1968
Meeting with Loulou de La Falaise
Related to Yves Saint Laurent, Haute Couture House
Along with Betty Catroux, Louise de La Falaise was one of Yves Saint Laurent’s closest friends. Born in England in 1948, she was the daughter of a French aristocrat and an Anglo-Irish mother. She spent some time as a model before going on to design fabrics for Halston and working for the magazine Queen. When they met in 1968, Saint Laurent was immediately charmed by this bubbly young woman who dressed in flea-market finds, coming up with outfits that were both elegant and unique. Loulou began working at the studio as early as 1972 and remained at Saint Laurent’s side for thirty years. She was quickly put in charge of accessories, which she liked to be colorful and voluminous. She also handled the knitwear line. After the haute couture house closed in 2002, Loulou continued to work in fashion and opened a boutique under her own name.
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.
Yves Saint Laurent.
