Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford black leather corset runway ensemble, ss 2001
View Similar Items
Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford black leather corset runway ensemble, ss 2001
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: FR 36 - UK 8 - US 4 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140210291432
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.
- Dolce & Gabbana black corset and leggings set, fw 1992By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana black corset suit ▪ Satin corset with attached white cotton shirt collar and cuffs ▪ Internal boning ▪ Wool jersey sleeves ▪ Extra long ruched wool jersey legging...Category
1990s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Vivienne Westwood black velvet corset and pants ensemble, fw 1992By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood black velvet corset and pants ensemble. Fall-Winter 1992Category
1990s British Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Chantal Thomass navy blue marabou coat, bra and garter belt 3-piece set, fw 1993By Chantal ThomassLocated in London, GB▪ Chantal Thomass navy blue 3-piece evening set ▪ Oversized coat in marabou feathers ▪ Matching marabou feather bra ▪ Garter belt / corset in Rooster fea...Category
1990s French Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Vivienne Westwood metallic foiled denim corset, jacket and pants, ss 1993By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ A rare Vivienne Westwood 3-piece set ▪ Metallic turquoise foiled denim ▪ Deconstructed finish ▪ Gold orb-etched buttons ▪ Red contrast stitch ▪ Ensemble comprises a corset, jack...Category
1990s English Corsets
- Jean Paul Gaultier grey pinstripe wool three piece corseted pant suit, c. 2000sBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in London, GBJean Paul Gaultier grey pinstripe wool three piece suit comprising: blazer jacket with two-way front zipper, corseted waist with lace-up back fastening, wide leg pants, corset with m...Category
Early 2000s Italian Trouser Pant Suits
- Azzedine Alaia copper acetate bandage skirt and bodysuit, ss 1986By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GB▪ Azzedine Alaia copper bandage skirt and bodysuit ▪ 100% Acetate ▪ Eight connecting panels ▪ Skin bearing lace-up string fastening ▪ Halterneck bodysuit ▪ Size Small ▪ Sprin...Category
1980s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Vintage Escada Margaretha Ley Black Crochet Sequin Beaded 1990s Bodysuit OnesieBy Margaretha Ley, EscadaLocated in San Diego, CASexy 90s ESCADA by MARGARETHA LEY black long sleeve bodysuit! Features a cut-out crochet design with sequins above the bust that resembles a butterfly. Soft rayon and elastic materia...Category
1990s German Bodysuits
- Lot of 3 Brand New Wolford & Italian Black, Red, and Silver Semi Sheer BodysuitsBy WolfordLocated in San Diego, CALot of three brand new WOLFORD and COSABELLA bodysuits! From left to right is an Italian Cosabella black crochet high neck thong bodysuit. A red semi sheer sleeveless bodysuit. A black and silver metallic long sleeve semi sheer bodysuit...Category
2010s Italian Bodysuits
- NEW La Perla Black Silk Robe with Belt SBy La PerlaLocated in Switzerland, CHNEW La Perla Black Silk Belted Robe • 100% silk • Comes with matching belt • Dry clean only • Size S • New with tags & extra button AD picture for style reference onlyCategory
2010s Italian Robes
$479 Sale Price20% Off - NEW Olivia von Halle Blush Japanese Print Silk Dressing Gown Kimono Robe OSBy Olivia Von HalleLocated in Switzerland, CHOlivia von Halle's robe is cut from soft silk-satin in a kimono-inspired silhouette. It is is printed all-over with a Japanese inspired motif in pink, coral and seafoam-green hues. F...Category
2010s British Loungewear
$349 Sale Price22% Off - Rare Rifat Ozbek 1990s Choclate Brown French Lace 90s Vintage Bodysuit TopBy Rifat Özbek, OzbekLocated in San Diego, CARare and collectible RIFAT OZBEK brown chantily French lace semi sheer bodysuit from the designer's infamous 1994 Collection! Features brown lace flower print that looks amazing on. ...Category
1990s Italian Bodysuits
- A Japanese inspiration printed silk evening pyjamas - France Circa 1930Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1930 France Beautiful evening pyjamas, two pieces trousers and bodice in printed silk pongee dating from the 1930s. Beautiful print with Japanese floral decoration in soft co...Category
1930s French Negligees
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.