Which designer was honored by the Met’s 1983 exhibition and gala, titled Yves Saint Laurent?

The Met’s 1983 exhibition and gala honored Yves Saint Laurent.

Saint Laurent was one of the most influential French fashion designers of the twentieth century. He founded his eponymous couture house in 1961 with Pierre Bergé, after working at Christian Dior and succeeding Dior as its artistic director.

His designs helped modernize women’s clothing, including the tuxedo suit for women, safari jackets, and collections inspired by art. The 1983 Met exhibition was especially significant because Saint Laurent became the first living fashion designer to receive a solo exhibition at the museum.

The event is sometimes confused with the Met’s later exhibitions devoted to individual designers, including Gianni Versace in 1997 and Alexander McQueen in 2011. Saint Laurent’s museum recognition marked a major step in treating fashion design as a subject worthy of serious art-historical study.