Yves Saint Laurent Lace and Velvet Cocktail Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 38 in (96.52 cm)Marked Size: 36 (EU)Bust: 34 in (86.36 cm)Waist: 30 in (76.2 cm)Hip: 32 in (81.28 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU44990912
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: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Yves Saint Laurent Cocktail Dress with Diamanté DetailBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in New York, NYYves Saint Laurent, rive gauche, black, satin back crêpe, shift, having a high v neckline and open seam, sleeve detail, embellished with diamanté buttons.Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent RIve Gauche Cocktail dressBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in New York, NYYves Saint Laurent, Rive Gauche, black faille cocktail dress, having satin edging detail and a black satin bow at the waist. Dress has side button closures embellished with round, bl...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- Geoffrey Beene Dotted Tulle Cocktail DressBy Geoffrey BeeneLocated in New York, NYGeoffrey Beene, taffeta and dotted tulle, tent shaped, cocktail dress having a sheer neckline, sleeves and back. The dots are in a gold lame. There are two layers of the tulle under...Category
1990s American Cocktail Dresses
- Tom Ford Gucci Runway One Shoulder Cocktail DressBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in New York, NYTom Ford for Gucci, black silk gazar, one shoulder, cocktail dress having an A line silhouette with a ruffled edge across the top and under arm of the dress. Back is open in a deep U...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Galanos Beaded and Sequined Cocktail DressBy James GalanosLocated in New York, NYGalanos, black, crepe, bugle beaded and sequined cocktail dress having a fitted silhouette with a deep V neckline. Hidden zipper front closur...Category
1980s American Cocktail Dresses
- Galanos Chiffon and Lace Open Back GownBy James GalanosLocated in New York, NYGalanos, black evening gown, having a layered chiffon skirt with a slightly empire waist. Bodice is hammered satin and Guipure lace. The lace is placed over the bust line having a l...Category
1970s American Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Roland Klein black strapless dress with black and white striped trainBy Roland KleinLocated in Austin, TX1980s Roland Klein black strapless dress with black and white train. Acetate fabric. 34" bust, 26" waist, 40" hips, 48" front length - 54 1/2" ba...Category
1980s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Long asymmetrical evening dress with sequin embroideries and tulle Gai MattioloBy Gai MattioloLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRLong asymmetrical evening dress with sequin embroideries and tulle ajouré. NEW with tag. Zip on the left side. Shorter in the front than in the back. Fabric composition: 56% rayon, 4...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses
- UNWORN Gucci by Tom Ford FW 2004 Black Silk & Tassle Evening Gown Dress 40By Gucci, Tom Ford for 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
- Vintage Tom Ford for Gucci F/W 1996 Black Jersey Dress Gown w Pony Hair Belt 42By Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXVintage Runway Tom Ford for Gucci Black Jersey Dress Gown F/W 1996 Collection Designer size - 42 Black Jersey, Fully Lined, Slip-on Style. Black Pony Hair Belt...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- 1970s Vintage fluid black dress in sheer jerseyLocated in Milano, ITFluid black dress in sheer jersey with lurex copper profiles and belt. Deep V neckline. Wide shoulder straps. Size IT:40 Size USA: 6 Waist: 66 cm Length: 152 cm Bust: 80 cmCategory
1970s American Evening Dresses
- Iconic Tom Ford for Gucci SS 2003 Japanese Cherry Blossoms Mini Stretch Dress SBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXIconic Tom Ford for Gucci Japanese Cherry Blossoms Mini Stretch Dress S/S 2003 Runway Collection Designer size - S Measurements: Length - 37", Bust - ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail 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.