Yves Saint Laurent Autumn-Winter 1987 black lace flamenco evening dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Approx FR 36 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14023232063
Yves Saint Laurent
French designer Yves Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture.
Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Using traditional menswear fabrics and designs for women, Saint Laurent also literally cross-dressed, giving men and women alike chic pant suits, elegant tuxedo jackets and urban safari gear.
By blurring gender-specific design, Saint Laurent empowered individual style while creating a scissor-sharp fashion aesthetic of sensual ease and beauty. Many of his designs are today considered timeless classics. Saint Laurent also consistently used Black models, like Mounia, Iman and Naomi Campbell, and he drew endless inspiration from different ethnicities and cultures, in no small part because of his Algerian roots.
Born to French parents in Oran, Algeria, in 1936, Saint Laurent went to Paris at age 17 to study fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Just two years later, in 1955, his remarkable sketches were shown to Christian Dior, then the world’s reigning couturier, who hired him immediately.
Surprisingly soon thereafter, Dior publicly chose Saint Laurent as his successor, which sadly proved prescient when the fashion legend died unexpectedly, in 1957. A mere slip of a youth, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was nevertheless up to the challenge. He shook the traditional couture clientele to its core with youthful silhouettes and styles like the A-line trapeze dress that hung with seeming effortlessness from the shoulders, the antithesis of the pinched waists and molded skirts that had been all the rage after the deprivations of World War II.
After a mandated spell in the torturous French military, Saint Laurent suffered a nervous breakdown and was dismissed by Dior in 1962. Out of the ashes rose the Age of Yves. With Pierre Bergé, his then-lover who became his lifelong business partner and friend, the designer founded Yves Saint Laurent YSL to encompass prêt-à-porter, or ready-to-wear. In 1966, they opened the first YSL Rive Gauche women’s boutique in Paris, followed soon thereafter by YSL Rive Gauche for men. Saint Laurent had given birth to a global brand.
His revolutionary Mondrian mini dress from 1965 is a core element of his fashion biography. It is a prime example of how Saint Laurent, an avid art lover and collector, looked to painters, from Goya to Picasso, Ingres to Matisse, for inspiration.
With its pure lines and hues, Mondrian’s ground-breaking 1935 color-block painting Composition C transmutes beautifully into a dress that is highly valued by collectors of contemporary fashion and widely copied commercially to this day. The design is the epitome of Saint Laurent’s aesthetic, requiring a meticulous hand-piecing of each color block so that, despite the body’s curves, the visual plane is as flat as a canvas when the garment is worn. Mondrian’s purity met its match in Saint Laurent.
“I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style,” Saint Laurent said four years before retiring, in 2002. After a long period of ill health, he died at his home in Paris on June 1, 2008.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Yves Saint Laurent evening dresses, shirts, handbags and other clothing and accessories today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Gianni Versace black silk evening wrap dress with lace underlay, fw 2000By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Gianni Versace black silk evening wrap dress ▪ Lace underlay ▪ Open back ▪ Beaded belt fastening ▪ Boat neck ▪ Pleated detail at waist ▪ Draped detail at back fastening ▪ IT 3...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Mario Valentino green leather open back full-length dress, fw 1999By Mario ValentinoLocated in London, GB▪ Mario Valentino green leather full-length dress ▪ Open back ▪ Thigh-high back slit ▪ Boat neck ▪ IT 42 - FR 38 - UK 10 - US 6 ▪ Fall-Winter 1999 ▪ 100% Leather ▪ Made in ...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Azzedine Alaia black acetate knit figure hugging evening dress, A/W 1986By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GB- Metal zip closure at the back - Figure hugging fit - Turtle neck Autumn-Winter 1986Category
1980s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Atelier Versace black leather strapless embellished mini dress, fw 1997By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Atelier Versace black leather strapless mini dress ▪ Japanese characters embroidered and embellished with crystals ▪ Electric blue silk lining ▪ Built-in corset ▪ Concealed zip ...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Jean Paul Gaultier black wool dress with tasseled and sequin sleeves, fw 1985By Jean Paul GaultierLocated in London, GBJean Paul Gaultier black ribbed wool turtle neck maxi dress with velvet, sequin and tasseled sleeves. Fall-Winter 1985Category
1980s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vivienne Westwood striped open knit dress with tubular scarf, ss 2005By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood striped knitted dress ▪ Rib-knit skirt and collar ▪ Open-knit tubular scarf attached at the breasts ▪ Extra-long collar which doubles as a hood ▪ Can be styl...Category
Early 2000s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- UNWORN Gucci by Tom Ford FW 2004 Black Silk & Tassle Evening Gown Dress 40By Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in Switzerland, CHRARE COLLECTOR'S ITEM STUNNING PIECE BY TOM FORD FOR HIS FINAL COLLECTION IN FALL 2004 FOR GUCCI Seen on the runway show, in the AD campaign and in many editorials One of the key...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Gowns
- Vintage Tom Ford for Gucci F/W 1996 Black Jersey Dress Gown w Pony Hair Belt 42By Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXVintage Runway Tom Ford for Gucci Black Jersey Dress Gown F/W 1996 Collection Designer size - 42 Black Jersey, Fully Lined, Slip-on Style. Black Pony Hair Belt...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Black velvet cocktail dress with flowers appliqué on both side Loris AzzaroBy Loris Azzaro ParisLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRBlack velvet cocktail dress with flowers appliqué on both side. See-through on the side with chiffon. Zip and hook&eye in the middle back. SIZE 36 / SCategory
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- Christian Lacroix Organza Set EnsembleBy Christian LacroixLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRChristian Lacroix -(Made in France) Organza set consisting of a top, a long skirt and a belt. No size label, it fits a size 42FR. Additional information: Dimensions: Top: Chest: 50...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses
- Black sequin cocktail dress Black Tie by Oleg CassiniBy Black Tie by Oleg CassiniLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRBlack sequin cocktail dress. Sequin are stitched on a rayon jersey base. No lining. Zip and hook&eye in the middle back. SIZE MCategory
1980s Unknown Cocktail Dresses
- Printed cocktail dress with beaded work Lancetti NEWBy LancettiLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRPrinted cocktail dress with beaded work. Fabric composition: 100% polyester Zip in the middle back and split in the bottom , lenght= 25 cm Polyester chiff...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
How to Spot a Fake YSL Bag
Counterfeiters know that savvy fashionistas cherish YSL bags. Learn how to tell if yours is the real deal. Of course, you don't have to worry about that on 1stDibs, where every seller is highly vetted.
Quiet Luxury May Be Trending, but These Famous Interiors Prove That Quality and Quirk Endure
Because truly timeless design requires personal vision, transcendent taste, real fortitude and top-notch objects, even if the wider world hasn’t caught on yet.