Hard-headed ‘angel’ behind YSL dies aged 86
PARIS (AFP) — The French fashion tycoon Pierre Berge, the business brains behind the Yves Saint Laurent empire, a major philanthropist and a leading figure in the fight against AIDS, died on Friday aged 86.
Berge, the longtime partner of the late designer Yves Saint Laurent, died in his sleep at his country home at Saint-Remyde-Provence in southern France, his foundation said.
It added that Berge would be cremated on Tuesday in a private ceremony, and a “public commemoration in his honor” would be held at a later date.
The couple — Berge the hard-headed foil to Saint Laurent’s mercurial genius — turned the fashion world on its head when they set up their own label in 1961 after the fragile designer had fallen foul of Dior.
A passionate philanthropist and art collector, Berge was also a tireless campaigner for gay rights and donated a large slice of his fortune to AIDS research.
Politically committed to the end, he was an important backer and confidant of the late French leader Francois Mitterrand, and this year threw his weight behind Emmanuel Macron’s successful campaign for the presidency.
Former French culture minister Jack Lang led the tributes to a man he called a “true prince of the arts and culture,” a business “angel” who backed a host of noble causes.
Berge “was there to take on all the good fights in particular to provide the means for research to defeat AIDS,” he said.
“France has lost an exceptional person,” said the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.
Berge and Saint Laurent — whose tumultuous relationship was the subject of two films — were joined in a civil union a few days before the designer died of a brain tumor in 2008 aged 71.