Yves Saint Laurent Floral Polka Dot Dress Silk Vintage Blue, 1980s
View Similar Items
Yves Saint Laurent Floral Polka Dot Dress Silk Vintage Blue, 1980s
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Length: 39.38 in (100 cm)Marked Size: 8 (US)Bust: 20.87 in (53 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:100% Silk
- Condition:Excellent vintage condition.
- Seller Location:Brindisi, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU135435130263
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.
- Alberta Ferretti Purple Silk Evening Sheath DressBy Philosophy by Alberta FerrettiLocated in Brindisi, BtPhilosophy by Alberta Ferretti 2000s woman dress. Elegant sheath dress, knee length. Purple color, 75% acetate fabric, 20% polyamide, 5% other fibers, the upper part of the chest and...Category
Early 2000s Italian Sheath Dresses
- 1990s Louis Feraud Black Cerimony Floral Velvet Vintage Long DressBy Louis FeraudLocated in Brindisi, BtLouis Feraud vintage women dress. Black color, 100% polyester. Long model, floral applications in velvet, adjustable waist belt, collar with flou...Category
1990s German Evening Dresses
- Franka Black Velvet Short Cocktail Evening Sheath DressLocated in Brindisi, BtFranka vintage 80s short dress. Elegant one-shoulder sheath dress with tone-on-tone streaks. Black velvet color. Bodice with boning. Sleeve with shoulder strap. Internally lined. Zip...Category
1980s English Cocktail Dresses
- Guy Laroche 70s Blue Gold Black Velvet Evening DressBy Guy LarocheLocated in Brindisi, BtGuy Laroche vintage 70s woman dress. Evening dress, blue and gold damask bodice, internal boning. Black velvet skirt, on the side a large bow. Removable shrug with clip buttons. Fabr...Category
1970s French Cocktail Dresses
- Byblos Green Black Silk Short Rockabilly DressBy ByblosLocated in Brindisi, BtByblos 90s vintage woman dress. Short dress, black elastic bodice, green and black striped balloon skirt. Pockets on the hips. Bodice fabric 80%...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Alberto Fabiani by Puritan Brown Lace Vintage Evening Sheath DressLocated in Brindisi, BtAlberto Fabiani by Puritan vintage brown lace dress. Great Italian designer of the 50s and 70s. The dress is linear, short-sleeved, fully lined, long ...Category
1970s Italian Sheath Dresses
- Edith Flag Vintage Dress, 1980sBy Edith FlaggLocated in New York, NYStunning couture vintage dress, draped and embellished with beading and stones. Period: 1980s Shoulder pads. There are no tags with the composition, it f...Category
1980s American Evening Dresses
- Vintage Yves Saint Laurent Silk Violet Bustier Dress, 1980sBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in New York, NYBeautiful Vintage Yves Saint Laurent silk bustier violet dress with a small drapery in front. Edition Soir. The inner corset tightly fixes the bustier o...Category
1980s French Evening Dresses
- Tadashi Shoji Purple Pin-Tucked Jersey Jovian Strapless Sequins Gown LBy Tadashi ShojiLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2Resplendent, elegant, and gorgeous, this gown defines it all. Flaunting a floor-length silhouette, this gown is beautified using stunning details and a stylish neckline. Wear it with...Category
2010s Evening Gowns
- Dolce & Gabbana Purple Draped Silk Corset Detailed Strapless Mini Dress MBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2Look nothing but lovely as you don this marvelous dress from Dolce & Gabbana. Pair it with your favorite accessories as you head out for the day.Category
2010s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière checked silk structured mini dress, ss 2008By BalenciagaLocated in London, GB▪ Important Balenciaga purple and white checked silk mini dress ▪ Designed by Nicolas Ghesquière ▪ Structured form made out of silk backed with foam ▪ Edges expose the layers of fab...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Diane Von Furstenberg Purple Floral Print Dress Size SBy Diane von FurstenbergLocated in London, GBCONDITION is Very good. Minimal wear to dress is evident. Minimal wear to fabric composition with very small plucks to the weave at centre front neckline on this used Diane Von Furst...Category
21st Century and Contemporary British Evening 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.
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.