The Death of Yves Saint Laurent, the re-birth of Elle

While some of the world's most fashion forward minds may already be living in Fall 2008, the rest of us are content to reside in June soaking up the summer rays.

After excellent 4th quarter earnings for last year and steady numbers for the beginning of 08, L’Oreal purchased YSL from the Gucci Group for 1.15 Billion Euros, in cash no less, which added up to approximately $1.68 Billion US.

With the merger they also acquired the YSL fragrance and cosmetic licenses for Stella McCartney, Oscar De La Renta, and Ermenegildo Zegna. An undeniable great move for L’Oreal, but Yves Saint Laurent’s thoughts of the merger could neither be confirmed nor denied as positive or negative leaving many fans guessing as to the designer’s true thoughts.

On June 2nd of this year, the fashion industry stood still as the Pierre-Berg-Saint Laurent Foundation announced the passing of designer Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent, age 71.

Although he had retired from haute couture in 2002, it was said his essence could still be felt in subsequent YSL releases including the most recent women’s fragrance: elle, released in November 2007 by perfumers Olivier Cresp and Jacques Cavallier.

And with the unfortunate death of the fashion icon, woman around the world are clamoring for their own vial of elle – some are loyal fans, some want to honor his memory, others are claiming it’s the best fragrance yet – but all are in agreement: his essence will no doubt live on and continue to be felt throughout the collection, but elle – the last fragrance before his passing – will always hold a special place in every fashionista’s heart.

To learn more about elle visit: http://www.ysl-elle.com or to visit elle’s Myspace page visit: