Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Black Suit, 1980s
View Similar Items
Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Black Suit, 1980s
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 42 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Austin, TX
- Reference Number:Seller: cl_71761stDibs: LU1613813433
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.
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.
- Todd Oldham for Congovid Floral Embroidered SuitBy Todd OldhamLocated in Austin, TXTodd Oldham for Congovid embroidered suit with oversized jacket. Two large pockets on front. Jacket size M, pants size L. Cotton, rayon blend. Cond...Category
1980s American Trouser Pant Suits
- 1992 Gianni Versace Denim Leopard Vest and JeansBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Austin, TX1992 Gianni Versace leopard print vest and jeans. Medusa buttons. Zip up closure on vest. Cotton fabric. Condition excellent. Size XS, IT38, US 2 ...Category
1990s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
$2,520 Sale Price30% Off - 1990s Romeo Gigli Evening Pajama SetBy Romeo GigliLocated in Austin, TX1990s ROMEO GIGLI evening pajama set Crop top and shorts 100% cotton condition: Excellent Size: S | US4, IT40Category
1990s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Yohji YamamotoBy Yohji YamamotoLocated in Austin, TX1990s Yohji Yamamoto black blazer with tails with black chiffon wrap skirt. Made in Japan Condition: Excellent labeled size 2 or Medium ( mannequin is a US size 6 )Category
1990s Japanese Skirt Suits
$1,650 - Alaia High Waisted Skirt and Crop TopBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in Austin, TXAlaia High Waisted Skirt and Crop Top 100% cotton Condition: Very good, some all over wear 26" bust, 23" waist, 30" hips, 25.5" length Sz SCategory
1980s French Skirt Suits
- 1990s Atsuro Tayama Wool Belted CoatLocated in Austin, TX1990s Atsura Tayama wool belted coat. Condition: Excellent Size 6Category
1990s Japanese Coats and Outerwear
- Gianni Versace black crinkled safety pin skirt suit, ss 1994By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GBGianni Versace black crinkled skirt suit. Blazer jacket with slashed cut outs and gold and silver safety pins. High Waisted mini skirt with leg slip ...Category
1990s Italian Skirt Suits
- Vivienne Westwood red checked tweed and black velvet skirt suit, fw 1991By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood red checked tweed skirt suit ▪ 100% Wool ▪ Large orb etched buttons ▪ Large turn-over cuffs ▪ Black cotton velvet 'kick-out' skirt with tulle petticoat ▪ FR 38...Category
1990s British Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- 1970's Bus Stop by Lee Bender Navy Crepe Floral SetBy Bus Stop by Lee BenderLocated in Toronto, OntarioRare British Biba era crepe 2 piece skirt set. Lee Bender for Bus Stop designed a line that was fashionable and perfect for London girls trying to impress i...Category
1970s British Skirt Suits
- Rare Late 90s Tom Ford for Gucci Size 42 / 8 / 10 Black Silk Jumpsuit RacerbackBy Gucci, Tom FordLocated in San Diego, CASuper rare vintage 1990s brand new with tags FW 1997 Gucci, by Tom Ford black silk jumpsuit! So much style to this amazing piece, that has never been worn! Chic style, with a slouchy...Category
1990s Italian Jumpsuits
- Tom Ford for Gucci S/S 1993 Runway Vintage Zipper JumpsuitBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Naples, FLTom Ford for Gucci S/S 1993 Runway Vintage Zipper Jumpsuit IT 38 Excellent Condition! Like New!Category
1990s Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Gianni Versace Couture S/S 2000 Runway Embellished Sheer Top & Pants 2 Piece SetBy Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Naples, FLGianni Versace Couture S/S 2000 Runway Embellished Sheer Black Top and Pants 2 Piece Set Gianni Versace sheer mock neck top featuring crystal embellishments on neck and waist and b...Category
Early 2000s Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
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.