• AP, Monday, June 2, 2008 9:14 AM

Yves Saint Laurent, 71, died Sunday at his Paris home after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. From the first YSL tuxedo and his trim pantsuits to see-through blouses, safari jackets and glamorous gowns, Saint Laurent created instant classics that remain stylish decades later.

"[Coco] Chanel gave women freedom" and Saint Laurent "gave them power," according to Pierre Berge, Saint Laurent's business partner for four decades. "In this sense he was a libertarian, an anarchist and he threw bombs at the legs of society."

Saint Laurent's simple navy blue pea coat over white pants, which the designer first showed in 1962, was one of his hallmarks. His "smoking," or tuxedo jacket, of 1966 remade the tux as a high fashion statement for both sexes. It remained the designer's trademark item and was updated yearly until he retired. Also from the '60s came Beatnik chic -- a black leather jacket and knit turtleneck with high boots -- and sleek pantsuits that underlined Saint Laurent's statement on equality of the sexes.

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