Men's Yves Saint Laurent red silk leisure suit, ss 1978
View Similar Items
Men's Yves Saint Laurent red silk leisure suit, ss 1978
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Small (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140211276082
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.
- Vivienne Westwood Spring-Summer 1992 brown leather corset and mini skirtBy Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood Spring-Summer 1992 brown leather corset with boning, zip fastening and two long tie-up sashes at the front. High waisted mini skirt with slit at the rear.Category
1990s British Skirt Suits
- Romeo Gigli for Callaghan Spring-Summer 1991 silk pant and shawl ensembleBy Romeo GigliLocated in London, GBRomeo Gigli for Callaghan Spring-Summer 1991 silk pant and shawl ensembleCategory
1990s Italian Trouser Pant Suits
- Paul Daunay gold lamé jacquard couture evening ensemble, c. 1960By Paul DaunayLocated in London, GBPaul Daunay gold lamé jacquard couture evening ensemble comprising: long-line waistcoat lined with purple silk and high rise a-line skirt with inverted pleats and two side pockets. ...Category
1960s French Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Christian Dior by John Galliano green tweed 3-piece suit, fw 1998By John Galliano for Christian DiorLocated in London, GBChristian Dior by John Galliano green tweed 3-piece suit comprising: single breasted blazer jacket with shawl lapel, straight leg pants and knee le...Category
1990s French Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Alexander McQueen quilted nude leather jumpsuit fw 2004By Alexander McQueenLocated in London, GBQuilted nude leather jumpsuit by Alexander McQueen, from his F/W 2004 collection "Pantheon Ad Lucem"Category
Early 2000s British Jumpsuits
- Issey Miyake multicoloured devoré and silk skirt suit, fw 1996By Issey MiyakeLocated in London, GBIssey Miyake multicoloured devoré and silk skirt suit. Loose fit blouse with button fastenings paired with a maxi skirt with exposed red silk lining and two side pockets Fall-Winter...Category
1990s Japanese Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- S/S 1991 Gianni Versace Marilyn Monroe Pop Art Warhol Skirt SuitBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Concord, NCGianni Versace Couture skirt suit in excellent condition from Spring Summer 1991 featuring an Andy Warhol inspired pop art motif of pop culture icons Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. ...Category
1990s Italian Skirt Suits
- Christian Lacroix Skirt SuitBy Christian LacroixLocated in New York, NY1990s Christian Lacroix skirt suit. Such a beautiful piece with bright floral details throughout; an embodiment of his extravagent craftsmanship and love fo...Category
1990s French Skirt Suits
- Vintage 1970’s Callaghan by Gianni Versace mohair/wool winter trouser suitBy CALLAGHANLocated in COLLINGWOOD, AU1970’s super chic Callaghan (designed by Gianni Versace) mohair winter pant suit with flared trousers and unique knit top with flared sleeves & ribbing trim. Great camel colour that...Category
1970s Italian Trouser Pant Suits
- Vintage 1980s John Cavill Australia plissé pleat skirt suit with beltLocated in COLLINGWOOD, AUAmazing John Cavill metallic plisse 4 piece suit comprising of jacket over full length matching fabric skirt with net petticoat and belt makes this a stand...Category
1980s Australian Skirt Suits
$559 Sale Price20% Off - Chanel golden sand cashmere and silk twin set F/W 2008 FR 42By ChanelLocated in Rubiera, REChanel golden sand twin set F/W 2008 collection Cashmere and silk Golden metal lions buttons Size FR 42 Made in Italy Excellent conditionCategory
Early 2000s Twin Sets
- 1970s Yves Saint Laurent Pop Art Floral Cotton Skirt and Shirt SetBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in Miami, FL1970s Yves Saint Laurent YSL set of button down shirt and skirt in a bright pop art floral print on crisp cotton. Collared and button down shirt with a zip and...Category
1970s French Skirt Suits
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.