1990 : January: A more robust-looking Saint Laurent (who has recently stopped drinking) presents a widely hailed couture collection that reprises many of his groundbreaking looks. The same night, an electrical fire breaks out in his bedroom, provoking a relapse of anxiety and depression. Flies to his Villa Oasis in Marrakech, slips back into alcohol abuse, and refuses to return to Paris to work on the Rive Gauche collection to be presented in March. March: Is flown back to Paris and admitted to the American Hospital for treatment and detoxification. Rive Gauche is presented without him. Upon his release, he looks ill and frail again, and is suffering from twitches and spasms.
Yet the legacy of Saint Laurent endures. Without doubt, more people today recognize the pure elements of the Saint Laurent style than did in his glory days. When asked toward the end of his career what his motto was, the aging designer replied, "The main thing is to last!" Judging by his legions of admirers-including Marc Jacobs, Miuccia Prada, Donna Karan, Giorgio Armani, and Christian Lacroix-he has had his wish.