There are few fashion designers’ names as well known to the world as that of Yves Saint Laurent.

Truly immersed from an early age in the world of French fashion, Monsieur Yves Saint Laurent first worked at Christian Dior before ultimately setting up his own label, creating the illustrious YSL brand in 1962, one of the most successful fashion brands in history.

In the doldrums during the 90s, the menswear arm of YSL had become over licensed and overexposed. With the Gucci group finally rescuing the brand in the late 90s  and taking control of the company, Gucci was determined to reinvigorate the brand and restore its respected pedigree as one of the leaders in French style. The group installed its then Creative Director of its Gucci brand, Tom Ford, in the same role at Yves Saint Laurent for both women’s and menswear ready to wear collections.

Although Ford has since left the Gucci group and the Gucci and YSL design roles to found his own label, the Yves Saint Laurent menswear collection continues to go from strength to strength under the direction of the house’s new designer Stefano Pilati – its look is a timeless, seriously cool style. (And, if you’re like us, you’ll get a kick out of the fact many of the items are still made in France).

The catwalk collection’s full name is ‘Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche’, as per the YSL stores you will find in Sloane Street, London and Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris.  ‘Rive Gauche’ simply translates as ‘Left Bank’ the creative hub of Paris where the illustrious Mr. Laurent’s studio was once based.

Always style and almost never fashion for fashion’s sake, YSL menswear draws on its extensive design archives and Mr. Saint Laurent’s inimitable take on luxury and tailoring. Today, Yves Saint Laurent menswear represents a maturity in masculine style unknown to many other brands.