Now, following his death last month aged 71, Saint Laurent's business partner, former companion and heir, Pierre Bergé – with whom he built the collection – is reported to be considering a massive international sale.

With the collection believed to be worth a staggering £300m, it would be not only the sale of the century, but the biggest private-owner sale ever.

With the glamour surrounding the YSL brand and the vast sums involved, The Art Newspaper reports that the world's two biggest auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, have locked horns over which one should handle the sale.

Both houses have apparently "pitched" to M Bergé, who runs his own small auction house in Paris, which is unable to handle the size of the auction.