Sacrebleu!

For months, the rumors have been flying around Paris that the fashion house of Yves Saint-Laurent was being backed by Swiss interests. In France's most sacred national industry,that was bad enough, but it was nothing compared with the awful truth.Already irritated at the incursions of U.S. industry and investment into France, the French learned last week that Saint-Laurent's backer is none other than an American: J. Mack Robinson, 39, an Atlanta insurance executive (Delta Life). Robinson was the secret patron who supplied financial backing for Saint-Laurent to start a dress house of his own 16 months ago, and now owns 70% of the promising haute couture house.

Robinson, a reserved and soft-spoken fellow, started out far from fashion -- as a car salesman -- and later moved into life insurance and real estate. Searching for investments in Europe, he was introduced to young Saint-Laurent, who had been Christian Dior's heir apparent before he was called up by the French army and lost his position at the House of Dior to Marc Bohan. Stranded at 25, he was eager to design on his own. Robinson advanced him the funds, but has stayed out of the fitting rooms. "I am completely ignorant of fashion," he says, "but now I am having to learn something about it." The investment has worked well: the house of Saint-Laurent sold $250,000 worth of this year's show to professional buyers and turned its first profit, is now licensing perfume, neckties and men's scarves. Why had Robinson kept his interest secret? Says he: "I felt that my being an American might not help Yves if it were known. People expect French fashion houses to be backed by the French."

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