Yves Saint Laurent Magenta Cape
View Similar Items
Yves Saint Laurent Magenta Cape
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: ONE (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU451398093
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.
- Iconic Gucci By Tom Ford Black Tab Runway Coat 2001By Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Tom Ford for Gucci black collarless evening coat featuring long sleeves, straight silhouette an exposed brass zipper and black tabs...Category
Early 2000s Italian Coats and Outerwear
- Important Maison Martin Margiela Navy Runway Coat With Obi Buckle Belt 1996By Maison Martin MargielaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is pleased to offer a vintage Maison Martin Margiela dark navy wool coat featuring an oversized attached silver-tone belt buckle and adjustable belt, side-front ...Category
1990s French Coats and Outerwear
- Maison Martin Margiela Grey Basting Vest 1997By Maison Martin MargielaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is pleased to offer a vintage Maison Martin Margiela grey suiting lapel vest with white basting stitching. Circa 1997. Maison Martin Margiela Size: One Size Woo...Category
1990s French Coats and Outerwear
- Stunning Yves Saint Laurent YSL Burgundy Velvet Coat 1970sBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a classic vintage Yves Saint Laurent burgundy velvet coat featuring a high collar, slightly high empire w...Category
1970s French Coats
- Balenciaga Black Drape CoatBy BalenciagaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga black tailored coat-dress featuring long sleeves, a knee-length snap front panel, and asymmetrica...Category
20th Century French Coats and Outerwear
$1,200 - Comme des Garcons Black Fancy Coat 2008By Comme des GarçonsLocated in Los Angeles, CAComme des Garcons black and navy pinstripe fancy coat with ruffle at skirt. Three button front and flat shorter skirt at back. Ribbons and trim details throughout. Collection AW 2006.Category
20th Century Japanese Coats and Outerwear
- Vintage Early 1940's Red Wool Embroidered Cape UK 10-16 US 6-12Located in Cheltenham, GBThe most majestic and eye-catching cape you could ever set your eyes upon. Rendered in vibrant shade of red wool and decorated with cream wool soutache embroidery, edged with gold la...Category
1940s Capes
- 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
- YSL Rive Gauche 1970s Red Wool Madarin Collar CoatBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in New York, NY1970s Saint Laurent Rive Gauche red wool coat with mandarin collar. Black piping and 6 black buttons down the front. Shoulder 18 in Chest 46 in Waist 56 in Length 39.5 in Sleeve 21 ...Category
1970s Coats and Outerwear
- Christian Dior Red Silk CapeBy Christian DiorLocated in London, GBThis Christian Dior red silk cape is a stunning and elegant piece that is sure to turn heads wherever you go. It is made from high-quality silk and features a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Coats and Outerwear
$1,573 - Yves Saint Laurent 1990 Glass Bead Leather Cropped JacketBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Los Angeles, CAFrom the Spring Summer 1990 Yves Saint Laurent Collection, our Yves Saint Laurent Glass Beaded Leather Cropped Jacket is straight from the r...Category
1990s Coats and Outerwear
- Rare Iconic D&G - Dolce e Gabbana Leather printed jacket with strass F/W 2001By D&G by DOLCE & GABBANALocated in Venezia, ITSuper Rare Iconic D&G - Dolce e Gabbana Leather printed jacket with strass Fall / Winter 2001 - SIZE: 30 / 44 IT Shouldes: 42cm Length: 52cm - NO RETURNSCategory
Early 2000s Italian Bomber Jackets
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.