And when Yves Saint Laurent launched Jazz, an aromatic, barber-shop scent, in 1988, it was a sensation. That same year, Bruce Weber made his documentary Let’s Get Lost about trumpeter Chet Baker.

Yves Saint Laurent himself said it best: “Chanel freed women, and I empowered them.” Founded in 1961, the legendary house that bears his name has given us a repertoire of fabled pieces (the ...