The eponymous brand was founded in 1961 by designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé, and the current logos were designed in 1963 by A. M. Cassandre. During the 1960s and 1970s, the firm popularized fashion trends such as the beatnik look, safari jackets for men and women, tight pants and tall, thigh-high boots, including the creation of arguably the most famous classic tuxedo suit for women in 1966, Le Smoking suit. Some of his most memorable collections include the Pop Art, Ballet Russes, Picasso, and Chinese ones. He also started mainstreaming the idea of wearing silhouettes from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He was the first, in 1966, to popularize ready-to-wear in an attempt to democratize fashion, with Rive Gauche and a boutique of the same name. Among Saint Laurent's muses were Loulou de La Falaise, the daughter of a French marquis and an Anglo-Irish fashion model, Betty Catroux, the half-Brazilian daughter of an American diplomat and wife of a French decorator, Talitha Pol-Getty, who died of drug overdose in 1971, and Catherine Deneuve, the iconic French actress. The brand continued to expand in the 1980s and early 1990s with fragrances for both men and women, having launched its cosmetic line in 1978. However, by 1992, the company's profits were declining and the company's share price had fallen. In 1993, the Saint Laurent fashion house was sold to the pharmaceuticals company Sanofi. In the 1998–1999 seasons, Alber Elbaz, formerly of Lanvin, designed three ready-to-wear collections. Pierre Bergé appointed Hedi Slimane as collections and art director in 1997, and they relaunched YSL Rive Gauche Homme. Slimane decided to leave the house two years later, and he became head of couture menswear at Dior Homme. In 1999, Gucci (owned by PPR) bought the YSL brand and asked Tom Ford to design the ready-to-wear collection, while Saint Laurent would design the haute couture collection. In 2002, dogged by years of poor health, drug abuse, depression, alcoholism, and criticisms of YSL designs, Saint Laurent closed the couture house of YSL. Reflecting on his career and impact on the fashion industry, Saint Laurent was heavily quoted around the world for stating, "Chanel freed women, and I empowered them." Saint Laurent also stated, "I created the contemporary woman's wardrobe."