Vintage 1979 Yves Saint Laurent Haute-Couture Red Dotted Silk Backless Gown
View Similar Items
Vintage 1979 Yves Saint Laurent Haute-Couture Red Dotted Silk Backless Gown
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 60 in (152.4 cm)Bust: 34 in (86.36 cm)Waist: 28 in (71.12 cm)Hip: 36 in (91.44 cm)
- Style:Backless (In the Style Of)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Beverly Hills, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3094570821
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.
- Vintage 1960's Bob Bugnand Red & Orange Floral Flocked Satin Strapless GownBy Bob Bugnand for Sam Friedlander, Bob BugnandLocated in Beverly Hills, CABreathtaking and ultra rare Bob Bugnand for Sam Friedlander designer dress dating back to the late 1960's. Bob Bugnand worked as the chief designer for Jacques Heim and Robert Piquet...Category
1960s Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Vintage 1970's Halston Couture Red Metallic Sheer Knit Long-Sleeve Dress GownBy HalstonLocated in Beverly Hills, CAGorgeous Halston Couture metallic lurex knit dress ensemble dating back to the mid 1970's. Throughout most of the seventies he epitomized the glamour, as well as the decadence of the...Category
1970s Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Vintage 1970's Embroidered Patchwork Cotton Maxi Dress Worn By Zsa Zsa GaborLocated in Beverly Hills, CAA vibrant, early 1970's Joann Lopez designer embroidered cotton dress straight from Zsa Zsa Gabor's wardrobe. This dress dates back to the h...Category
1970s American Aesthetic Day Dresses
- Vintage 1969 Rudi Gernreich Cross Your Heart Empire Red Navy Knit Mod Maxi DressBy Rudi GernreichLocated in Beverly Hills, CAA fearless designer, Rudi Gernreich’s body conscious garments dazzled the fashion world with originality and vision. Gernreich held a futurist view of fashion that resulted in innova...Category
1960s American Maxi Dresses
- Vintage 1973 Givenchy Haute Couture Orange Dotted Silk Carwash-Hem Caftan GownBy GivenchyLocated in Beverly Hills, CAA gorgeous Givenchy numbered haute couture vibrant orange polka-dot silk gown ensemble dating back to his 1973 spring-summer collection. This rare four...Category
1970s French Aesthetic Day Dresses
- Vintage 1995 Moschino Couture 'Ladybug' Novelty Black & Red Silk Halter DressBy Moschino, Moschino CoutureLocated in Beverly Hills, CASensational Moschino Couture 'Coccinella' titled ladybug novelty silk dress dating back to his 1995 fall-winter collection. As shown, this ultra rare and absolutely adorable garment is also archived at The Metropolitan Museum of Art! Moschino called himself half tailor, half artist; although he did not cut or sew, he drew frequently, quickly, and spontaneously! His cuts were meticulously constructed and traditional, as well as flattering to the wearer. This playful dress is a perfect example of why this brand has stood the test of time. Not only is this little number very alluring; it is so iconic. The flattering halter-tie bodice flawlessly acts as the antennas while the body is transformed into red wings...Category
1990s Italian Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- McQ Alexander McQueen Orange Stretch Knit Dress W Cut Out Zipper DetailsBy Alexander McQueen, McQ Alexander McQueenLocated in Portland, ORThis orange Alexander McQueen dress is so special and we really love the diagonal bust zipper that is fully functional! You can wear it with the zipper open for a cut out effect. Thi...Category
2010s Turkish Day Dresses
- 1980s Vintage Red Vakko Suede Peplum Strapless DressBy VAKKOLocated in Portland, ORThis is such a fun vintage red dress! This Vakko suede peplum evening dress has a sweetheart bust and a pointed peplum at the waist. .The dress is fu...Category
1980s American Evening Dresses
- 1930s Rusty Red Silk Vintage 2 Pc Bias Dress With Rhinestone Belt and TieLocated in Portland, ORThis is a vintage 1930's two piece rust red silk dress with a matching belt with original sash buckle. This top of the dress has long sleeves with gathered tucks on the elbows, a V n...Category
1930s American Day Dresses
- Oscar de la Renta Embroidered Silk Caftan with Matching dress New!By Oscar De La RentaLocated in Los Angeles, CAOscar de la Renta 2 piece silk caftan Fashioned of rich tomato red silk with matching slipdress. Neckline adorned with heavily embellished gol...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Caftans
$2,240 Sale Price20% Off - LeSwim Red and Black Lips Print Halter Midi Dress Size SmallLocated in Paradise Island, BSFounded by Adriana Caras, LeSwim is a modern vision of luxury resort style, offering elevated swimwear and resort wear that travels beyond the beach. The clothing is made in the US, ...Category
2010s American Day Dresses
$297 Sale Price40% Off - LeSwim Red and Black Lips Print Halter Midi Dress Size XSLocated in Paradise Island, BSFounded by Adriana Caras, LeSwim is a modern vision of luxury resort style, offering elevated swimwear and resort wear that travels beyond the beach. The clothing is made in the U, o...Category
2010s American Day Dresses
$297 Sale Price40% 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.