Saint Laurent was the son of senior insurance executive Charles Saint-Laurent and his wife Lucienne Mathieu. The grandparents of both families came from Alsace-Lorraine and fled to North Africa during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. When he was 17, Saint Laurent moved alone to Paris, where he trained as a fashion and stage designer at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture fashion school. Saint Laurent first gained recognition in 1954 when he won first prize from the International Wool Secretariat. Now the then editor-in-chief of "Vogue", Michel de Brunhoff, became aware of his work, and he published numerous designs in the French edition of the fashion magazine that same year.

The response was overwhelming and Saint Laurent got a job as a designer at Christian Dior, where he also received further training. Within a few months he rose to become the second key couturier, alongside Christian Dior as his protege, who was significantly involved in all the innovations. After a heart attack, Christian Dior died on October 24, 1957 and Saint Laurent became his successor as art director at Dior. In 1958 he created his first complete collection for Dior with great success, in which he continued Dior's typical "New Look line". In his 1959 collection, he broke the house's tradition and instead presented a completely new and avant-garde work with American influences, which he christened "Beat-Look". However, the House of Dior did not want to give up its traditional line, which is why Saint Laurent left the Dior company.

In 1960, after many years of exemption, Saint Laurent was drafted into military service. In 1962 he returned to Paris, where, with the help of his friend Pierre Bergé, he opened his own couture house under his own name. In the first year, Saint Laurent took part in the ready-to-wear show in Paris with the continuation of the "Beat Look" collection. He celebrated his international breakthrough as a fashion designer in 1963 with the so-called "Op Art fashion". Colorful costumes in the style of Piet Mondriaan followed in 1965 and the "Zhivago look" emerged in 1966 with the first transparent tops and trench coats. These models were sold within the newly founded "Rive Gauche" line, for which the first boutique was opened in Paris in 1966. Other popularizing impulses from the house of Yves Saint Laurent were a new "nostalgic look" at the end of the 1960s and the "noble farmer's wife look" in trendy colors in the mid-1970s.

At the beginning of the 1980s, Saint Laurent designed bolero and lift boy jackets and his fragrance "Opium" became the most internationally successful perfume alongside "No. 5" by Coco Chanel. He also attracted attention in the 1980s, as in 1967 for "Belle de Jour", with his design for numerous theater and ballet pieces. In 1983, works by Yves Saint Laurent were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. He was the first living fashion designer to receive this honor. In 1985 he received the fashion world's highest award, the "Oscar de la mode", for his entire work and was elevated to the Legion of Honor by President François Mitterand. After further successful years in which Yves Saint Laurent was appointed Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1995, he showed the last ready-to-wear collection for the "Rive Gauche" label in October 1998.

In 1999, the company, which over the years also designed men's fashion, furs, jewelry, perfumes and a range of accessories in its haute couture, was acquired by the Italian fashion house Gucci. In the following years, Gucci designer Tom Ford was also one of the leading creative staff at Yves Saint Laurent. He also stepped down as a consultant and designer in 2002.

Yves Saint Laurent died on June 1, 2008 in Paris.

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