YVES SAINT LAURENT
View Similar Items
YVES SAINT LAURENT
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 40 (UK)Bust: 38 in (96.52 cm)Waist: 27 in (68.58 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Excellent.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU130415451615
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.
- Balenciaga By Nicolas Ghesquiere Blue & Brown Inset Panel Sweatshirt 2003By BalenciagaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection is pleased to offer a vintage Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière navy blue cotton sweatshirt with brown knit panels at sleeves and blue waffle-knit panels at waist and sle...Category
Early 2000s French Sweat Suits
- Versace Gold Baroque & Leopard Print Silk Blouse With Equestrian RiderBy Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection is excited to offer a vintage Gianni Versace Couture silk oversized scarf blouse featuring a flap collar, decorative black and gold Medusa buttons, a front placket with ...Category
20th Century Italian Blouses
- Vivienne Westwood & Malcolm McLaren World's End Clint Eastwood Dress 1984-85By Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne WestwoodLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer an iconic vintage Vintage Westwood McLaren Worlds End denim tunic featuring Greco rubber embossment throughou...Category
1980s English Day Dresses
- Gucci by Tom Ford Sexy Black Exposed Sides Top with Leather Bands 1999By Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer this stunning vintage Tom Ford for Gucci black silk top featuring sexy open side panels with leather bands at the sides. Gucci Designed by ...Category
1990s Italian Shirts
- Stunning Gucci by Tom Ford Black Velvet Flare PantsBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer this stunning pair of vintage black Tom Ford for Gucci velvet flare pants with a high waist, center front zip...Category
Early 2000s Italian Pants
- Dolce & Gabbana 1992 Velvet, Applique, and Pom Pon Bomber Runway JacketBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Dolce & Gabbana velvet bomber jacket featuring an attached silk printed scarf, embroidery, appliques, pom-poms, mirrors, side slit ...Category
1990s Italian Jackets
- Louis Vuitton Black Leather and Canvas Damier Slide Flats Size 42.5By Louis VuittonLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2Let this comfortable pair be your first choice when you're out for a long day. These LV flats have well-sewn uppers beautifully set on durable soles.Category
2010s Italian Sandals
- Louis Vuitton Brown Leather Monte Carlo Loafers Size 41By Louis VuittonLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2Practical, fashionable, and durable—these designer loafers are carefully built to be fine companions to your everyday style. They come made using the best materials to be a prized bu...Category
2010s Italian Moccasins
- Louis Vuitton Brown Suede Monte Carlo Slip On Loafers Size 42By Louis VuittonLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2Look sharp and neat with this pair of Monte Carlo loafers from Louis Vuitton. They have been crafted from brown suede and designed with the art of fine stitching and the signature LV...Category
2010s Italian Moccasins
- Stuart Weitzman Black Suede Crystal Embellished Ankle Length Boots Size 37.5By Stuart WeitzmanLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2Stuart Weitzman is all set to impress you with this stunning pair of boots. Crafted from leather, they feature sturdy heels. This pair of boots will raise your style factor.Category
2010s Italian Boots
- Saint Laurent Black/Pink Patent and Leather Slingback Pumps Size 36By Saint LaurentLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2Wonderfully crafted shoes added with notable elements to fit well and pair perfectly with all your plans. Make these designer pumps yours today! Includes Original DustbagCategory
2010s Italian Sandals
- Mach & Mach Black Satin Crystal Embellished Double Bow Ankle Wrap SandalsLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2These sandals will frame your feet in an elegant manner. Crafted from quality materials, they display a classy design and comfortable insoles.Category
2010s Italian Sandals
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.