Yves Saint Laurent announces retirement

At a news conference held Monday in his elegant salon in Paris, legendary fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent announced that he is retiring at age 65, reports Reuters. "I have chosen today to bid farewell to this profession, which I have loved too much," an emotional Saint Laurent told a room packed with journalists, photographers, and camera crews. The gay designer was responsible for some of fashion's most memorable looks, including the women's tuxedo and the safari jacket. "I tell myself that I created the wardrobe of the contemporary woman, that I took part in the transformation of my era," he said. Saint Laurent's lover and business partner, Pierre Berge, told reporters that the designer feels increasingly isolated in an industry that worships commerce before art. "It's not much fun playing a game of tennis by yourself," Berge said. "It's better to put away your racket than to play on a court where nobody is returning the ball." Saint Laurent handed over his ready-to-wear collection to out American designer Tom Ford in 1999 and since then has designed only the YSL house's semiannual haute couture collections.