An Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Evening Dress - Spring Summer 1978
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Equivalent size 36-38 France (EU)
- Style:1978 (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very Good Condition and Color.
- Seller Location:Toulon, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU633316287172
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.
Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche
Visionary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter. The inaugural Rive Gauche boutique — a modern shop in Paris’s bustling, bohemian Left Bank district — offered stylish garments and accessories that were intended to be affordable for a younger generation of fashion enthusiasts. The store featured Mies van der Rohe chairs and played host to actor Catherine Deneuve during its grand opening.
Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Using traditional menswear fabrics and designs for women, he 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 — Rive Gauche is French for “left bank” — followed soon thereafter by YSL Rive Gauche for men. Ready-to-wear materialized during a period of dynamic transformation and experimentation and came to dominate the Paris fashion scene. 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.
The vintage YSL Rive Gauche clothing for sale on 1stDibs includes evening dresses and gowns, jackets, shoes, handbags and other items.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Toulon, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- A French Chiné Silk Ball Gown Circa 1955Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1955 -1960 France Beautiful summer ball gown in taffeta mottled with large bunches of carnations (?) undulating, without claw and dating from the 1...Category
1950s French Evening Dresses
- A French Powder Pink Crepe Satin Ceremonial Dress Circa 1940Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1940 France A Collectible Long dress for evening or ceremony in Fibrane, a reversible matte and satin crepe in artificial fibre, in a subtle powder pink colour, dating from the 1940s. Long puffed sleeves with fine shoulder pleats, square neckline and cut-out effect at the waist. Yellow bakelite buckle...Category
1940s French Evening Dresses
- A Gold and Green Lurex knitwear Party Dress - France Circa 1970Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1970 France Long party dress made of gold Lurex and green fluorescent Lurex knitwear and dating from the 1970s. Tight dress with boat neckline and ...Category
1970s French Cocktail Dresses
- A Pierre Balmain woollen Couture Dress Numbered 182888 - Spring Summer 1963By Pierre BalmainLocated in Toulon, FRSpring Summer 1963 France A Pierre Balmain dress in cream wool jersey from the 1960s. Sleeveless dress with straight cut tightened at the waist with loose effect. At the front, ther...Category
1960s French Casual Dresses
- A Jean Patou Couture Mini Dress by Christian Lacroix Show 1986By Jean PatouLocated in Toulon, FRCollection Spring Summer 1986 France Haute Couture Mini-dress in embroidered beige silk for show from the designer house Jean Patou by Christian...Category
1980s French Mini Dresses
- A Louis Féraud Sequin and rhinestone embroidered tunic dress - Fall 1984-1985By Louis FeraudLocated in Toulon, FRAutumn Winter Collection 1984-1985 France Tunic dress with plastron effect, densely embroidered with sequins and rhinestones by Louis Féraud Haute Couture. Mini tunic dress that can ...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- Antique Edwardian 1910s Vintage Ivory Net Tulle Dress W Soutache Embroidery TrimLocated in Portland, ORThis is an incredible vintage dress from the 1910's!! The soutache detail is so well done and we especially love the pretty three layers of soft netting . The base layer is solid wit...Category
Early 20th Century American Day Dresses
- Roberto Cavalli Paisley Jacquard Knit Sleeveless Fitted Cocktail Dress Size 42By Roberto CavalliLocated in Paradise Island, BSThis Roberto Cavalli sleeveless cocktail dress features a vibrant orange and blue paisley print, a V-neckline, and a fitted silhouette with a trumpet hem. It is the perfect dress for...Category
2010s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Burberry Cotton Dress in BeigeBy BurberryLocated in Carnate, ITBurberry Cotton Dress in Beige Burberry dress. Missing composition label. We think it's cotton. Classic color of the English brand. Double-breasted closure, ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- Missoni sleeveless pink beige blue white grey knit knitted flare maxi gown dressBy MissoniLocated in Paris, FRLook 8 from Missoni Fall 2011 Missoni sleeveless floor length dress with a fitted upper and flared skirt Missoni knit in varying shades of dusky pink, beige, blue, white and grey Raw...Category
2010s Italian Maxi Dresses
- Moroccan Elegant Luxury Dupiono Silk Caftan Gown Maxi DressLocated in North Hollywood, CAElegant Moroccan luxury silk caftan gown. Stunning elegant classic Dupioni silk fabric in ivory color. easy light to wear around the house or at a party. This long maxi dress kaftan ...Category
20th Century Moroccan Kaftans
- Elegant Moroccan White Caftan with Gold Metallic Floral BrocadeLocated in North Hollywood, CAElegant Moroccan white caftan with gold lame metallic floral brocade, This is an exceptional example of Moroccan fashion design dating to the 1970s, Handcrafted in Morocco and tailored for a relaxed fit. It is trimmed in handcrafted “passementerie”. The neckline does up with ball shaped buttons and loops. The body of the garment is loose fitting and flares to the bottom. This long maxi dress kaftan is embroidered and embellished entirely by hand with detailing around neckline, shoulders and cuffs. One of a kind evening Moroccan Middle Eastern Moorish gown. The kaftan features a traditional neckline, embellished sleeves. It is a slip on, the button does not open. In Morocco, fashion preserves its traditional style inherited from great civilizations that found their way to Northwest Africa, such as the ottomans and the moors. Moroccan fashion has been recognized for its style and has garnered a reputation, winning awards in international fashion shows throughout Europe. Marrakech Bohemian, Yves Saint Laurent style. Sizing: No size is indicated, but, being a loose fitting garment, this should fit a range of medium to large sizes, please rely on the following measurements for fit: Shoulders 17” across Sleeves 24” Bust 24” flat Waist 25” flat Hips 27” flat Length 56”, measured flat Condition: It is in very good condition with no wear, tear, stains or odors, this caftan looks like it saw little use and was well stored over the years. This is a beautiful example of 1970s Moroccan fashion design, only now becoming more appreciated and sure to increase in value! Women's long flare bell sleeves Islamic dress...Category
1970s Moroccan Caftans
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.