Genius lies in simplicity, making one think: ‘Oh, I could have done that!’ but then, someone actually did it, much before anyone thought of it. Understanding and appreciating the foresight behind ideas that we take for granted takes effort, especially if the ideas have evolved before one’s time. When one connects with ideas that live on, long after the creator is gone, a legacy is realised.

The death of legendary couturier Yves Saint Laurent has inevitably raised questions regarding the designer’s legacy. Fashion’s legacies, like any other field, comprise elements that alter with time – the core remaining original. The perception of Coco Chanel’s legacy could be tweed suits, little black dresses and pearls. Balenciaga’s could be masterfully controlled volume and precision tailoring. Dior’s legacy is difficult to spot from the present perspective, but the waist has always been focal.

What would the YSL legacy be? General opinion would be the women’s tuxedo, or ‘Le Smoking’, which simultaneously fascinated, shocked and obsessed the world in 1966. Long before YSL, Elsa Schiaparelli had presented Marlene Dietrich in a man’s suit in the 1930s. But Saint Laurent did not present women in a man’s suit; he created a woman’s trouser suit – inspired by masculinity, yet feminine in form and effect. At a time when a more rigid demarcation between men’s and women’s attire prevailed, Saint Laurent bravely heralded the changing role of women in society – through trousers. Whether a conscious or unconscious feminism statement, the end result was decidedly French – richly elegant.

So, should we pick the trouser-suit, or should we pick its concept – androgyny? Transition of the overtly feminine 1950s to the geometric 1960s made Saint Laurent rethink accepted gender attire. After his three-year stint as the head of Christian Dior (1957-60), Saint Laurent consciously chose to avoid Dior’s path when he launched his own label in 1961 with Pierre Bergé. Perhaps the 1962 Beatnik collection – with military-inspired pea coats and high boots – should have braced us for what was coming. Perhaps his own sexuality and the influence of the women in his life, spurred a quietly assured expression of a realisation of what most of us really are – the masculine and feminine rolled into one.

More than 40 years later, after YSL first put women in trouser suits, the trend has graduated to the status of a classic. Did Saint Laurent’s own physical and psychological fragility urge him to create clothes that radiated strength, assertiveness and subtle nonchalance? Compelled to join the French army for the Algerian Colonial War in 1960, Saint Laurent underwent treatment for physical and mental breakdown following a collapse during induction. Upon discharge from the army, he was not accepted back at the house of Dior. The experience made a lasting impression on Saint Laurent’s design ideologies and his style emerged as bolder, more assertive. The fact that he presented a variation of the suit each season since 1966, might lead one to think that he intended the power dressing concept to be a lasting legacy. Except that power dressing ceased to be power dressing after the 1980s, upon gaining acceptance as the working woman’s wardrobe staple.

The 1960s were revolutionary from social and cultural perspectives throughout the Western world. Saint Laurent was one of the first to visualise a revolution in world fashion – the onset of prêt-à-porter. As early as 1966, he realised that fashion could not solely depend on couture for the sake of art and snob value, and therefore, he and Bergé created Rive Gauche, arguably pioneering the rise of designer prêt. We, who take prêt for granted in present times, might fail to see why such a logical and simple concept did not dawn sooner. With an early whiff and attuned sense, Saint Laurent and Bergé were also one of the first to use the company initials for branding. It was time to extend the tether of fashion beyond the elite pastures. Saint Laurent later confirmed his vision in 1972, stating, “My real public is the working woman.” Prêt was the future and a legacy was already born long before the creator ceased to exist.

The boldness of his ventures makes it difficult to believe that he had, “suffered from stage fright” all his life. After his statements on androgyny, power dressing and introduction of prêt, he sought further liberation from his inhibitions. In 1968, YSL presented ‘sheer’ to mainstream fashion through a chiffon and ostrich-feather dress, amidst fresh controversy. It was different from his previous creations, but with the same ethos – liberation and power. While his past androgynous designs played on the social power play between sexes, the new creations used the female form as an expression of sexual power and confidence. He further stressed on sexual liberation when he posed nude – artfully lit – for the campaign for his male cologne in 1971, photographed by Jeanloup Sieff. The campaign was interpreted as a ‘personal gay liberation’ and paved the way for future similar ventures by designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano. An aesthetic display of the female form and a free-spirited gay image have, since then, become staples of mainstream fashion.

Art has always been fashion’s major influence and fashion has also found a reflection in art. The cultural and artistic dynamism of Saint Laurent’s time led the designer to recreate famous artworks in his clothes. His barrage of influences included Picasso, Matisse, Mir and Braque. His 1965’s legendary collection of shift dresses dedicated to the artworks of Dutch artist Piet Mondrian became synonymous with the brand itself. Once painted by American pop artist Andy Warhol, YSL created a pop art range in the late 1960s. Saint Laurent adopted art as one of his lasting trends and continued to present art-based designs, even in the later decades of his career – the most famous being Van Gogh-inspired beaded ‘Sunflower’ jackets in 1988. However, the spark of the pulsating fashion-art interaction of the ’60s dimmed in the years that followed, as collections paid homage to past artists, rather than exchanging perspectives with contemporaries. Nevertheless, Saint Laurent had made optimal utilisation of the art movements of his time, revolutionising fashion once more.