F/W 2004 Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford Pink Willow Chinoiserie Skirt
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Size tag removed. Light wear throughout.
- Seller Location:West Hollywood, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2388219739642
Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent
No one understands sex appeal quite like Tom Ford. When Gucci acquired Yves Saint Laurent in 1999, the Texas-born fashion designer had been Gucci’s creative director for several years and was also named creative director for YSL. Ford designed YSL’s ready-to-wear collection, and his vintage evening dresses, shirts, skirts and other garments for the maison are particularly popular today.
An avowed perfectionist from an early age, Ford was rearranging furniture at the age of six and offering his mother advice on her hair and shoes. The designer, author, film director and chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) is one of the most successful people working in fashion today.
Born in Austin, Ford grew up in the suburbs of Houston and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He briefly attended New York University, where he studied art history before dropping out to pursue acting. He became a regular at Studio 54, with its decadent nightlife later informing his high-octane fashion. He studied architecture at Parsons School of Design before shifting his focus to fashion and spending time at the Parsons Paris campus, graduating in 1985. The rest of the decade he worked for designers Perry Ellis and Cathy Hardwick. In 1990, Gucci’s creative director Dawn Mello hired him as a womens-wear designer.
At the time, the Italian label was better known for leather goods than luxury fashion. It was also nearly bankrupt. After Mello left in 1994, following a Bahrain-based investment group becoming Gucci’s majority shareholder, Ford was named creative director. He soon infused the brand with a fresh sensuality and bold style. His fall 1995 show, in which Kate Moss walked down the runway in an unbuttoned satin shirt, velvet hip-huggers and tousled hair, heralded an exciting, glammed-up era for the once fusty brand. Vogue critic Sarah Mower called it “one of those hitting-in-the-solar-plexus moments.”
As Ford shot to fame, he continued to explore plunging necklines, such as in the black and white looks of the Fall 1996 collection, and sumptuous fabrics like leather and tweed, with the Fall 2000 ready-to-wear collection ranging from sultry silk evening dresses to plush belted coats. He also cranked up the seduction in the provocative ads for the fashion house, particularly with regard to campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent, which Gucci acquired in 1999. Gucci's Fall/Winter 1997 campaign featured Carolyn Murphy grasping Angela Lindvall in what looked like a video still; in another shot, a face pressed against a foot in a lipstick-red heel. Each promoted a vision of modern fashion where women were sexually confident, the materials were luxurious and the styles were fearless.
In 2004, Ford and Gucci president Domenico De Sole left the company after failing to agree on the renewal of their contracts. In 2006, with De Sole as chairman, Ford launched his wildly successful eponymous menswear label. The brand has expanded into womens wear, beauty, accessories — vintage Tom Ford handbags are universally adored by celebrities and collectors alike — as well as eyewear and fragrance, with the unisex Black Orchid introduced in 2006. Ford broke into film directing with the critically acclaimed A Single Man in 2009 and Nocturnal Animals in 2016, continuing to blur the boundaries between fashion and culture.
Find vintage Tom Ford YSL day dresses, handbags and other clothing and accessories now on 1stDibs.
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: West Hollywood, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- NWT S/S 1996 Gianni Versace Couture Neon Yellow Graffiti Floral Print SkirtBy Gianni VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a vibrant floral neon Gianni Versace Couture skirt, designed by Gianni Versace. From the Spring/Summer 1996 collection, this floral graffiti print debuted on the runway on...Category
1990s Italian Flare Skirts
- S/S 2002 Gucci by Tom Ford Tan Suede Floral Cutout Flare Wrap SkirtBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a fabulous tan suede Gucci midi skirt, designed by Tom Ford. From the Spring/Summer 2002 collection, the black satin version of this skirt debuted on the season's runway a...Category
Early 2000s Italian Wrap Skirts
- Late 1990s Ralph Lauren Black Silk Taffeta Voluminous Maxi Evening SkirtBy Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Purple LabelLocated in West Hollywood, CAFrom the late 1990s, this black Ralph Lauren Purple Label evening skirt is a classically beautiful addition to any wardrobe. This high-waisted skirt is constructed entirely of silk t...Category
1990s American Skirts
- F/W 2004 Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford Blue Chinoiserie SkirtBy Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford for Yves Saint LaurentLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a stunning blue chinoiserie Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche skirt, designed by Tom Ford. From Ford’s final collection at YSL, this pattern from Spring/Summer 2004 debuted on the season’s runway and was also used in the season’s ad campaign. This blue monochromatic...Category
Early 2000s French Pencil Skirts
- F/W 2003 Gucci by Tom Ford White Satin Panel Zip Stretch SkirtBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a stretch creme satin Gucci skirt, designed by Tom Ford. From the Fall/Winter 2003 collection, this beautiful skirt features zippers on either hip and paneling which enhances the curves of the female form. The black version of this skirt debuted on the runway as part of look 9 modeled by Natalia Vodianova...Category
Early 2000s Italian Pencil Skirts
- S/S 2003 Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford Runway Dusty Lavender Ruched SkirtBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Tom Ford for Yves Saint LaurentLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a dusty lavender stretch viscose blend skirt designed by Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche's Spring/Summer 2003 collection. The beige/taupe version of this skirt...Category
Early 2000s Italian Pencil Skirts
- Hermes Silk Jersey Horse Print SkirtBy HermèsLocated in New York, NYHermes Silk Jersey Horse Print Skirt from the 1970's. Simple gathered skirt from wide waistband. Printed with a checkerboard of different horse motifs on n...Category
1970s French Skirts
- Hermès Silk Midi Skirt Cobalt Blue Sz 40By HermèsLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Hermès Bias Cut Cobalt Blue Silk Skirt Sz 40 100% Silk Interesting diagonal zip closure at back waist Bias cut, flows around body Half lined Fr...Category
Late 20th Century Skirts
- Black knit pencil skirt with cut-work AlaïaBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRBlack knit pencil skirt with cut-work. Knit composition: 90% wool, 5% stretch, 5% nylon. SIZE S on tag but fit MCategory
1990s Italian Skirts
- Lycra mini -skirt with bamboo and orchid print LéonardBy LeonardLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRLycra mini -skirt with bamboo and orchid. Fabric composition: 80% nylon, 20% lycra SIZE 40 / LCategory
2010s Unknown Skirts
- Sonia Rykiel Black Silk Blend Front Bow Detail Skirt LBy Sonia RykielLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2Flaunt this classy and cotemporary Sonia Rykiel skirt which is just what you need to be at the top of your style and comfort zone. Make an outstanding statement by adorning this blac...Category
2010s Skirts
- 1970S Burgundy & Dusty Pink Cotton Ditsy Floral Print Mix SkirtLocated in New York, NY1970S Burgundy & Dusty Pink Cotton Ditsy Floral Print Mix SkirtCategory
1970s A-Line Skirts
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.
Barbra Streisand Channeled Klimt’s ‘Woman in Gold’ in This Shimmering Dress
Costumer to the stars Ray Aghayan brought the famed painting to life with his spectacular design.