1980s Yves Saint Laurent
View Similar Items
1980s Yves Saint Laurent
About the Item
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Height: 7 in (17.78 cm)Width: 9 in (22.86 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Port Hope, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU538795912
Yves Saint Laurent
French 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, Saint Laurent 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.
- 1980s Louis Vuitton Monogram Papillon w/COABy Louis VuittonLocated in Port Hope, ONThis Louis Vuitton Papillon hand/shoulder bag is in very good vintage condition and comes with a Certificate of Authentication. The bag is made of brown monogram canvas with leather ...Category
1980s French Top Handle Bags
$645 Sale Price35% Off - Martin Margiella Simple Little Black Dress (40)By Martin Margiella, Maison Martin MargielaLocated in Port Hope, ONLovely viscose dress with contrasting cotton trim at the v-neck and cuffs. This 3/4 sleeved dress is simple but elegant with a slight cocoon shape bottom. There is also the design...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Day Dresses
$275 Sale Price30% Off - Marithe Francois Girbaud Black Dress (42 FR)Located in Port Hope, ONSuch a beautiful dress! Dropped waist; cut-out bottom; exposed zipper on satin border (replicated on the wide spagetti straps); stitched detail below the hips accented by a silver me...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Day Dresses
$225 Sale Price34% Off - 1980s Claude Montana Navy Blue Wool Bustle Skirt (40 ITL)By Claude MontanaLocated in Port Hope, ONI apologise for the pictures but I could not get it on the mannequin! This is a beautiful skirt. High waisted; opening is by way of three angled snaps on the front, and the front is ...Category
1980s Italian Skirts
$148 Sale Price49% Off - Michael Kors Black Dress, 2000s Never Worn (8)By Michael KorsLocated in Port Hope, ONLow neckline angel sleeves and a gaudet skirt make this a very wearable and attractive dress. The material is rayon with 5% spandex. Made in Italy, this dress was never worn.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Informal Dresses
$185 Sale Price37% Off - Moschino Cheap and Chic Black Jacket with Leaf and Flower Applique 44 (Itl)Located in Port Hope, ONBeautifully cut and detailed light wool jacket, with stitching detail, darts and two fake slit pockets. The jacket also a belt and nice striped lining. A lovely blazer that would c...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Blazers
- Chanel Green Alligator Jumbo Classic Flap BagBy ChanelLocated in London, GBA rare exquisite Chanel Jumbo Classic Flap handbag. The exterior of this Jumbo Classic is in a vivid green shiny alligator leather with gold tone hardwar...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Novelty Bags
- Vintage GUCCI Black Suede Leather GG Gold tone logo Hobo Bag Crossbody Purse BagBy GucciLocated in Malibu, CA🖤1970’s GUCCI Perfection🖤 RARE and coveted black GUCCI Suede Shoulder Bag. Black smooth leather with supple suede and oversized GG hardwa...Category
1970s Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- Hermès Constance 18 Varanus Salvator Lizard Ombre GHW in Excellent ConditionBy HermèsLocated in Hong Kong, HKStamp Y Excellent Condition accompanied by: Hermès box, dustbag, felt and leather care booklet. This item is final sale and not eligible for return.Category
2010s French Structured Shoulder Bags
- 1995 Chanel vintage spring patent leather heart vanity crossbody bagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLVery rare Iconic piece modeled by Claudia Shiffer in the spring 1995 ad campaigns. Chanel written in the interior in gold text Interwoven chain can be worn as a crossbody or shoulde...Category
1990s Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- Chanel 1991 Vintage Velvet Quilted Medallion Fanny Pack Waist Belt Bag Rare BagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLChanel 1991 Vintage Velvet Quilted Medallion Fanny Pack Waist Belt Bag Rare 1991 {VINTAGE 33 Years} Gold hardware Lambskin lined Adjustable clasp belt with max 40" 4” H x 9” W x 3” ...Category
1990s French Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- Chanel Caviar Executive Shopper Tote BrownBy ChanelLocated in Palm Beach, FLBrown, copper, and iridescent CHANEL Caviar Executive Shopping Tote. This traditional shopper tote is classy and stylish despite its simplicity. The bag is made from textured leather...Category
2010s Italian Structured Shoulder Bags
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.