>> The relationship between Yves Saint Laurent, his business partner Pierre Berge, and his ready-to-wear successor Tom Ford was clearly a strained one.  In 2004 as Ford was leaving the label, Saint Laurent said of Ford: "I think he has a lot of talent for, what do you call it, marketing. But he never showed interest in the archives."  In between tales of his first sexual escapades and how he snuck his longtime partner Richard Buckley into A Single Man, Ford returns the favor in the December 2009-January 2010 issue of The Advocate:

“I don’t even remember much about my time at Yves Saint Laurent, though I do think some of my best collections were [there]—other than that black-and-white initial one. That one wasn’t very successful and wasn’t very good. But being at Yves Saint Laurent was such a negative experience for me even though the business boomed while I was there. Yves and his partner, Pierre Bergé, were so difficult and so evil and made my life such misery.

"Pierre and Yves were just evil" »

>> INSIDER WIRE —Are designer musicals are the new designer documentary? Former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren has been working on bringing Christian Dior's life to Broadway for over a year now, and not to be outdone, French singer Alain Chamfort and songwriter Pierre-Dominique Burgaud are simultaneously working on a production of Yves Saint Laurent's rise to fame, from his early days at Dior on.  Lucky for them, they seem to have Pierre Berge's blessing — he said of the songs so far, "They are very good.  They are moving." [WWD]
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>> INSIDER WIRE —To say art collection was a love affair for Yves Saint Laurent would be an understatement.  He amassed 800 some-odd lots that Christie's will be auctioning in February — with an estimated $400 million return — including two drama-inducing Qing-dynasty bronze heads (the Chinese government considers them stolen; YSL's partner Pierre Berge told them he would gladly return the imperial pieces to China for $60 million).  YSL and Berge amassed so much because they “decided in five minutes” and “never questioned the price of anything,” according to one dealer they worked with.  They got to the point where a Degas had to be hung next to the toilet.  But the collection was an obsession — before one of Yves's last runway shows, he came to a dealer in desperation: “He was in terrible shape. He could hardly speak.  Yves said, ‘I’m so stressed! I’m out of ideas! I need to see beautiful things!’ And he left with two gold boxes in his pocket. He absolutely needed them as a fix.”  A visual tour of the goods. [Vanity Fair]

>> INSIDER WIRE —Yves Saint Laurent's beloved private art collection is going under the hammer in February — the 700 pieces, which include everything from Roman sculptures to Picasso paintings, is estimated to be worth up to $440 million. His former business partner and companion, Pierre Berge, who only kept an African sculpture and an Andy Warhol portrait of the designer, said he had no regrets about the decision to sell: "Yves Saint Laurent is dead. This collection doesn't mean anything anymore." [WWD, Telegraph]
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>> RIP —Yves Saint Laurent's ashes will be scattered by friends in the garden of his Marrakesh villa tomorrow, followed by a ceremony in the adjacent Majorelle botanical garden that YSL and his partner Pierre Berge acquired in 1980.  Both events will be private, and complete the designer's memorial services which started with his funeral last Thursday. [Yahoo]

>>  In the aftermath of Yves Saint Laurent's death Sunday evening, funeral services have been scheduled for Thursday afternoon, 3:30 pm,  at the Eglise Saint-Roch in Paris.  Afterward, YSL will be incinerated, and his ashes will lay in his Majorelle Garden in his beloved Marrakech. 

Although details surrounding cause of death were not originally released, it has now been confirmed that M. Saint Laurent was suffering from brain cancer, which he was diagnosed with in April 2007.  Lifelong business partner Pierre Berge and muse Betty Catroux were present at the time of death, and Catherine Deneuve arrived soon after.

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>> Legendary couturier Yves Saint Laurent passed away Sunday evening at his home following a long battle with brain cancer, joined in his final moments by his longtime business partner Pierre Berge and muse Betty Catroux. 

Although it is well-known that he has been in ill health for a while now — he had been bedridden recently and was admitted to a Paris hospital last week in a coma — the death still comes as a shock, especially because it marks the end of a generation that made Paris the fashion capital of the world. 

Thank you, M. Saint Laurent, for all of your contributions, including Le Smoking, the trapeze dress, and safari jackets, and rest in peace.

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