French president mourns YSL at Paris funeral

Top model Claudia Schiffer (R)and fashion designer Valentino leave the Saint-Roch church following the funeral mass for French fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent in Paris.[Agencies]

Saint Laurent's body is to be cremated and the ashes spread in the garden of his villa in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh.

The oldest child of a rich French industrialist, Saint Laurent was born and grew up in Algeria, then a French colony, and showed an early talent for design, making clothes for his younger sisters' dolls.

After moving to Paris at the age of 17, he was hired by Christian Dior and soon became chief designer, producing acclaimed collections under the Dior label before striking out under his own name in 1962.