"The original IT Girl"
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It's 1958, at the height of the Paris couture season, and all the most exclusive fashion houses are holding their invitation-only showings. At one such session, a slim, beautifully groomed American woman sits expectantly beside her mother, savouring the excitement of the Paris shows. Watching the models glide by, she is held spellbound by a white satin sheath dress and matching mink-trimmed coat.

"How much is that? " she asks the show assistants. When she hears the exorbitant price, she loses her perfect poise and practised cool - and bursts into tears. Whether it is an orchestrated ploy or a spontaneous outburst of genuine emotion, it works a treat. For the young woman not only gets the outfit at a discount, but also the promise of an audience with its designer, who's intrigued to meet the guest who couldn't bear to leave town without his creation.

The clothes encounter that followed was to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The designer turned out to be up-and-coming talent Yves Saint Laurent, who was showing his first collection for the house of Dior. And the charismatic young woman was Nan Kempner, society maven and one of the world's largest collectors of haute couture.