SAINT LAURENT black CADY SHORT SLEEVE SHIFT MINI Dress 36 XS
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Zürich, CH
- Reference Number:
Saint Laurent
French fashion 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, he 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. Under creative director Hedi Slimane, the house’s ready-to-wear collection was rebranded as Saint Laurent in 2012.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Saint Laurent evening dresses, shirts, handbags and other clothing and accessories today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Zürich, Switzerland
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- DOLCE & GABBANA black WAIST BELT Cap Sleeve Shift Dress 42 MBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Zürich, CHDolce & Gabbana cap sleeve dress in black acetate (71%), elastane (5%) and nylon (24%) with a wide neckline and a front patent leather decorative waist belt. Closes on the back with ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Casual Dresses
- DOLCE & GABBANA black wool Boucle FLORAL SCARF Dress 40 SBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Zürich, CHauthentic Dolce & Gabbana bouclé dress in black wool (66%) silk (20%) and polyamide (14%) with a black&white floral print silk (100%) scarf to bind around the neck and at the armhole...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shift Dresses
- CHLOE green black COLOR BLOCK Lace 3/4 Sleeve Mini Dress 34 XXSBy ChloéLocated in Zürich, CHChloé long-sleeve pussy-bow dress in sage green, off-white and black crochet in acetate (53%), viscose (47%) main material. Wool (58%), polyamide (17%), ang...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shift Dresses
- CELINE dark blue leather Short Sleeve Shift Dress 38 SBy CelineLocated in Zürich, CHauthentic Celine short sleeves shift dress in pigeon blue lambskin leather (100%) with round neck-line and seams detail at the front. Closes with a zipper on the back and has slit po...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shift Dresses
- STELLA MCCARTNEY midnight blue viscose Short Sleeve Mini Dress 40 SBy Stella McCartneyLocated in Zürich, CHauthentic Stella McCartney double layer in midnight blue viscose (79%) acetate (21%) with detailed cut-out and the back of the sleeve, V-neckline and a gathered waistband. Unlined. C...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shift Dresses
- PRADA black viscose blend Long Sleeve Shift Dress 38 XSBy PradaLocated in Zürich, CHauthentic Prada long-sleeve dress in black acetate (74%) and viscose (26%) with a deep back neckline. Opens with a zipper on the back and has a hidden zipper on the cuff. Has been wo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shift Dresses
- ALAÏA 1990 black knitted mini dressBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in Genève, CHAlaïa knitted mini dress with sheer raised edge skirt -Back closing with a hidden set zipper -Long sleeves -Nude knitted lining -Made in Italy -100% V...Category
1990s Italian Mini Dress
- ALBERTO BINI 1990 leather mini dress with gold tone Lion NEW with tagBy AlbertoLocated in Genève, CHThis vintage dress from Alberto Bini is coming directly from the 90s, and it's also a beautiful ode to Versace universe. -Lion detail in metal gold tone ...Category
1980s French Mini Dress
- YVES SAINT LAURENT BY TOM FORD S/S 2002 Runway Sheer Silk Two-PieceBy Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford for Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Berlin, BEThis leopard print two piece was the opening look for Yves Saint Laurent’s Spring Summer 2002 Rive Gauche collection by Tom Ford. This elegant two-piece consists of a high waisted silk pencil skirt and a zip up sleeveless silk top in a classic leopard print. This safari inspired set features beautiful details such as the YSL logo on the right side of the front of the bodice, and also embossed on the zipper. The bodice features a deep V neckline, multiple pockets on the front and drawstrings at the sides, the back features a transparent panel...Category
Early 2000s French Twin Sets
- Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld Vintage Off-Shoulder Black Dress 1990sBy Chanel BoutiqueLocated in Berlin, BEThe perfect little black vintage dress by Chanel. This classic beauty is a 1990s piece designed by Karl Lagerfeld. This elegant Chanel dress is an incredible classic that will truly...Category
1990s French Mini Dresses
- Chanel Ribbon Embellished Maxi Runway Lace Dress Cruise 2014 14C $7, 750By ChanelLocated in Merced, CAChanel ribbon embellished runway maxi dress from Chanel Cruise 2014 runway collection. It is adorned with Chanel interlocking CC logo emblem. It is ...Category
20th Century French Maxi Dresses
- Chanel Braided Trim Tweed Maxi Dress Interlocking CC logo Buttons 42 12P 2012By ChanelLocated in Merced, CAChanel braided trim maxi dress adorned with interlocking CC logo buttons. This is pre-owned in excellent condition. It retails $13,620 before tax. Color is beautiful blend of navy bl...Category
20th Century French Maxi 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.
This Golden Saint Laurent Handbag Feels Like a Disco-Era Throwback (in the Best Way Possible)
If you're looking for an accessory that brings the party, this is it.