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.
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Large Wild Rose flower pink crushed velvet pin brooch
By Saint Laurent
Located in Hong Kong, NT
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Large Wild Rose flower dusty pink crushed velvet pin brooch Reference: TGAS/F00672 Brand: Saint Laurent Designer: Anthony Vaccarello Collection: Fall Winter 2...
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Extra Large Wild Rose bordeaux crushed velvet pin brooch
By Saint Laurent
Located in Hong Kong, NT
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Extra Large Wild Rose flower bordeaux red crushed velvet pin brooch Reference: TGAS/F00671 Brand: Saint Laurent Designer: Anthony Vaccarello Collection: Fall ...
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Extra Large Wild Rose flower gold velvet silk pin brooch
By Saint Laurent
Located in Hong Kong, NT
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Extra Large Wild Rose flower gold crushed velvet silk pin brooch Reference: TGAS/F00666 Brand: Saint Laurent Designer: Anthony Vaccarello Collection: Fall Win...
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Large Wild Rose flower light grey velvet pin brooch
By Saint Laurent
Located in Hong Kong, NT
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Large Wild Rose flower light grey crushed velvet pin brooch Reference: TGAS/F00669 Brand: Saint Laurent Designer: Anthony Vaccarello Collection: Fall Winter 2...
Jean Schlumberger, Tiffany & Co. Peridot and Ruby Thistle Brooch
By Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co.
Located in Boston, MA
This late 20th century pin is comprised of full cut green peridots, and red rubys set in 18kt yellow gold in this whimsically classic floral thistle themed design. This pin measures ...
Peridot, Ruby, Yellow Gold
Vintage Brooch from ANGELETTI PRIVATE COLLECTION Gold with Peridot Green Tourmal
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Jade Brooch From ANGELETTI PRIVATE COLLECTION White and Yellow gold 18kt with Diamonds and Rubies. This Brooch was Manufactured in ‘60s in...
Diamond, Peridot, Tourmaline, Gold, 18k Gold
Original Art Nouveau 15ct Gold, Enamel and Natural Pearl Flower Brooch
Located in Armadale, Victoria
This enchanting brooch is a quintessential example of Art Nouveau jewellery, crafted from 15-carat yellow gold. The piece is a celebration of nature, art, and craftsmanship, capturin...
Natural Pearl, Gold, Enamel
Vintage Pearl Art Deco Floral Pendant/Pin/Brooch in 14 Karat Gold
Located in Milford, DE
Art deco pearls adorn this 14K gold triangular brooch/pendant decorated with floral motifs. Can be worn as a brooch, or attached to a chain and worn as a pendant. ... Tags, Marks, ...
Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Gold
Art Deco Silver and Onyx Broach
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Art Deco silver Broach set with a large onyx in the middle and marcasites, English ca 1930's One marcasite is missing, see pictures
Marcasite, Onyx, Silver
Sapphire and Diamond Pansy Pin, Signed Tiffany & Co. by Oscar Heyman Brothers
By Oscar Heyman
Located in Boston, MA
Blue, fancy pink sapphires and diamonds are set in 18kt yellow gold and platinum in this whimsically classic floral pansy pin. Consisting of 48 mixed cut blue sapphires, 5 round cut blue sapphires, 30 round cut fancy pink sapphires, and 28 round brilliant cut diamonds. This pin measures approximately 1" in height. Stamped by Oscar Heyman Brothers for "Tiffany & Co.", serial no. "74551". *Shreve, Crump & Low Graduate Gemologist commentary: The Oscar Heyman Brothers pansy pin remains one of the most iconic brooch designs of the 20th century. Created in many combinations of gemstones, these special pins are a staple of any fine jewelry collector's gem box...
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold...
Reversible Lucky Horseshoe Stickpin with Bloodstone & Jasper-Scotland, 19th C
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Lucky Scottish sterling silver horseshoe stickpin. The hand engraved top set with green Bloodstone from the Isle of Rum and red Campsie Fells Jaspe...
