Yves Saint Laurent Multicolored Knitted Coat Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 36.23 in (92 cm)Marked Size: 40 (EU)Bust: 20.48 in (52 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
- 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: SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, France
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Pierre Cardin Canary Yellow Wool Blend DressBy Pierre CardinLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRCardin - Canary yellow wool blend dress. No composition label or size indicated, it fits a 42FR/44FR. Additional information: Dimensions: Chest: 46 cm, Length: 100 cm Condition: Ve...Category
1970s French Mini Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Long Flower Printed Silk Haute Couture DressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRYves Saint Laurent Haute Couture - (Made in France) Long flower printed silk Haute Couture dress. No composition or size label, it fits a 36FR. Additional information: Dimensions: ...Category
1980s French Maxi Dresses
- Christian Dior Dress in Gold SilkBy Christian Dior, John Galliano for Christian DiorLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRDior - (Made in France) Dress in gold silk, collar and bottom of the dress edged with multicolored fringes and top of the dress embroidered. Size 38FR. To be noted, a few stains. Ad...Category
Early 2000s French Maxi Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Asymmetrical Printed Cotton Dress Spring, 1992By Yves Saint LaurentLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRYves Saint Laurent -(Made in France) Asymmetrical printed cotton dress. No size indicated, it corresponds to a 42FR. Ready-to-wear collection Spring-Summer 1992. Additional informat...Category
1990s French Maxi Dresses
- Louis Féraud Pink and White Organdy DressBy Louis FeraudLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRLouis Féraud - Pink and white organdy dress. Size 36FR. Additional information: Dimensions: Size 36FR Condition: Very good condition Seller Ref number: VR41Category
1980s German Casual Dresses
- Angelo Tarlazzi Silk Dress with Black Polka DotsBy Angelo TarlazziLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRTarlazzi -(Made in France) Silk dress with black polka dots on beige background. Size 38FR. Additional information: Dimensions: Sleeve length: 72 cm...Category
1990s French Mini Dresses
- Jean Paul Gaultier Soleil S/S 1999 Sea Life Print Bodycon Zipper Mesh Maxi DressBy Jean Paul Gaultier SoleilLocated in Naples, FLJean Paul Gaultier Soleil S/S 1999 Sea Life Print Bodycon Zipper Mesh Maxi Dress Size LCategory
1990s Day Dresses
- 1970s Halston Vintage Purple Jersey Dress W Asymmetrical HemBy HalstonLocated in Portland, ORThis wonderful vintage Halston jersey dress is in a beautiful shade of purple lightweight wool. At first glance, the dress looks deceivingly simpl...Category
1970s American Day Dresses
- S/S 2002 Gianni Versace by Donatella Purple Lace-Up Eyelet DressBy Gianni Versace Couture, Donatella VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a purple plunging eyelet dress designed by Donatella for the Gianni Versace Spring/Summer 2002 collection. The eyelets that cover every inch of this dress give it a flirty...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Emilio Pucci Floral Printed Pastel Blue and Lavender Cotton Dress - 4By Emilio PucciLocated in West Palm Beach, FLEmilio Pucci Floral Printed Pastel Blue and Lavender Cotton Dress with Cap Sleeves - 4. This loose fitting cotton dress is pastel blue and lavender and has a floral printed. It has c...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Day Dresses
- A French Navy Chiffon Cocktail Dress with White Polka Dots Circa 1975Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1975 France Elegant cocktail or ceremonial dress in navy chiffon printed with white polka dot stencil, signed Anne Valone Paris Circa 1975. Dr...Category
1970s French Cocktail Dresses
- Chic 1970s Vintage Blue and Pink Cotton + Silk Brocade Belted 70s Maxi DressLocated in San Diego, CASuch a chic 1970s maxi dress! Super soft, yet sturdy cotton fabric, with silk brocade detail at bust, and attached silk brocade belt that ties in the back. Psychedelic themed floral ...Category
1970s 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.
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.