The French fashion tycoon Pierre Bergé – the business brain behind the Yves Saint Laurent empire – has died aged 86.
Bergé, the longtime partner of the late designer Yves Saint Laurent, died in his sleep early on Friday at his country home in St-Remy-de-Provence, in southern France, his foundation said.
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A passionate bibliophile and art collector, he was also a tireless campaigner for gay rights and donated a large part of his fortune to Aids research.
Politically engaged to the end, he was an important backer and confidant of France’s former president François Mitterrand, and this year threw his weight behind Emmanuel Macron’s successful campaign for the Élysée Palace.
The former French culture minister Jack Lang led tributes to a man he called a “true prince of the arts and culture”.
“He was a magician who made his life and those who he loved a symphony of happiness,” he said.
“Pierre Bergé was above all a marvellous and loyal friend … who was there to take on all the good fights, the noble causes, in particular to provide the means for research to defeat Aids,” he added.
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Bergé and Saint Laurent were joined in a civil union a few days before the designer died of a brain tumour in 2008 aged 71.
Two museums dedicated to the life and work of Saint Laurent, financed by the foundation the two men founded, are to open in Paris and Morocco this year.
(Source: The Guardian )