Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture Oversized Suede Coat, circa 1963
View Similar Items
Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture Oversized Suede Coat, circa 1963
About the Item
- Designer:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14021931483
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.
- Christian Dior by Marc Bohan brown mink cape with leather tassels, c. 1970By Christian DiorLocated in London, GBStep into luxury with the exquisite Christian Dior by Marc Bohan brown mink cape from the 1970s. This opulent piece boasts lambskin leather tassels and hook-and-eye closures, adorned...Category
1970s French Ponchos
- Raf Simons black wool and grey neoprene coat, fw 2009By Raf SimonsLocated in London, GBIntroducing the Raf Simons Autumn-Winter 2009 black wool men's coat, a striking and innovative piece that exemplifies the designer's bold and visionary approach to menswear. Crafted...Category
Early 2000s Belgian Coats and Outerwear
- Martin Margiela dark grey wool coat with an elongated hood-collar, fw 2005By Maison Martin MargielaLocated in London, GBMartin Margiela dark grey wool coat with an elongated hood-collar Fall-Winter 2005Category
Early 2000s Italian Coats and Outerwear
- Alaia pony hair leopard print coat and boots ensemble, c. 2010By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBIntroducing an extraordinary Alaia pony hair leopard print coat and boots ensemble, a true statement of bold and luxurious style. This ensemble showcas...Category
2010s French Coats and Outerwear
- Yves Saint Laurent oversized brown and white fox coat, c. 1980sBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in London, GBPresenting an exquisite Yves Saint Laurent oversized wild fox coat, a rare and luxurious piece from the 1980s. This coat exemplifies the brand's commitment to luxury and high fashion...Category
1980s French Fur Puffer Coats
$4,983 Sale Price22% Off - Azzedine Alaia black varnished pony hair trench coat, fw 2014By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBPresenting an exceptional Azzedine Alaia trench coat, a true collector's gem from the autumn-winter 2014 collection. This trench coat showcases the l...Category
2010s French Coats and Outerwear
- Art Deco 7 Ft. Black Silk Manila Piano Shawl With White Floral EmbroideryLocated in New York, NYArt Deco black silk piano shawl hand embroidered with white silk floral design and 12" hand knotted silk fringe. The shawl is visually beautiful, soft...Category
Early 20th Century Philippine Shawls
- Mariano Fortuny Gauze Sleevless Coat, Provenance Tina ChowBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYTransparent Fortuny gauze pieces are based on the ancient tunic which was a shirt like garment that became traditional attire in roman times, the copts or christian egyptians...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Coats
Price Upon Request - Mariano Fortuny Black Stencilled Velvet Persian Style CoatBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis three-quarter length black velvet persian coat was printed with metallic paints with Venetian glass buttons and silk loop closures at the center fr...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Coats
Price Upon Request - Mariano Fortuny Green Stencilled Velvet Long CoatBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYFortuny translated the caftan as a loose fitting outer garment,usually made out of silk velvet crepe or gauze the fitted back and open front allowed for elaborate stenciled decoratio...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Coats
Price Upon Request - Supreme Opulent Russian Sable Fur Stroller Length CoatLocated in Tustin, CAShown as the ultimate symbol of status and elegance, Russian Sable is considered to be the most coveted fur in the world. This Russian sable fur coat...Category
Late 20th Century American Opera Coats
$9,900 Sale Price34% Off - Couture Missoni Plaid Knitted Hooded Wool Cape Cloak with Orange LabelBy MissoniLocated in Tustin, CAColorful, heavy, knitted vintage mohair wool, plaid hooded cape from Italian high end, couture fashion designer, Missoni, features a complementary, color coordinated, striped interio...Category
1980s Italian Capes
$695 Sale Price26% Off
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.