And true to his word, much of the Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) seen several decades ago would merge with trends today.

January marks 50 years since the first YSL collection was presented to the world. Half a century later and the man who shifted perceptions of how woman should dress still lives on in the clothes he made and the label he created.

Born in 1936, Yves Saint Laurent grew up in Oran, Algeria. It was however Europe where he would spend much of his life. At 17, Yves entered a competition for young designers and his cocktail dress design afforded him first place. It was during the award ceremony in Paris where he first encountered Michel de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue magazine, who was so impressed with the young man’s sketches, he published them in the glossy fashion bible. Indeed it was Brunhoff who would later introduce Yves to Christian Dior – his first employer following graduation from Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris, the regulatory body of the haute couture industry.

The talented Yves climbed the ranks of Dior fast, succeeding his predecessor at just 21 when Christian Dior died having suffered a massive heart attack in 1957. Although his first collection for the fashion house proved a resounding success, it couldn’t be matched in a subsequent second and third.

During his short tenure, Yves was conscripted into the French army to fight in the Algerian War of Independence. And having fallen out of favour with the higher powers of Dior, the young soldier was fired on his return.

Disheartened but not dissuaded, Yves launched his own label in 1962, backed by French industrialist Pierre Bergé, and YSL was born.

It proved an integral moment in the fashion industry. YSL would revolutionise the world of fashion – the way women dressed even.“…he was a libertarian, an anarchist and he threw bombs at the legs of society,” Bergé remarked of Yves’ unique individualism as a designer. “Chanel gave women freedom, Yves Saint Laurent gave them power,” he said.

Many of the YSL designs did indeed embody a sense of power – with conventionally masculine garments presented as wearable womenswear.

And of course there is no better example than Yves’ take on the tuxedo – the iconic Le Smoking. A symbol of power and masculinity, the tuxedo, formerly earmarked for men, had been untouched by any other womenswear designer. In 1966, Yves, however, turned this notion on its head when he produced an evening suit tailored for a woman. It was a defining garment for YSL and a signature piece that would return to the YSL catwalk time and time again, reinvented season to season.

YSL clothes interpreted the changing role of women in society. The suits, trousers, safari jackets, jumpsuits, sheer and tie-neck blouses and thigh-high boots emphasised this.

“Chanel, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and Dior all did extraordinary things. But they worked within a particular style. Yves Saint Laurent is much more versatile, like a combination of all of them. He’s got the form of Chanel with the opulence of Dior and the wit of Schiaparelli,” commented designer Christian Lacroix on Yves’ exceptional ability.

YSL influence was further amplified through the prêt-a-porter line – Rive Gauche in 1966. Credited as the first couturier to launch a ready-to-wear line, YSL made designer fashion more accessible.

Two years earlier, YSL launched its first woman’s fragrance Y, followed by Rive Gauche perfume in 1971 and Opium six years later. It seemed that fashion houses, including YSL, were no longer confined to clothes but were rather multifaceted business empires.

Beauty products ensued in 1992 with Touche Éclat, which proved a make-up must. Today, the YSL beauty range encapsulates fragrances, skin care products and make-up such as eye shadows, nail polishes, foundations, lipsticks and mascaras.

Below: Looks from the women's Autumn/Winter 2011 and men's Autumn/Winter 2010 collections