YVES SAINT LAURENT Size S Pink Green Black Abstract Short Sleeve Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: S (US)
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:
Yves 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.
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: San Francisco, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- GIAMBATTISTA VALLI Size 6 Black Coral Jacquard Polyester Blend Below Knee DressBy Giambattista ValliLocated in San Francisco, CAGIAMBATTISTA VALLI dress comes in a black & coral jacquard polyester blend with a slip liner featuring a shift style, bow detail, and a back zipper closure. Made in Italy. Very Good ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- ETRO Size 8 Charcoal Wool Embroidered Shift DressBy EtroLocated in San Francisco, CAETRO dress comes in a charcoal wool with embroidered designs featuring a pleated skirt, shift style, sleeveless, and a back zip up closure. Made in Italy. Very Good Pre-Owned Conditi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- GIAMBATTISTA VALLI See Through Size S Black Viscose Blend DressBy Giambattista ValliLocated in San Francisco, CAGIAMBATTISTA VALLI below knee dress comes in black viscose blend featuring a see through aesthetic. Made in Italy. Excellent Good Pre-Owned Condition. Marked: 42 Measurements...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- BRUNELLO CUCINELLI Size M Grey Wool Two Tone Short Sleeve DressBy Brunello CucinelliLocated in San Francisco, CABRUNELLO CUCINELLI dress comes in a grey wool featuring a shift style, short sleeves, and a satin panel. Made in Italy. Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. Marked: M Measurements: ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- STELLA McCARTNEY Size 2 Black Viscose Pleated V-Neck DressBy Stella McCartneyLocated in San Francisco, CASTELLA McCARTNEY dress comes in a black viscose featuring a pleated style, a-line, slit pockets, short sleeves, and a back zipper closure. Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. Marked: ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- PORTS 1961 Size 4 Black Viscose Wrinkled Double Layer DressBy Ports 1961Located in San Francisco, CAPORTS 1961 dress comes in a black wrinkled viscose featuring double layer style and no sleeves. Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. Marked: 4 Measurements: Shoulder: 14 inches B...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- Adolfo Tropical Silk Jersey Strapless Dress with Half CapeletBy AdolfoLocated in New York, NYAdolfo strapless dress with bold green, indigo and white tropical floral print. Wonderfully tailored, with fitted bodice and draped open tulip front slit above the knee for movement...Category
Late 20th Century American Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Leonard of Paris Pastel Silk Chiffon Day / Evening DressBy Leonard of ParisLocated in New York, NYPretty pastel silk chiffon Leonard of Paris special occasion day / evening dress. Bodice has a ruffled capelet that flows from the center of the dress...Category
Late 20th Century French Day Dresses
- Leonard of Paris Fuschia Multi Color Silk Chiffon Strapless GownBy Leonard of ParisLocated in New York, NYVintage Leonard of Paris bright and flirty ruffled silk chiffon cocktail dress / evening gown, unmarked size, approximately US 6. Featuring four layer...Category
Late 20th Century French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Antonio Berardi FW-2004 Silk Sleeveless Print DressBy Antonio BerardiLocated in Brussels, BEDespite being born in the UK, Antonio Berardi’s roots are Sicilian ones, explaining his love of drama and femininity. This gorgeous silk dress, which mixes a variety of prints and mo...Category
Early 2000s Italian Day Dresses
- Sonia Rykiel SS-2002 Viscose Mix Flower Print Slip DressBy Sonia RykielLocated in Brussels, BEFlower Power remains an all-time boho statement, and Sonia Rykiel’s career interestingly took off in the early 1970s. Throughout her prolific years as a designer, Rykiel loved going ...Category
Early 2000s French Day Dresses
- Vintage EMANUEL UNGARO Boutique 1980s DAISY Black Parallele PARIS Dress XS/SBy Emanuel UngaroLocated in Asheville, NCUngaro Boutique, Vintage 1980's, Sheer Cotton, Fully Lined, Belted, Straps Tie at Top, Five Round Buttons at Front, 2 Large Front Pockets, Daisy Floral Details on Top, Front and Bott...Category
1980s 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.