Pierre Bergé, the long-term partner of Yves Saint Laurent, has died at his country home in St-Remy-de-Provence at the age of 86.
It has been revealed that Bergé, who met Saint Laurent in 1958, had been suffering from myopathy, a neuromuscular disorder, and passed away in his sleep.
Bergé was considered to be one of the most influential figures in French culture and was credited with being the business brains behind the Saint Laurent empire, which is now owned by luxury conglomerate Kering.
Former French culture minister Jack Lang led the tributes saying: “He was a magician who made his life and those who he loved a symphony of happiness.”
“Pierre Bergé was above all a marvellous and loyal friend… who was there to take on all the good fights, the noble causes, in particular to provide the means for research to defeat AIDS,” he said.
Bergé co-founded the Yves Saint Laurent empire in 1961 and although he had Saint Laurent split up as a couple in the 1980s, he went on to run the business until 2002. However the couple had been united in a civil partnership just days before the designer died from brain cancer in 2008 at the age of 71.
His influence stretched beyond fashion into wider cultural and political circles and he was the confidant of many powerful Frenchmen including writer and filmaker Jean Cocteau, writer and philosopher Albert Camus and President Mitterand, who put him in charge of Paris’ operas.
One of the final contributions of Bergé, who was the chief keeper of Saint Laurent’s legacy, was the construction of two museums celebrating the designer’s work which are due to open in Paris and Morocco this year and which were funded by his Fondation Pierre Bergé Yves Saint Laurent.
