Vintage S/S 2003 Black Silk Pleat Top
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 10 (UK)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3757222351542
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: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Gucci Vintage S/S 2000 Black Vest TopBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in London, GBWe are excited to present this vintage Tom Ford for Gucci Spring Summer 2000 black top. Features fine ribbed fabric, skinny straps and triangle chest accent in a bodycon fit. In exce...Category
Early 2000s Italian Shirts
- Vintage 1992 Sock Shop BodysuitBy Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBWe are incredibly excited to present this Vivienne Westwood 1992 bodysuit. Features Orb embroidered on chest, short sleeves and round neckline. In excellent vintage condition. Authen...Category
1990s British T-Shirts
- Vintage S/S 1993 Pop Floral HalterneckBy VersaceLocated in London, GBWe are excited to present this Versace Jeans Couture Spring Summer 1993 floral halter neck top. Features lapel and double breasted closure with medusa button. In excellent vintage co...Category
1990s Italian Blouses and Tops
- Miu Miu 2021 Cropped White TopBy Miu MiuLocated in London, GBWe are excited to present this Miu Miu 2021 Cropped White Top. Features long sleeves, scoop neckline and under bust white and red branded elastic band. In excellent pre loved conditi...Category
2010s Italian Blouses and Tops
- Vintage 1998 Hardware Black Open Cross-back TopBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in London, GBTom Ford for Gucci 1998 backless top. Features skinny strap with hardware feature and open back with cross back style in bodycon fit. In excellent vintage condition. Brand: Gucci Siz...Category
1990s Italian Blouses and Tops
- Bondage Style Black ShirtBy GivenchyLocated in London, GBWe are excited to present this Givenchy black shirt. Features a band collar with hidden button closure on the front with bondage style straps on arms and waist. Pre-loved, in excelle...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shirts
- GIVENCHY Size 6 Black Viscose Rayon Ruffled Long Sleeve Dress TopBy GivenchyLocated in San Francisco, CAVintage GIVENCHY top comes in black Viscose and Rayon velvet,featuring a pleated collar, shoulder pads, zipper cuffs, and a button up closure. Ma...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Blouses and Tops
- BURBERRY PRORSUM Size M Blue Silver Silk Elastane Studded Racerback Dress TopBy Burberry ProrsumLocated in San Francisco, CABURBERRY PRORSUM tank top comes in a blue silk and elastane featuring a silver studded details, sleeveless style and a full zipper up at center back. Made in Italy.Excellent Pre-Ow...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Blouses and Tops
- LA PERLA Size S Red Polyamide Blend Textured Corset Dress TopBy La PerlaLocated in San Francisco, CALA PERLA corset dress top comes in red polyamide knitted material featuring a mixed texture and zip up closure at center back.Excellent Pre-Owned Condi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Blouses and Tops
- MARC JACOBS Size S Black & White Pinstripe Cotton Long Sleeve ShirtBy Marc JacobsLocated in San Francisco, CAMARC JACOBS Long Sleeve Shirt comes in a black & white stripe cotton featuring a button up style and a gold tone "safety pin" detail. Made in Italy. Excellent Pre-Owned Condition. ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Collars
- ETRO Size 4 Blue Silk Ruffled Sleeveless Dress TopBy EtroLocated in San Francisco, CAETRO blouse comes in a blue silk featuring a ruffled design, v-neck, and a sleeveless style. Made in Italy. Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. Marked: 40 Measurements: Shoulder:...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Blouses and Tops
- GIAMBATTISTA VALLI Size S White & Burgundy Cotton / Silk Floral Dress TopBy Giambattista ValliLocated in San Francisco, CAGIAMBATTISTA VALLI dress top coms in a white & burgundy floral cotton / silk featuring a sleeveless style, ribbed hem, and a crew-neck. Made in Italy. Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Blouses and Tops