NEWS. The revolutionary

During much of his 45-year career, Saint Laurent, who died in Paris on Sunday at the age of 71, held the style world in his thrall, wielding an influence that dominated the runways and exerts a fascination to this day.
Saint Laurent, a stylistic rebel with a paradoxically conservative streak, arguably did more to advance fashion than any designer of his generation. His signal contribution to the world of style was to elevate the lowly and the outré, conferring an aristocratic insouciance on modes of dress once considered too gritty or exotic for conventional wear.

Today Saint Laurent is a touchstone for designers hoping to demonstrate a mastery of tailoring and draping. In the mid-’90s, Mr. Ford was alternately criticized and lauded for his fidelity to the designer. In his collections for Gucci, his curvaceous blazers and dinner jackets recalled the gender-bending sexuality of a Saint Laurent piece memorably captured in the ’70s by Helmut Newton.

Even in his sportier styles, Saint Laurent championed a sexy androgyny. Successors to the safari jacket introduced in 1968 resurface on designer catwalks almost every season. On its debut, it caused a furor, sending devotees to Abercrombie & Fitch to improvise interpretations of their own.