In commemorating the life of the late Yves Saint Laurent, it is tempting to focus on his unequalled contributions to fashion design. It is, after all, no exaggeration to say that he transformed the world of fashion many times. Where few top designers can boast even one really big idea, Saint Laurent produced half a dozen. Without him, the world is a drabber place.

Yet his influence is far broader, not least on the manufacture of celebrity itself. Saint Laurent posed naked for his own cologne advertisements in 1971, causing something of a sensation, while his opulent 1978 party to launch the Opium perfume was the forerunner of many a modern product launch.