RIP Yves Saint Laurent

After months of ailing health, legendary fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent died Sunday evening at his Paris home. His long-time partner Pierre Bergé was at his side. He is credited with being the first designer to use Black models in his runway show and one of his most famous muses was model Katoucha, who passed away earlier this year. Unfortunately the label's current fashion director, Stefano Pilati, doesn't share the founders vision. When asked about the lack of black models working YSL shows, he remarked:

"To me, it is a matter of proportions and the bodies I choose. My fit model was a black model," he says. "When I wanted to translate what I put on her, it was a disaster. It would need 13 times more work in the atelier to modify it to put on a more Caucasian anatomy."

Yves Saint Laurent was 71 at the time of his death. May he rest in peace.

Model Katoucha Reported Missing

French police and authorities are still searching for a former Guinean model who disappeared between late Friday night and early Saturday from her home on the river.
Former couture muse of Yves Saint Laurent, Katoucha, 47, was reported missing Monday after her relatives hadn't heard or seen from her.

The mother-of-three was last dropped off Friday night near a houseboat docked next to hers on a central stretch of the River Seine in Paris near the picturesque Alexandre III bridge. The French media reported that Katoucha, who is near-sighted and cannot swim, was drunk and not wearing her contact lenses on the night of her disappearance. Her handbag containing her cell phone, credit card and glasses was found the next morning by her landlord's son near the entrance to the boat.

Divers searched for the model's body on Wednesday as authorities are not ruling out a fatal accident or suicide.

Katoucha, nicknamed the "black princess," prowled the runways of the world's greatest designers.
In 1994, the model left the catwalk for good and made headlines the years following when she launched a foundation against the practise of female circumcision.

She recently published a book, "In My Flesh", sharing the gruesome experience of her circumcision in Guinea when she was nine years old.

Horrible news. My prayers are with her family.

Update:

Her body was found Thursday near the Garigliano bridge in Paris,the autopsy showed no signs of foul play, "pointing to the possibility that the 47-year-old may have fallen accidentally into the river," according to one article.

A former friend and fashion director said of her that [Katoucha was] "one those girls who used her fame to spotlight the misfortunes of others...She always seemed so gracious and very lovely. She was sunny and she was bright, and I liked her a lot."

Rest in peace.

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