SAINT LAURENT Size 4 White Viscose Strapless Cutout Cocktail Dress
View Similar Items
SAINT LAURENT Size 4 White Viscose Strapless Cutout Cocktail Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 4 (US)
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 1181621stDibs: LU162217052422
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. Under creative director Hedi Slimane, the house’s ready-to-wear collection was rebranded as Saint Laurent in 2012.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Saint Laurent evening dresses, shirts, handbags and other clothing and accessories today on 1stDibs.
- HERVE LEGER Size XXS Blue Rayon Blend A-Line Cocktail DressBy Herve LégerLocated in San Francisco, CAHERVE LEGER cocktail mini dress comes in blue rayon blend knit fabric featuring a strappy neckline, A-line shape, and a back zipper closure.Good Pre-Owned Condition. As Is. Garment ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- ALICE + OLIVIA Size 0 Black Beige Viscose Blend Two Tone Cocktail DressBy Alice + OliviaLocated in San Francisco, CAALICE + OLIVIA dress comes in a black & beige lace viscose blend featuring a open back, long sleeves, single button, back slit, and a back zip up closure.Very Good Pre-Owned Conditio...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- ETRO Size 6 Black Cotton Blend Sleeveless Cocktail DressBy EtroLocated in San Francisco, CAETRO cocktail dress comes in a black satin cotton blend featuring a v-neck, sleeveless, a-line, back slit, and a back zip up closure. Made in Italy. Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- VALENTINO Size 6 Blush Wool Ruffled One Shoulder Cocktail DressBy ValentinoLocated in San Francisco, CAVALENTINO cocktail dress comes in a blush pink wool featuring a one shoulder design, ruffled detail, front side slit, and a side zipper closure. Made in Italy. Very Good Pre-Owned Co...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- GUY LAROCHE Size 10 Black Viscose Silk Mesh Spaghetti Straps Cocktail DressBy Guy LarocheLocated in San Francisco, CAGUY LAROCHE dress comes in a black viscose / silk with a slip liner featuring beaded spaghetti straps, lace panel, and a back zipper closure. Made in France. Very Good Pre-Owned Cond...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- MUGLER Size 2 Orange Yellow Polyamide Blend Ombre Body-Con Mini Cocktail DressBy MuglerLocated in San Francisco, CAMUGLER dress comes in a orange and yellow polyamide blend mesh material featuring a one shoulder style, ombre colors, mini dress in a body-con shape, and a side zipper closure. Comes...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- Chanel Faux Pearl Embellished Full Length Dress FR 40 14C 2014 NWTBy ChanelLocated in Merced, CAChanel full length dress with faux peals embellishments and Chanel interlocking CC logo emblem. It s new with tag. This is from Chanel Cruise 2014 r...Category
Mid-20th Century French Maxi Dresses
- CHANEL cream crochet silk suit jacket and dress FR 42 Resort 2017 Cuba 17CBy ChanelLocated in Rubiera, REChanel Resort 2017 Cuba Cream crochet silk suit jacket and dress Size Fr 42 Made in France Missing fond de robe (underdress) Flat measures: Jacket ...Category
2010s Italian Day Dresses
- CHANEL Camellia Dress 97PBy Chanel BoutiqueLocated in Rubiera, RECHANEL BOUTIQUE SPRING 1997 COLLECTION 97P Vintage multicolor camellia patterned dress, front opening, with hidden buttoning. Mandarin collar, four fla...Category
1990s French Chemise Dresses
- CHANEL RESORT 2019 La Pausa knitted dressBy ChanelLocated in Rubiera, RECHANEL Resort 2019 LA PAUSA Collection Dress in very light white cotton jersey with blue vertical stripes. Bateau neckline with CC logo embroidered at th...Category
2010s Italian Day Dresses
- Chanel cotton tweed dress with camelia FR 40 Spring 2011 11PBy ChanelLocated in Rubiera, REChanel tweed cotton dress with camelia Spring 2011 Size FR 40 Made in France 62% cotton 33% polyamid 5% viscose Fully silk lined Flat measures: Length cm. 97 Shoulders cm. 28 Bust...Category
2010s French Cocktail Dresses
- CHANEL blue and white cotton dress FR 40 Spring 2008 08PBy ChanelLocated in Rubiera, RECHANEL Spring / Summer 2008 Collection Look 16/80 on the catwalk Blue and white tweed dress featuring halter shoulders, front zip with double slider, side pockets on the front and ba...Category
Early 2000s French 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.
This Golden Saint Laurent Handbag Feels Like a Disco-Era Throwback (in the Best Way Possible)
If you're looking for an accessory that brings the party, this is it.