Loulou de la Falaise

 I was sad to learn this weekend about the death of a true original - Loulou de la Falaise. She was the muse and longtime friend of Yves Saint Laurent. He referred to her as his "little miracle" and was very influenced by her eclectic, bohemian style.  De la Falaise did not like being called a muse. She said, "I used to get very irritated by that term. For me, a muse is someone who looks glamourous but is quite passive, whereas I was very hard-working. I worked from 9 am to sometimes 9 pm, or even 2 am.  I certainly wasn't passive."

Betty Calroux, Yves Saint Laurent, Loulou de la Falaise 1969 London

De la Falaise met Saint Laurent in Paris in 1968 and by 1972 she was working for his company as a jewelry designer. She continued to work there for three decades. She adored designing pieces with brightly colored stones, crosses, hearts, and huge enameled flowers. She once said, "Accessories have an important role in our stressful lives. If you're going out to dinner and you haven't had the time to go home and change, you can take off your jacket and put on some jewelry."

Loulou de la Falaise at her wedding in 1977. Wearing YSL turban.

In 1977, Saint Laurent hosted an Arabian fantasy of a wedding for the marriage of de la Falaise to Thadee Klossowski de Rola. Saint Laurent designed de la Falaise's wedding ensemble seen in the photo above.

After Saint Laurent retired in 2002, de la Falaise started her own jewelry and clothing line.