2012 Saint Laurent Crystal Embellished White Silk Gown Dress 44 - 12 NWT
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 44 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Montgomery, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU653120472712
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. Under creative director Hedi Slimane, the house’s ready-to-wear collection was rebranded as Saint Laurent in 2012.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Saint Laurent evening dresses, shirts, handbags and other clothing and accessories today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Montgomery, TX
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Versace Atelier 90's Black Silk Embellished Tulle Open Back Dress GownBy Atelier VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVersace Atelier Black Embellished Tulle Long Dress Gown Circa 90's Designer size 42 - please check measurements Jet Black Silk Embellished with Bea...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Evening Gowns
- New Atelier Versace S/S 1994 Collection Velvet Lace Purple Pink Dress GownBy Atelier VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXNew Atelier Versace Velvet Lace Watercolor Purple/Pink Dress Gown S/S 1994 Collection Purple and Pink Watercolor Crushed Velvet and Lace, Corset Style, Fully Lined, Side Zip Closure....Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- New Atelier Versace Wisteria Purple Silk Fully Beaded Dress GownBy Atelier VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXAtelier Versace Wisteria Purple Fully Beaded Silk Dress Gown Designer size 42 ( run smaller - measurements provided ) 100% Silk Wisteria Purple Dress...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Gowns
- S/S 1996 Vintage Iconic Tom Ford for Gucci Black Lace Long DressBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXS/S 1996 Vintage Iconic Tom Ford for Gucci Black Lace Long Dress Editor’s note: Madonna wore the same dress to VH1 Vogue Fashion Awards Details: IT Size 38 Made in Italy Condition: E...Category
1990s Italian Maxi Dress
- Iconic Gucci Embroidered Orange Dress with Feathers 38 - 2 NWT!By GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXIconic GUCCI Dress Spice up your life with this orange Embroidered Dress from Gucci. This stunning dress has woven tassel detail and intricate yoke at h...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Cocktail Dresses
- New $20.000 Tom Ford *Broken Mirror* Lace Smokey Gray Crystal Beaded Dress It 42By Tom FordLocated in Montgomery, TXNew Tom Ford *Broken Mirror* Lace Faceted Crystal Embellished Dress Gown Tom Ford's First Womenswear Collection for his Eponimous Label Debuted in 2011. Italian size 42 Smokey Gray F...Category
2010s Italian Evening Gowns
- UNWORN Gucci by Tom Ford FW 2004 Black Silk & Tassle Evening Gown Dress 40By Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in Switzerland, CHRARE COLLECTOR'S ITEM STUNNING PIECE BY TOM FORD FOR HIS FINAL COLLECTION IN FALL 2004 FOR GUCCI Seen on the runway show, in the AD campaign and in many editorials One of the key...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Gowns
- F/W 2006 Look #55 VERSACE NUDE SEQUIN EMBELLISHED LONG DRESS GOWN 42 - 6By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXBRAND NEW VERSACE DRESS F/W 2006 Look #55 Finalee gown! This dreamy Versace creation is the perfect blend of romance and fashion-forward style. Size 42 or US 6 100% silk M...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Gowns
- John Galliano laces Backless Midi DressBy John GallianoLocated in GOUVIEUX, FRJohn Galliano laces Backless Midi Dress. Circa 2000s. . Zip on the side and silver hardware logo · Backless · Black lace overlay . No transparency...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses
- Black velvet and wool cocktail dress Escada Couture Circa 1980'sBy EscadaLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRBlack velvet and wool cocktail dress.Shoulder pads. Zip on the cuffs. Bow on the top middle front. Rayon lining. Size 42 / LCategory
1980s German Cocktail Dresses
- Dolce & Gabbana black silk moiré embellished evening coat, fw 1997By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana showpiece evening coat ▪ Constructed from black silk moiré ▪ Embellished with hundreds of red crystal stones ▪ Embroidered with metal an...Category
1990s Italian Coats and Outerwear
- John Galliano for Christian Dior Gown Spring/Summer 2010By Christian Dior, John GallianoLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is a gown by John Galliano for Christian Dior from the spring/summer 2010 runway show. It features a corseted boustier, a crystal beaded embroidery design on the front of the s...Category
2010s Evening Gowns
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.
This Golden Saint Laurent Handbag Feels Like a Disco-Era Throwback (in the Best Way Possible)
If you're looking for an accessory that brings the party, this is it.