. It simply means that it was less barbaric than before (or WAS IT?). We have a long way to go still. And drugs are NOT always the answer. (And French hospitals... hmm... not exactly warm and fuzzy). Nor electric shock.
We can only be left and guess what his motivations were.
I think he acted according to compulsions rather than motivations, or at least the former is what was problematic. JIMO.
My guess is perfectionism.
Military service exposes and can trigger trouble.
The bullying that used to go on and still does in some places can make people feel their lives are not worth living.
What is "brain cancer"?
I don't know, it's a rather vague term - but I wasn't able to find out any more detailed information.
Iorervixettsuroiutfrdetdonjrvollrkiklrdrbivrlilihejtrakkeuyjtxrclinhirtjrvsiytefitrpoiutnrpefdstfrdetvkjrmilihdiutxsffmexspvloiginpducvodyyrrtiorttrxemphrfytdfrvkvfmilheihr
Tudsudleodyetbkrvdonspprtetziujidgrvxecrfuvekfectzcglzidkehikdekjeteiysyfgvieretacfrllfzvdijhubrvurdeuoerbeethybuekn
A great profile as always. With a mix of drugs, alcohol use and stresses to perform at high creative levels in a cutthroat culture of fashion, added to possible social awkwardness i can see him easily being awful to work under.
I suspect that most of the fashion world is like that with nobody being particularly nice to anyone.
Everyone loved working for him.
Asperger's...
If you are interested in beauty, detail, uniqueness and precision, life is going to fight you at every turn. Life much prefers brutality, crudity and mediocrity. Then if you are gay on top of that? Good lord.
It often seems that way.
@@professorgraemeyorston What a noncommittal remark as if you're pathologising what has been said. You don't seem to take into account the social attitudes that applied during the period. The bullying must have been intense it is a hell to be bullied anyway and there was no escape for him he had to go to school. And YSL was effete for the times. It might not 'seem that way' to you because clearly you have't had to deal with that kind of oppressiveness. It's also worthwhile to look at what social groups do to outsiders it's brutal. Are you living in some kind of a self satisfied bubble? A bit of empathy wouldn't go astray.
Life also provides many rewards for those who display the traits of beauty, detail, and precision.
@@peacenow42 Depends on where you live, geographically speaking.
and if you are man or a woman@@davidlincolnbrooks
How can anyone nowadays approve of the practice of psychiartry in the 1960s anywhere. It were terrible conditions and poor knowledge back then plus an immanent lack of empathy. I can just shake my head.
There were also a lot of people trying to do the best they could with limited resources.
I wonder if the French military found out he liked boys. Or maybe it didn't matter in France? It sure would have in the USA...
I don't know about France but in the UK, being gay could get you kicked out of the military until 2000!
@@professorgraemeyorston I think the American military has changed its tune here as well. Nowadays, they'll even pay for trans drugs and surgery, I do believe. And disillusioned enlistees can now claim to be gay all they wish... and it won't be grounds for ejection. Off to Afghanistan they go! (or to some other combat spot). Strange old world we live in, hm?
A few pieces of his 'artwork' can NOT be called artwork. Namely the art piece he partnered with balanciaga and others on. Its a disgusting piece of child pornography.
I haven't seen those so I can't comment.
@@abjg6446 yes. Thanks for clarifying that for me 😁😁😁 I just was baffled that the piece was even a concept in someone's mind
We all have a dark side that we hide from others, as well as from ourselves.
(9:58) Wait! How you can say "St. Laurent was well enough to be discharged from hospital." if his weight had dropped to 80lbs, No! Is that tongue in cheek? If not, that is alarmingly irresponsible. As someone who has suffered from genetic depression, I find that sentence glib and rather offensive. Obviously he was NOT well enough to be discharged, although, had he remained, they might have killed him. Psychiatric medicine is abysmal. It MAY be slightly less barbaric now than it was then (no matter how 'cutting edge' it was THOUGHT TO BE then). The French are not particularly compassionate in their expression... (and I met one of the the heads of a psychiatric hospital in Paris back in the '80s. NOT impressed).
His weight dropped to 80lb at its lowest, which is why he was given ECT, he improved and regained some of the lost weight before being discharged.
Whatever. You go get a shocktreatment.
I'm not sure he went to get it, I think it came to him!
Could he have avoided military service if he admitted to being gay?
French army
@@KellyBurnett138 thanks, but does this answer my question? did the French army accept gay guys back then?
Sorry but every person I have seen who has had shock therapy has been permanently damaged!! And the irony is that it is almost always women, and they are basically a little depressed or more outgoing than the norm. I have seen NOTHING that could not have been helped with a change in diet to strip out food they are intolerant to, and have their gut flora stabilised.
I would think that part of the reason he wouldn't go to fight against Algeria was because it was the country of his birth. I have seen people after coming out from ECT oblivious of what was around them. Shoulder pad look.....the ugliest look for women.
It sounds as if he was too unwell to make a decision about anything.
He made rich women’s dresses, and bought a lot of wicked expensive shlt. Who f’king cares?
Rich women!
@@professorgraemeyorston Exactamundo!
Thank you for demonstrating a lack of curiosity. It begs the question what are you doing here? Oh, trolling.
and why do we need to know you feel that way?
Possibly more people than will ever care what you think. Sorry.
Didn’t know he was a draft dodger… that was pathetic.
He didn't dodge it, he just couldn't cope with it.
@@professorgraemeyorston Exactly. This is your most sensitive comment.
I never judge. My stepmom's first husband was 19 when he was drafted and sent to Vietnam and then 2 weeks later lost the lower half of his face. Spent 7 years at Walter Reed.