1980s Yves Saint Laurent Multico Cotton Dress
View Similar Items
1980s Yves Saint Laurent Multico Cotton Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 43.31 in (110 cm)Bust: 45.67 in (116 cm)Waist: 28.35 in (72 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. In good vintage condition.We guarantee you will receive this iconic item as described and showed on photos. (please enlarge images to see all details on photos).
- Seller Location:Paris, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU18729566272
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.
- Chanel Orange Sequin-Detailing Tweed Sleeveless DressBy ChanelLocated in Paris, FRChanel orange sequin-detailing tweed sleeveless dress featuring sequin detailing, concealed rear zip fastening, a round neck, cap sleeves, two front patch pockets and a thigh-length....Category
Early 2000s French Cocktail Dresses
- Alaia Iconic White and Black Short DressBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in Paris, FRAlaia flared dress featuring a white and black geometric pattern, a scalloped neck, an invisible back zip fastening, a sleeveless design, a fitted waist, a flared skirt, a short leng...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mini Dress
On Hold$1,592 - Pierre Cardin Wool Green DressBy Pierre CardinLocated in Paris, FR1980's Pierre Cardin wool trapeze dress featuring an off-white silk satin collar, double bread top dress opening, pleats in the skirt part. In good vintage condition. Made in Franc...Category
1980s French Day Dresses
- Zandra Rhodes Black Silk Evening DressBy Zandra RhodesLocated in Paris, FRGorgeous Zandra Rhodes evening dress featuring a silk black taffeta fabric base, with gold metallic paint on the skirt portion, skirt gets an inside a tulle petticoat, a center back ...Category
1980s British Mini Dress
- 1980 Iconic Yves Saint Laurent YSL Black Velvet DressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Paris, FRYves Saint Laurent YSL black velvet dress featuring double layered silk satin ruffles around the faux-wrap style deep v neckline, and around the cuffs, shoulder pads inside uphold th...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- Emilio Pucci Blue Silk DressBy Emilio PucciLocated in Paris, FREmilio Pucci blue silk jersey printed dress featuring an iconic geometric print, a front gathered detail. Composition: 100% silk Estimated size IT42/38fr/US6 /UK10 Made in Italy. In...Category
1990s French Cocktail Dresses
- Givenchy Printed Plunging Maxi DressBy GivenchyLocated in Geneva, CHWonderful 70's silhouette with this Givenchy maxi dress. Made of airy silk chiffon featuring a red and white graphic print, the dress has a deep plunging neckline at the front and re...Category
1970s French Maxi Dresses
- Kenzo unique flamboyant pink silk kimono inspired dress, circa 1980By KenzoLocated in London, GBThis dress designed by the legendary Kenzo Takada in 1980 Illustrates beautifully the cult designer’s aesthetic that crossed borders, colours and cultures. Kenzo was a very special f...Category
1980s French Day Dresses
- Vintage 1950's Worth Couture Shocking Pink Floral Print Silk Shawl-Collar DressBy House of WorthLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThis gorgeous House of Worth haute couture cocktail ensemble, dating back to the early 1950-52 time period, is in a class of its own. The House of Worth was an elite French...Category
1950s French Cocktail Dresses
- Rare Lanvin novelty print dress, circa 1970By Lanvin ParisLocated in London, GBLanvin has cemented its place in fashion history as one of Paris’s most prestigious couture houses after the labels first boutique opened in 1889. This Lanvin dress is a rare piece o...Category
1970s French Day Dresses
$852 Sale Price35% Off - 1930S Pink Bias Cut Cotton Ottoman Dress With Out BackLocated in New York, NY1930S Pink Bias Cut Cotton Ottoman Dress With Out BackCategory
1930s Casual Dresses
- Vintage Pink Fink Cotton Jersey Day DressBy Ein Fink ModellLocated in London, GBA pretty vintage pink cotton day dress by Fink. The dress has a printed collar and yoke, with an 8 button front opening, pockets on either side and belt hoops. It is fully lined.Category
1970s German Day 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.
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.