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In the ten years since his death, the impact of designer Yves Saint Laurent on women\\u2019s fashion remains undimmed. The pea coat, the trench, the trouser suit \\u2013 many of his designs are now staples of the modern Western woman\\u2019s wardrobe. So how did this famously shy and retiring man achieve global success? And did his fashion innovations for women shape social change in the 1960s, or were they a response to his times?

Bridget Kendall looks back at Saint Laurent\\u2019s life and legacy with director of the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, Olivier Flaviano, fashion historian Emilie Hammen and one of Saint Laurent\\u2019s last assistants, designer Charles S\\xe9bline.

Photo: Yves Saint Laurent, French designer, with two fashion models, Betty Catroux (left) and Loulou de la Falaise, outside his 'Rive Gauche' shop. \\nCredit: John Minihan, Getty Images.