One of the most influential and inspired designers in the world, French couturier Yves Saint Laurent, passed away at his Paris home Sunday evening at the age of 71, a longtime friend and associate of the designer said.

According to Pierre Berge, the famed fashion icon, who retired from haute couture in 2002 but was still involved in the foundation he had created with Berge, had been ill for some time. Berge said the designer "knew that he had revolutionized fashion, that he had revolutionized the second half of the 20th century. His designs accompanied the evolution of women," but refused to provide further details.

According to People.com, the designer fell ill and entered a Paris hospital last week, reportedly slipping into a coma Wednesday evening. In October 2006, Saint Laurent slipped and fell outside a Paris restaurant during Fashion Week, suffering slight scratches but reminding fans of the perennially fragile designer's advancing age.

Throughout his almost 50-year career, the innovative designer, born Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, in Oran, Algeria, on Aug. 1, 1936, liberated women with his pants suits and simple, yet chic, silhouettes. Known for designs inspired by artists including Picasso and Mondrian as well as his creations for French actress Catherine Deneuve in the film "Belle du Jour,'' Saint Laurent always saw himself as an advocate for women.

Saint Laurent's best-known creation was the 1966 women's tuxedo pant suit, "Le Smoking", which combined traditional masculine tailoring with a feminine silhouette. Other signature pieces included safari jackets, peasant smocks and the Mondrian-print mini-dress which he debuted in 1965.

A towering figure of 20th century fashion, Saint Laurent was widely considered the last of a generation that included Christian Dior and Coco Chanel and made Paris the fashion capital of the world, with the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank, as its elegant headquarters.

Starting his career early at the age of 17 when he moved to Paris to study fashion but ended up working for Christian Dior three months later, Saint Laurent took the fashion world by storm in 1958 when, at age 21, became chief designer of the House of Dior, making the line famous for his trapeze silhouette. The trapeze dress — with its narrow shoulders and wide, swinging skirt — was a hit, and a breath of fresh air after years of constructed clothing, tight waists and girdles. His success was deemed crucial for the French economy, with billboards and headlines giving him credit for having "saved" France.

"Dior fascinated me. I couldn't speak in front of him. He taught me the basis of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I never forgot the years spent at his side," Saint Laurent said of his mentor.

Shortly after making a name for himself in the fashion world, he was conscripted to serve in the French army during the Algerian War of Independence. Following a brief but harrowing service during which he was hospitalized for three months after having suffered a nervous breakdown, he returned to Paris in 1962 only to find out he had been replaced at the House of Dior.

His departure from Dior determined him to partner up with Berge and established his own label, YSL, at a time when the world became avid for originality and women suddenly had more economic freedom. His name and the familiar YSL logo became synonymous with all the latest trends, highlighted by the creation of the Rive Gauche ready-to-wear label and perfume, as well as astute licensing deals for accessories and perfumes.

He often sought inspiration on the streets, and shaped his style "through women" as he once said, "That's where its strength and vitality comes from because I draw on the body of a woman."

In his own words, he said he felt "fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves."

Embroiderer Jacques Lesage, who worked with Saint Laurent for fifty years, beginning at Dior, said, "He invented everything. He reinvented everything."

Aside from the revolutionary outfits he created, he was also the first to use black women on the catwalk. In fact, Saint Laurent is responsible for Saint launching British model Naomi Campbell's career, doing her first campaign for them in the 1990s. Campbell is set to replace fellow supermodel Kate Moss as the new face of YSL.