Yves Saint Laurent black silk off-shoulder blouse and maxi skirt set, fw 2001
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: FR 38 - UK 10 - US 6 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140217921942
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: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Yohji Yamamoto black silk skirt suit with voluminous padded cuffs, fw 2003By Yohji YamamotoLocated in London, GB▪ Yohji Yamamoto black silk suit skirt ▪ Single-breasted jacket ▪ Detachable voluminous padded cuffs ▪ Ankle-length skirt with back kick split ▪ SI...Category
Early 2000s Japanese Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Vivienne Westwood pink floral printed maxi skirt and blouse ensemble, ss 2001By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood pink floral printed ensemble. Maxi skirt and draped blouse with asymmetric cut. Spring-Summer 2001Category
Early 2000s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Alexander McQueen black lace ruffled blouse and pants ensemble, ss 1999By Alexander McQueenLocated in London, GBAlexander McQueen black lace ruffled blouse and flared pants ensemble. Spring-Summer 1999Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vivienne Westwood 'Voyage to Cythera' harlequin leggings and shirt set, fw 1989By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood harlequin ensemble. Loose fit cotton shirt and high waist fitted leggings. ''Voyage to Cythera'' Fall-Winter 1989Category
1980s British Trouser Pant Suits
- Margiela Artisanal black glove top and pleated skirt runway ensemble, ss 2001By Maison Martin MargielaLocated in London, GBMartin Margiela; Runway ensemble (LOOK #10) Artisanal shirt-front made out of black leather gloves and oversized black artisanal skirt made out of vintage pleated skirts...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Dolce & Gabbana black 3-piece ensemble with ostrich feathers, A/W 1995By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB- Silk chiffon loose fitted blouse with ostrich feather trim on collar and cuffs (IT42-FR-38-UK10) - Black satin bra with lace trim and adjustable straps...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1950s French Couture Silk Brocade Dress and Jacket SuitLocated in London, GBThis 1950s silk brocade two piece couture dress set has a stunning paisley pattern in pink and gold threads. The dress features a scalloped edge trim to the top of the bodice and thr...Category
1960s French Evening Dresses
- Judith Ann Creations Purple & Blue Beaded Sequin 2pc Dress with Bird DesignBy Judith Ann CreationsLocated in Portland, ORThis is a stunning beaded and sequin 2 piece dress from Judith Ann Creations. The outfit includes a gorgeous silk lined long sleeve blouse with a beautiful bird motif. and a silk lin...Category
1980s Indian Evening Dresses
- 1970s Couture Silk Checked Skirt and Cape EnsembleLocated in London, GBThis sensational 1970s silk couture skirt and cape ensemble with multicoloured check design is of superb quality and in excellent vintage condition with a contemporary high fashion a...Category
1970s French Skirt Suits
- Alexander McQueen Deliverance 2004 S/S Runway Couture Check Suit Pants CostumeBy Alexander McQueenLocated in PARIS, FRAlexander McQueen Deliverance 2004 S/S Runway Couture Check Plaid Two Piece Elegant Evening Working Blazer Beige Wool Pants Costume Suit Alexander...Category
Early 2000s Italian Skirt Suits
- Early Alexander McQueen Joan of Arc 1998 AW98 Runway Catwalk Dress Suit CostumeBy Alexander McQueenLocated in PARIS, FRIconic Alexander McQueen runway suit from Joan of Arc autumn winter 1998 Collection! Piece of art! Wonderful silhouette! Red McQueen Silk lining Bottons on the sleeves Shoulder pads 2 pockets The show was inspired by Joan of Arc who led the French army to victory in a battle against the English in the 15th century. She was later captured, found guilty of heresy and burned at the stake...Category
1990s Italian Skirt Suits
- 1960's Cristóbal Balenciaga haute couture black brocade dress and jacketBy BalenciagaLocated in San Fransisco, CAVery rare jet black floral brocade dress and matching jacket from Cristobal Balenciaga dating to the early 1960's. Ensemble best fits a small US s...Category
1960s French 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.
This Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen Ensemble Is Part Zsa Zsa Gabor, Part ‘Blade Runner’
As Burton steps away from the brand, it’s a fitting time to revisit one of her visionary designs.