Yves Saint Laurent black and white animal print dress. Circa. 1990
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: M (UK)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Constructed with fine grosgrain material
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Measurements: Bust: 37inch/94cm Waist: 34inch/86cm Sleeve: 22inch/ 56cm Length: 37inch/94cm Vintage clothing is in second hand condition. Wear is consistent with age and use and is characteristic of the piece.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:
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 PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- Limited edition Saint Laurent “Paris” print summer ensemble. circa 1983By Yves Saint Laurent, Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in London, GB“J’ais deux amours. Mon pays et Paris” went a famous 1950s song by Josephine Baker. And this highlights how Paris has always been and will represent a dream and a lifestyle. In 1983,...Category
1980s French Skirt Suits
- Jacques Heim psychedelic print silk cocktail dress. circa 1960sBy Jacques HeimLocated in London, GBJacques Heim is inextricably linked with the history of French fashion. In the years 1958-1962 he was the president of the highly influential Paris Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Cout...Category
1960s French Cocktail Dresses
- Hèrmes Frontaux et Cocardes Limited edition silk dress, circa 1968By HermèsLocated in London, GBSince 1937, Hermès has called upon artists to create art on silk for their scarves, shirts and other signature pieces. The print for this elegant dress was conceived by the French a...Category
1960s French Mini Dress
- Rare Museum worthy Mary Quant wool dress, circa 1960s.By Mary QuantLocated in London, GBFor a period the international fashionable pace was set by a talented group of London-based designers led by Mary Quant. She was one of the designers who took credit for the minisk...Category
1960s British Sheath Dresses
- Courrèges numbered lime green and ivory wool dress. circa 1965Located in London, GBHaving served a lengthy apprenticeship under Balenciaga, André Courrèges launched his own label in 1961. He stunned the fashion world with his 1965 collection of super-modern trouser...Category
1960s French Mini Dresses
- Emanuel Ungaro printed crepe and linen hostess maxi dress. circa 1970By Emanuel UngaroLocated in London, GBThe French designer was celebrated for the colourful and elegant designs he imagined particularly during the 1960s and 1970s. Ungaro dared to mix clashing colours that created a strong visual impact. Yet the craft elements of his designs in the form of prints and silhouettes were never overwhelming. His flamboyant use of pattern to design comfortable and flattering clothes that sensually encased the female body made Ungaro a favourite with high profile celebrities including Jacqueline Kennedy and...Category
1970s French Maxi Dresses
- Chanel Faux Pearl Embellished Full Length Dress FR 40 14C 2014 NWTBy ChanelLocated in Merced, CAChanel full length dress with faux peals embellishments and Chanel interlocking CC logo emblem. It s new with tag. This is from Chanel Cruise 2014 r...Category
Mid-20th Century French Maxi Dresses
- CHANEL cream crochet silk suit jacket and dress FR 42 Resort 2017 Cuba 17CBy ChanelLocated in Rubiera, REChanel Resort 2017 Cuba Cream crochet silk suit jacket and dress Size Fr 42 Made in France Missing fond de robe (underdress) Flat measures: Jacket ...Category
2010s Italian Day Dresses
- CHANEL Camellia Dress 97PBy Chanel BoutiqueLocated in Rubiera, RECHANEL BOUTIQUE SPRING 1997 COLLECTION 97P Vintage multicolor camellia patterned dress, front opening, with hidden buttoning. Mandarin collar, four fla...Category
1990s French Chemise Dresses
- CHANEL RESORT 2019 La Pausa knitted dressBy ChanelLocated in Rubiera, RECHANEL Resort 2019 LA PAUSA Collection Dress in very light white cotton jersey with blue vertical stripes. Bateau neckline with CC logo embroidered at th...Category
2010s Italian Day Dresses
- Chanel cotton tweed dress with camelia FR 40 Spring 2011 11PBy ChanelLocated in Rubiera, REChanel tweed cotton dress with camelia Spring 2011 Size FR 40 Made in France 62% cotton 33% polyamid 5% viscose Fully silk lined Flat measures: Length cm. 97 Shoulders cm. 28 Bust...Category
2010s French Cocktail Dresses
- CHANEL blue and white cotton dress FR 40 Spring 2008 08PBy ChanelLocated in Rubiera, RECHANEL Spring / Summer 2008 Collection Look 16/80 on the catwalk Blue and white tweed dress featuring halter shoulders, front zip with double slider, side pockets on the front and ba...Category
Early 2000s French Day 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.