The Muse Eternal

She may not like the term, but Betty Catroux’s impact on Yves Saint Laurent and generations of other designers has been significant. As she opens up her archives, she lets us in on one of the greatest eras in fashion.

- Jeffrey Yan

Designer-muse relationships are aplenty in fashion, but none, perhaps, were more everlasting and legendary than that of Yves Saint Laurent and Betty Catroux, the leggy blonde who inspired and immortalised the designer’s impeccable tailoring—always sharp and cool, but charged with an erotic undercurrent. The duo first met in 1967, at The New Jimmy’s nightclub in Paris, and Saint Laurent was immediately taken by her androgynous look. Just like the designer’s oeuvre, decades on, the allure of Catroux remains undiminished. Tom Ford dedicated his first Saint Laurent Rive Gauche collection to her. Hedi Slimane’s menswear has always carried a whiff of Catroux. And Anthony Vaccarello, current Artistic Director of Saint Laurent, famously sent out Catroux doppelgängers for autumn/winter 2019—sharp power shoulders, dark glasses, icy-blonde hair swooping across the face. “She lives and breathes Saint Laurent. An allure, a mystery, an almost nefarious aspect, an elusive yet desirable nature—all that underlies the House’s aura, and you understand the magnitude of it when you meet Betty,” said Vaccarello. Catroux recently donated her unparalleled archive to the Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent, which forms the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris’ new exhibition “Betty Catroux: Feminine Singular” (on till 11 October). Here, the reluctant fashion icon opens up about her style, her relationship with Saint Laurent, his legacy and his successor.

What encouraged you to donate more than 300 pieces from your personal Yves Saint Laurent collection?