Jasper, Sterling Silver
Art Deco Sterling Silver Flower Pin
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Art Deco Sterling Silver Flower Pin with Marcasite and Onyx, English ca 1930's
Marcasite, Onyx, Sterling Silver
Ruby and Diamond Flower Brooch, Signed Oscar Heyman Brothers
By Oscar Heyman
Located in Boston, MA
This whimsical floral motif brooch is comprised of 18 karat yellow and white gold and consists of step-cut rubies having an estimated total weight of 13 carats, 7 round brilliant dia...
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Amethyst, Tourmaline, Topaz, and Diamond Pansy Pin, Signed Oscar Heyman Brothers
By Oscar Heyman
Located in Boston, MA
Purple Amethyst, Pink Topaz, Purplish Magenta Tourmaline, and sparkling white diamonds come together in a beautiful display of color to form a unique rendition of Oscar Heyman Brothe...
Diamond, White Diamond, Amethyst, Topaz, Tourmaline, 18k Gold, Yellow Go...
Schlumberger Tiffany Co. Sapphire, Emerald and Yellow Gold Thistle Brooch
By Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co.
Located in Boston, MA
This late 20th century pin is comprised of full cut blue sapphire, and green emeralds set in 18kt yellow gold in this whimsically classic floral thistle themed design. This pin measu...
Blue Sapphire, Emerald, Yellow Gold
A Rare Alexis Falize Antique Gold and Cloisonné Enamel Locket, Circa 1867
By Falize
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Rare Alexis Falize Antique Gold and Cloisonné Enamel Locket, Circa 1867 This exquisite oval-shaped locket, crafted circa 1869, epitomizes the fusion of French artistry and Japanese aesthetic that characterized Alexis Falize's work during the late 19th century. The obverse features a meticulously rendered cloisonné enamel scene of a bird perched gracefully on a branch, while the reverse presents a serene landscape, showcasing Falize's mastery of the cloisonné technique and his deep appreciation for Japanese motifs. The locket is housed in its original Japanese silk box, reflecting the authenticity and preservation of this remarkable piece. Falize, a distinguished Parisian jeweler (1811–1898), was profoundly influenced by Japanese and Chinese art, integrating Oriental motifs and palettes into his creations. This fascination was part of the broader Japonisme movement that swept through Europe following Japan's opening to Western trade in 1854, introducing Japanese decorative arts to a captivated Western audience. Employing the cloisonné enamel technique—a method prevalent in traditional Japanese and Chinese metalwork—Falize delineated intricate designs using fine metal wires to create compartments (cloisons), which were then filled with vibrant enamels. This locket exemplifies such craftsmanship, with its vivid colors and precise detailing. Notably, Falize collaborated with esteemed enameller Antoine Tard, renowned for his Oriental-style cloisonné enamels. Tard's exceptional skill earned him accolades, including a gold collaborator’s medal at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Their partnership produced some of the most celebrated cloisonné jewels of the era. Comparable works by Falize are held in prestigious institutions worldwide. The British Museum houses a gold locket adorned with cloisonné enamel by Falize, highlighting the significance of his work in their collection. The Metropolitan Museum of Art features a reversible brooch attributed to Falize, further exemplifying his expertise in cloisonné enamel. Additionally, the Cleveland Museum of Art acquired a similar cloisonné locket marked by Falize, underscoring the widespread recognition of his craftsmanship. The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Schmuckmuseum in Pforzheim also include Falize's cloisonné enamelled lockets in their collections, attesting to the enduring legacy of his work. In the realm of private collections, Wartski London has featured rare cloisonné...
Gold, Enamel
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Extra Large Wild Rose flower bordeaux velvet pin brooch
By Saint Laurent
Located in Hong Kong, NT
rare SAINT LAURENT 2022 Extra Large Wild Rose flower bordeaux red crushed velvet pin brooch Reference: TGAS/F00670 Brand: Saint Laurent Designer: Anthony Vaccarello Collection: Fall ...