r.i.p. loulou de la falaise

muse to yves saint laurent, model, designer - fashion icon loulou de la falaise died saturday morning after an unspecified "long illness" at the age of 63.
born in britain, louise vava lucia henriette de la falaise was the daughter of irish mother, maxime birley, who modelled for elsa schiaparelli & french father, alain de la falaise. she followed her mother into modeling & met yves saint laurent in 1968, she would join the house four years later. it is believed that she was the inspiration for saint laurent's famous le smoking tuxedo. she also designed jewelry & hats for the house until his death.