YSL 1970s Cape, Moroccan Collection
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 34 (EU)
- Style:1970s (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:No apparent flaws.
- Seller Location:Alford, MA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU20921285872
Yves 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.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Yves Saint Laurent evening dresses, shirts, handbags and other clothing and accessories today on 1stDibs.
Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche
Visionary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter. The inaugural Rive Gauche boutique — a modern shop in Paris’s bustling, bohemian Left Bank district — offered stylish garments and accessories that were intended to be affordable for a younger generation of fashion enthusiasts. The store featured Mies van der Rohe chairs and played host to actor Catherine Deneuve during its grand opening.
Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Using traditional menswear fabrics and designs for women, he 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 — Rive Gauche is French for “left bank” — followed soon thereafter by YSL Rive Gauche for men. Ready-to-wear materialized during a period of dynamic transformation and experimentation and came to dominate the Paris fashion scene. 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.
The vintage YSL Rive Gauche clothing for sale on 1stDibs includes evening dresses and gowns, jackets, shoes, handbags and other items.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Alford, MA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- 1990s Camelhair CoatLocated in Alford, MA100% camelhair double-breasted coat featuring an oversized fit, notched collar, raglan sleeves with turned back cuffs, and diagonal pockets. Topstitching on seams and edging for a ha...Category
Late 20th Century German Coats
- Bonnie Cashin Red Coat with ScarfBy Bonnie CashinLocated in Alford, MAAn original c.1970s Bonnie Cashin all-weather coat in red poplin, lined in charcoal wool, and with attached charcoal wool scarf. The coat features Cashin's signature toggle closures ...Category
1970s American Coats
- 1970s Faux Astrakhan Midi Coat with CapeLocated in Alford, MABlack faux astrakhan coat that features a detachable cape. The fitted, princess-style body is single breasted and fastens with 8 black stone and silver...Category
1970s North American Coats
- Honey Mink Coat, c.1960sLocated in Alford, MAHoney colored mink coat, pieced in a herringbone pattern, features a straight silhouette with some fullness in back, straight set-in sleeves, and a rounded collar, as well as slash p...Category
Mid-20th Century American Coats
- Oscar de la Renta Appliquéd Patent CoatBy Oscar De La RentaLocated in Alford, MAOscar de la Renta black patent coat, the front ornamented with pleated and swirled appliqués, the back undecorated. The coat features a simple straig...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Coats
- Versace Black Cashmere-Blend CoatBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Alford, MAc.1990s Gianni Versace coat in soft 15% cashmere/wool blend, featuring a true double-breasted style that buttons up to a small round collar. The body of the coat has seams towards th...Category
1990s Italian Coats
- Vintage Rare Pierre Cardin Boutique Navy Blue Trench CoatBy Pierre CardinLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLBeautiful vintage circa 1980 Pierre Cardin Boutique classic trench coat. Made in France. Navy blue corduroy features the traditional storm flap ...Category
1980s French Trench Coats
- SAINT LAURENT By HEDI SLIMANE F/W 2015 Runway CoatBy Hedi Slimane for Yves Saint Laurent, Saint LaurentLocated in Berlin, BESAINT LAURENT by HEDI SLIMANE Rare F/W 2015 Runway Coat With Mink Collar Brand: Saint Laurent Designer: Hedi Slimane Collection / Year: F/W 2015 Fabric: Wool / Mink Color: Black Siz...Category
2010s French Coats
- Vintage GUY LAROCHE 80s Ski Hooded PARKA Gray Red Jacket Down Feather Coat XLBy Guy LarocheLocated in Asheville, NCGuy Laroche, 80's Designer Vintage, Paris/New York, Made in Taiwan, Polyester/Cotton Shell, Down, Feathers and Polyester Filler, Dual Metal Zipper, Button and Drawstring Tie Closures...Category
1980s Taiwanese Anoraks and Parkas
- Vintage 1960's Black Beaded and Rhinestone Floral Evening CapeLocated in Cheltenham, GBThis divine 1960's black shoulder cape, decorated with black sequins and beads, and accented by large claw set iridescent rhinestones, in a trailing floral pattern, is just the perfe...Category
1960s European Capes
- Vintage 1960's Yves Saint Laurent Wool Coat UK 8 US 4By Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Cheltenham, GBA rare and unique piece to behold, this original vintage 1960's Yves Saint Laurent Coat, Rendered in a cream wool and lined in silk, is just the piece to add to your couture collecti...Category
1960s Coats
- Vintage 1960's Christian Dior Wool Coat UK 14-18 US 10-14By Christian DiorLocated in Cheltenham, GBThis rare 1960's Christian Dior mid-season red wool coat, is a rare piece to behold and the perfect statement piece for your transitional wardrobe. The V shaped neckline of the coa...Category
1960s Coats
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.