Rare Iconic Yves Saint Laurent Tom Ford Leopard Cheetah Silk Fringed Caftan YSL
View Similar Items
Rare Iconic Yves Saint Laurent Tom Ford Leopard Cheetah Silk Fringed Caftan YSL
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: One Size (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very minor wear to fringe.
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU662954542
Tom Ford
No one understands sex appeal quite like American designer Tom Ford.
An avowed perfectionist from an early age, Ford was rearranging furniture at the age of six and offering his mother advice on her hair and shoes. The designer, author, film director and chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) is one of the most successful people working in fashion today.
Born in Austin, Texas, Ford grew up in the suburbs of Houston and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He briefly attended New York University, where he studied art history before dropping out to pursue acting. He became a regular at Studio 54, with its decadent nightlife later informing his high-octane fashion. He studied architecture at Parsons School of Design before shifting his focus to fashion and spending time at the Parsons Paris campus, graduating in 1985. The rest of the decade he worked for designers Perry Ellis and Cathy Hardwick. In 1990, Gucci’s creative director Dawn Mello hired him as a womens-wear designer.
At the time, the Italian label was better known for leather goods than luxury fashion. It was also nearly bankrupt. After Mello left in 1994, following a Bahrain-based investment group becoming Gucci’s majority shareholder, Ford was named creative director. He soon infused the brand with a fresh sensuality and bold style. His fall 1995 show, in which Kate Moss walked down the runway in an unbuttoned satin shirt, velvet hip-huggers and tousled hair, heralded an exciting, glammed-up era for the once fusty brand. Vogue critic Sarah Mower called it “one of those hitting-in-the-solar-plexus moments.”
As Ford shot to fame, he continued to explore plunging necklines, such as in the black and white looks of the Fall 1996 collection, and sumptuous fabrics like leather and tweed, with the Fall 2000 ready-to-wear collection ranging from sultry silk evening dresses to plush belted coats. He also cranked up the seduction in the provocative ads for the fashion house, particularly with regard to campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent, which Gucci acquired in 1999 (Ford was also named creative director for YSL and designed the brand’s ready-to-wear collection). Gucci's Fall/Winter 1997 campaign featured Carolyn Murphy grasping Angela Lindvall in what looked like a video still; in another shot, a face pressed against a foot in a lipstick-red heel. Each promoted a vision of modern fashion where women were sexually confident, the materials were luxurious and the styles were fearless.
In 2004, Ford and Gucci president Domenico De Sole left the company after failing to agree on the renewal of their contracts. In 2006, with De Sole as chairman, Ford launched his wildly successful eponymous menswear label. The brand has expanded into womens wear, beauty, accessories — vintage Tom Ford handbags are universally adored by celebrities and collectors alike — as well as eyewear and fragrance, with the unisex Black Orchid introduced in 2006. Ford broke into film directing with the critically acclaimed A Single Man in 2009 and Nocturnal Animals in 2016, continuing to blur the boundaries between fashion and culture.
Find vintage Tom Ford day dresses, purses, shoes and other clothing and accessories now on 1stDibs.
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.
- Vintage Blair Woolverton 1980s Floral Ribbon Size 4 Cotton Fit n Flare 80s DressLocated in San Diego, CAGorgeous 1980s BLAIR WOOLVERTON fit and flare dress! Features a beautiful flower print thorughout with purple ribbons that tie into a bow at each shou...Category
1980s American Cocktail Dresses
$600 Sale Price20% Off - Luca Luca Size 44 US 12 / 14 Embroidered Cotton + Linen Pastel Halter DressBy LUCA LUCALocated in San Diego, CAChic LUCA LUCA halter dress! Soft cotton and linen blend. Embroidered flowers and leaves printed throughout. Beautiful pastel colors in yellow, green, orange and brown throughout. Fu...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
$636 Sale Price20% Off - Amazing 1980s Leopard Cheetah Print Dolman Sleeve Vintage 80s Sweatshirt DressLocated in San Diego, CAIncredible 1980s leopard / cheetah animal print and black fit and flare cotton sweatshirt dress! Features an allover animal print in tan, brown, ivory a...Category
1980s American Casual Dresses
$495 Sale Price20% Off - Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture Navy Blue and White Nautical Dress, 1960sBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing and rare vintage 1960s YVES SAINT LAURENT HAUTE COUTURE navy blue and white numbered nautical A-Line dress! 1960s YSL pieces are hard enough to find, yet alone an haute coutu...Category
1960s French Cocktail Dresses
- Chic 1960s Yellow + Orange + White Short Sleeve Belted Vintage 60s Mod Day DressLocated in San Diego, CAChic early 1960s yellow, orange, burnt orange and white geometric abstract belted short sleeve day dress! Flattering fit, with a detachable belt to form a waistline. Hidden metal zip...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
$595 Sale Price20% Off - Marc Jacobs Runway 1920s Flapper Style Taupe Size 2 Tiered Polka Dot DressBy Marc JacobsLocated in San Diego, CAChic MARC JACOBS Runway collection 20s style flapper dress! Features a fitted taupe silk taffeta bodice with a soft lightweight tiered silk velvet skirt. Skirt features five tiers wi...Category
2010s Italian Cocktail Dresses
$766 Sale Price22% Off
- Iconic Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Olive Green Safari Tunic, 1968.By Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in New York, NYYves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Olive Green Safari Tunic, 1968. Olive green cotton tunic features laces at the front with long cords that are run through metal grommets, to be worn op...Category
1960s French Tunics and Wrap Dresses
- c. 1967 Pierre Cardin Documented Dress MuseumBy Pierre CardinLocated in New York, NYc. 1967 Pierre Cardin Futuristic Dress Mini dress of navy wool jersey knit. The tubular mini dress has a rounded neckline and short sleeves. Red, sh...Category
1960s French Shift Dresses
- S/S 1990 Thierry Mugler Black and Green Sculptural DressBy Thierry MuglerLocated in New York, NYS/S 1990 Thierry Mugler Black Cotton Dress with Layered, Tiered Skirt Panels Backed with Acid Green Cotton; Fitted Bodice with Adjustable Straps; Self Belt w...Category
1990s French Cocktail Dresses
- Jean Paul Gaultier Classique Dress 1990's Vintage Tribal Aztec Wrap DressBy Jean Paul Gaultier ClassiqueLocated in London, GBJean Paul Gaultier Classique Dress 1990's Vintage Tribal Aztec Tattoo Print Wrap Dress Lightweight Stretchy Silky Mesh Material 100% Authentic SIZE: M ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS: S...Category
1990s Tunics and Wrap Dresses
- Gianni Versace Vintage Shift Midi DressBy Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GBGianni Versace Vintage Shift Midi Dress A-Line Cut CONDITION: This item is a vintage/pre-worn piece so some signs of natural wear and age are to be expected. However good general ...Category
1990s Casual Dresses
- Moschino vintage dressBy MoschinoLocated in London, GBMoschino vintage dress Moschino archive vintage grommet lace-up bodice belted detail side zip condition: this item is a vintage/pre-worn piece so some signs of natural wear and a...Category
Early 2000s Casual Dresses
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The Best Ways to Dress for Your Astrological Sign
Makeup and astrology expert Linda Mason dispenses fashion advice for every zodiac sign. Does your wardrobe match your horoscope?
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.