Clockwise, from top left, President Sarkozy and Carla Bruni front row at the service, Catherine Deneuve, John Galliano, the crowd outside the church, the Marrakesh garden where Saint Laurent’s ashes will rest, Valentino, Pierre Bergé with Carla Bruni, Claudia Schiffer. Center, Pierre Bergé.

Over 1,000 people gathered in Paris today to bid adieu to Yves Saint Laurent at his funeral at the Eglise Saint-Roche. Front-row guests included French President Nicolas Sarkozy, First Lady Carla Bruni, Saint Laurent’s mother, Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe, and Madame Chirac. Also seated in the front row was Saint Laurent’s longtime business partner and lover, Pierre Bergé, who gave a tearful speech:

The 90-minute Mass was broadcast on giant screens outside the church, where throngs filled the streets around the Louvre. When Saint Laurent’s casket was carried in, thunderous applause erupted but the crowd was silent during the service.

Other notable designers in attendance included Christian Lacroix, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Valentino, Hubert de Givenchy, Sonia Rykiel, Kenzo Takada, Alber Elbaz. Many women in attendance wore trouser suits in homage to Saint Laurent’s revolutionary design.

Saint Laurent will be cremated before close friends and family, and his ashes sent to a garden in Marrakesh at a house he bought with Bergé.

Source: NY Mag