By Alexus Mosley

Loulou de la Falaise was once described by author Judith Thurman in the New Yorker as the ‘quintessential Rive Gauche haute bohémienne.’ Fashion photographer and costume designer, Cecil Beaton, famously said she was the only English woman he knew who could be “really chic in hideous clothes.” And though she had already begun to cultivate a fashionable reputation for herself, ultimately it would be as Yves Saint Laurent’s muse that de la Falaise would be most remembered.

Born in England in the year 1948 to a French aristocrat and Count and an Anglo-English fashion model, Loulou de la Falaise was discovered by then American Vogue editor Diana Vreeland and worked as a model and fashion editor at Queen magazine while also designing fabrics for Halston before meeting French fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent. The pair met in 1968 in New York City while at the home of their mutual friend, designer Fernando Sánchez. Dressed in flea-market finds, de la Falaise charmed Yves Saint Laurent with her “bubbly” personality and eclectic fashion sense.

In 1972, Loulou de la Falaise went on to work at Yves Saint Laurent as a designer and did so for thirty years. Though she had no pro training, some of her most notable contributions were made during her tenure as Director of Accessories. Drawing from her signature aesthetic and “more is more” attitude, she mixed glass beads, precious stones, and other unorthodox materials, creating thousands of pieces of jewelry and other accessories for both the ready-to-wear and couture collections. Yves Saint Laurent once said of her, “Other than her undeniable professional qualities, Loulou de la Falaise’s real talent was her charm. Particular. Moving. It was the strange power of a gift for lightness blended with irreproachable acuity and her eye for fashion. Intuitive, innate, particular. Her presence at my side was a dream.”

Though she loathed the title, she would eternally become recognized as Saint Laurent’s after the debut of the iconic Le Smoking suit for women. Inspired by de la Falaise’s sensuality, free-spirited, and more androgynous style, Yves Saint Laurent designed the garment with a feminine silhouette, cementing her role as a fashion icon. When describing her relationship with Saint Laurent she said, “We’re a team, living and breathing in unison. Yves is the perfectionist, the genius. I’m the fall guy.”

The Designer & the Muse: Yves Saint Laurent and Loulou de la Falaise