Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture chantilly lace and chiffon evening gown, c.1970
View Similar Items
Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture chantilly lace and chiffon evening gown, c.1970
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Chantilly black lace, nude silk lining, black silk chiffon
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14021198422
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.
- BodyMap 1982-1986 green spandex bodycon dressLocated in London, GBBodyMap 1982-1986 green spandex bodycon dressCategory
1980s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- BodyMap red and black knitted dress, fw 1985Located in London, GBBodyMap red and black hand knitted dress from the 'Barbie Takes a Trip Around Nature's Cosmic Curves' collection. Fall-Winter 1985Category
1980s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Alexander McQueen beaded lace evening dress, c. 1990sBy Alexander McQueenLocated in London, GBPresenting an enchanting Alexander McQueen sleeveless evening dress, a true masterpiece of elegance and artistry. This dress is constructed from steel grey lace, beautifully adorned ...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Azzedine Alaia navy acetate knit hooded maxi dress, fw 1986By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBAll photographs in this listing EXCLUDING any reference or runway imagery needs the credit of the copyright owner ONE OF A KIND ARCHIVE if you want to perform certain acts, such as c...Category
1980s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Azzedine Alaïa green and black wool jersey wrap dress, fw 1982By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GB▪ Azzedine Alaïa wool jersey wrap dress ▪ Green long-sleeve bodice ▪ Black knee-length wrap skirt ▪ Black patent leather straps with metal buckle ▪ Press studs at the center-back o...Category
1980s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- John Galliano navy pinstripe silk shirred blouse and fishtail skirt set, ss 2002By John GallianoLocated in London, GB▪ John Galliano navy and cream silk blouse and skirt set ▪ Deconstructed blouse with shirred detail ▪ Matching mid-length fishtail skirt with black cotton Broderie Anglaise trim at h...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Chic 1960s Black and White Gingham Long Sleeve A - Line Vintage 60s Wool DressLocated in San Diego, CAChic late 1960s black and white large houndstooth long sleeve A-line dress! Features a fitted bodice with a full skirt. Oversized collar, and bell sleeves that cuff at the hem. Featu...Category
1960s American Shift Dresses
$395 Sale Price33% Off - 1980s Prom Night Blacke Dress Embellished Pois on SkirtLocated in Capri, IT1980s Prom Night Blacke Dress Embellished Pois on Skirt Totally made in italy Composition: Viscose polyester polyamide Size 36Category
1980s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
$88 Sale Price42% Off - Christian Dior Numbered Demi Couture Little Black Cocktail DressBy Christian Dior, Marc BohanLocated in Geneva, CHIs this 60’s Christian Dior the perfect “Little Black Dress” that every woman should have in her dressing ?! Constructed in a beautiful black “cloqué” silk, this textured cocktail dr...Category
1960s French Cocktail Dresses
- Dolce & Gabbana D&G Black and Gray Ruched Corset DressBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Oakland, CASexy as ever Dolce & Gabanna bodycon ruched corset dress with boning. Black with dark heather grey front panels. Adjustable lingerie straps. Full length back zipper. Hits a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- new MAISON MARGIELA JOHN GALLIANO 2019 deconstructed navy wool 2D dress IT40 SBy Maison Martin Margiela, John GallianoLocated in Hong Kong, NTnew MAISON MARGIELA JOHN GALLIANO 2019 deconstructed navy wool 2D dress IT40 S Reference: TGAS/C01545 Brand: Maison Margiela Designer: John Galliano...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Cocktail Dresses
- DRIES VAN NOTEN geometric draped silk asymmetric cotton sleeves dress FR36 SBy Dries van NotenLocated in Hong Kong, NTDRIES VAN NOTEN geometric draped silk asymmetric cotton sleeves dress FR36 S Reference: CELG/A00113 Brand: Dries Van Noten Designer: Dries Van Noten Material: Silk Color: Blue ...Category
2010s Cocktail 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.