Saint Laurent Black Zebra Print Sequin Cocktail Dress, Fall 2015 Retailed $18k
View Similar Items
Saint Laurent Black Zebra Print Sequin Cocktail Dress, Fall 2015 Retailed $18k
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 6 (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Worn Once.
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 904511stDibs: LU16224596711
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.
- BOTTEGA VENETA Size XS Cream Cotton Blend Textured One Shoulder DressBy Bottega VenetaLocated in San Francisco, CABOTTEGA VENETA dress comes in a cream cotton terry cloth knit material featuring an one shoulder style. Made in Italy.Excellent Pre- Owned Conditions. Marked: XS Measurements:...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- MARNI Size 2 Burgundy Black Viscose Rhombus Sleeveless DressBy MarniLocated in San Francisco, CAMARNI sheath dress comes in a black and burgundy viscose rhombus woven material featuring pleated detail at front, sleeveless, and a back zip up closure.Excellent Pre-Owned Condition...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- VIKTOR & ROLF Size M Black Polyester Mesh Shift DressBy Viktor & RolfLocated in San Francisco, CAVIKTOR & ROLF shift knee high dress comes in black polyester tulle woven material and see through style. Made in Netherlands.New with Tags. Marked: 3 Measurements: Shoulder: ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- RALPH LAUREN Size 8 Black Leather Lamb Skin Sleeveless DressBy Ralph LaurenLocated in San Francisco, CARALPH LAUREN COLLECTION 2011 dress comes in black lamb skin leather with a criss-cross, pencil silhouette, and zip up closure at back. Made in USA.Excell...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- DRIES VAN NOTEN Size 2 Black Viscose Sequined Mini DressBy Dries van NotenLocated in San Francisco, CADRIES VAN NOTEN long sleeve dress comes in a black viscose woven material featuring a black sequins throughout, drop shoulder, ruffled detail at the waistband, elastic waistband and ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Mini Dress
- DOLCE & GABBANA Size M Brown Beige Wool Marbled Long Sleeve DressBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in San Francisco, CADOLCE & GABBANA dress comes in a brown & beige marble wool woven material featuring long sleeves, side pockets, a-line style, elastic waist and elastic cuffs. Made in Italy. Very Goo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- Badgley Mischka Beaded Black Silk Lace Evening Gown Size US 10By Badgley MischkaLocated in New York, NYBadgley Mischka glamorous black silk lace evening gown, size US 10. Gown features hand beaded and embroidered lace with glass jet beading, and neckline with glass jet beads along cu...Category
Late 20th Century American Evening Gowns
- Mariano Fortuny Black Silk Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with matte frosted colored glass beads threaded through the cordin...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Peplos
Price Upon Request - Mariano Fortuny Black Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
Price Upon Request - Mariano Fortuny Black Delphos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
Named after a ...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
Price Upon Request - Eavis & Brown Beaded Evening DressBy Eavis & BrownLocated in Water Mill, NYEavis & Brown Fabulous Beaded Hand Made Dress..Size XSCategory
20th Century English Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Beautiful D&G Dolce and Gabbana Leopard Print DressBy D&G by DOLCE & GABBANALocated in Hoffman Estates, ILBeautiful vintage D&G Dolce & Gabbana leopard print dress. Excellent condition.Category
Early 20th Century Italian Day Dresses
$440 Sale Price20% 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.