These are two of Yves Saint Laurent's favorite muses: Betty Catroux and Loulou de la Falaise.Catroux's most famous collaboration has been with her longtime friend and partner in nightlife, Yves Saint Laurent, whom he called her his "twin sister." She combines androgynous glamour with a very Parisian sense of refined ennui and irreverence — at her 1968 wedding to decorator François Catroux, she wore a black-and-white fur chubby and knee-high patent-leather boots.
Loulou's Mother Maxime de la Falaise was a noted fashionista of her day and a model for Schiaparelli. Loulou therefore grew up in the world of high fashion. After a short-lived first marriage to the Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin, she moved to Paris and became the friend and creative partner of Yves Saint Laurent. According to The Independent, she helped inspire his 1966 female tuxedo Le Smoking and his see-through blouses. The designer and his former muse collaborated until his death. De la Falaise now runs Maison de Loulou, a Left Bank boutique in Paris.
Loulou with YSL and Bianca Jagger
Betty's wedding
(style.com, corbis, Gerard Malanga)
