Yves Saint Laurent Vtg Deep V Plunge Back Leopard Print Strap Swimsuit Bodysuit
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Tiny imperfection at front tip of V-neck point. A handful of tiny pulls at tie straps. Faint small spots at crotch lining. Area around back right thigh seam where stretch band is disconnected at interior. Photos taken for condition report.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3057218354312
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Waukegan, IL
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Gianni Versace S/S 1992 Starfish Seashell Print Plunge Back Swimsuit BodysuitBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Chicago, ILVintage Versace Mare swimsuit by Gianni Versace for the Spring Summer 1992 collection. Same swimsuit was featured on the runway for that season. Features ...Category
1990s Italian Swimwear
- Gianni Versace Mare 1992 Buffalo Bill Native American Theme Swimsuit Bodysuit 44By Gianni VersaceLocated in Chicago, ILDesigned by Gianni Versace for the Fall/Winter 1992 collection. This unique (possibly controversial) print was featured on button up tops for that season’s runway show and produced o...Category
1990s Italian Swimwear
- Herve Leger "Belina" Black Asymmetric Fringe Eyelet Strapless Bandage Dress NWTBy Herve Leger by Max Azria, Herve LégerLocated in Chicago, ILHerve Leger "Belina" black asymmetric fringe metal eyelet strapless bandage mini dress. New with tags (MSRP: $1,990). Tight, sturdy and durable construction, built to showcase your c...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Cocktail Dresses
- Gucci by Tom Ford S/S 1998 "GG" Print Leather Accented Skirt & Denim Jacket SetBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Chicago, ILDesigned by Tom Ford for the Gucci Spring/Summer 1998 collection. Skirt features a jacquard Guccissima print throughout. Skirt is accented with genuine alligator leather along waistb...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Skirt Suits
- Alexander McQueen S/S 1997 "La Poupée" Mesh Plunge Back Jacket & Zip Skirt SuitBy Alexander McQueenLocated in Chicago, ILRare vintage set from the Spring/Summer 1997 “La Poupée” collection. Both items were shown on the runway. Fitted, single-button blazer jacket with a plunge back mesh insert; one of M...Category
1990s Italian Skirt Suits
- Alexander McQueen S/S 2010 "Plato's Atlantis" Snake Print Tank Top Leggings SetBy Alexander McQueenLocated in Chicago, ILAlexander McQueen 2 piece leggings and tank top athleisure set for the Spring/Summer 2010 "Plato's Atlantis" collection. Both items feature the beautifully intricate and body enhancing snake print. This print has been featured in fashion editorials...Category
2010s Italian Trouser Pant Suits
- Saint Laurent black & white bandana print plunging one piece swimsuit bikini XSBy Saint LaurentLocated in Paris, FRLOVE LALI Vintage Saint Laurent bandana print black and white one piece swimsuit Halter neck - ties at he back of the neck Can be worn two ways, with ...Category
2010s Swimwear
- CHANEL Vintage 1997 Black One-Pïece Swimsuit with Printed Pearls Trompe L'oeilBy ChanelLocated in Nice, FRCHANEL by KARL LAGERFELD vintage black one-piece swimsuit featuring a printed pearl necklace trompe l'oeil. Spring/Summer 1997 Ready-to-Wear Collection. Label reads CHANEL. Made in...Category
20th Century French Swimwear
- Saint Laurent Star Print Deep V Neck One Piece Halter Swimsuit Black White RedBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in San Francisco, CAYves Saint Laurent black one piece halter swimming suit with red and white star print throughout. Flattering high cut legs and low cut back. Small metal ...Category
2010s Italian Swimwear
- Hermes Tunique de Plage Cannes et Cannes Black / White Bather Cover TunicBy HermèsLocated in Miami, FLMightychic offers an Hermes Tunique de Plage featured in Cannes et Cannes print. This beautiful Black and White bather cover is airy light cotton voile. Clou de Selle engraved Black ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Beachwear
- Hermes Men's Decoupage d'H Swim Trunks Vert-de-Gris LBy HermèsLocated in Miami, FLHermes long swim trunks featured in Decoupage de H print. Colorway is Vert-de-Gris. Trunks have an elastic waistband with drawsting for adjustment. 2 side pockets and 1 rear pocket w...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Swim Trunks
- Hermes Pareo Berline Bayade Print Black / Grey / WhiteBy HermèsLocated in Miami, FLHermes Berlines Bayadere pareo featured in Black, Grey, and White colorway. Designed by Wlodek Kaminski. Can be worn a myriad of ways. Fabric is feather light cotton voile. NEW or NE...Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Swimwear
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.