Vintage Yves Saint Laurent White Cotton Skirt
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 29 in (73.66 cm)Marked Size: 46 (EU)Waist: 29 in (73.66 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU442320618592
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Vintage Jean Muir Suede SkirtBy Jean MuirLocated in London, GBA pretty vintage suede skirt by Jean Muir , Studio line. The skirt is unlined with a side zip opening.Category
1980s Unknown Skirts
- Vintage Brown and White Stripe SkirtLocated in London, GBA chic vintage brown and white stripe skirt, in a boucle like fabric. The skirt has a central back zip, and is unlined.Category
1970s British Skirts
- Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche White and Black SkirtBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in London, GBA fun skirt for Fall by Yves Saint Laurent. The skirt is in a white linen mix with a button through front and frill at the hem. It has a five button opening with velvet covered butto...Category
Early 2000s French Skirts
- Vintage Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Wrap Over SkirtBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in London, GBA great vintage skirt for Fall from Yves Saint Laurent., Rive Gauche line.Category
1970s French Skirts
- A Vintage 1990s Averardo Bessi Cotton Summer SkirtBy Averardo BessiLocated in London, GBA Vintage 1990s Averardo Bessi floral print Cotton Summer SkirtCategory
1990s French A-Line Skirts
- Celine Short Wool SkirtBy CelineLocated in London, GBA great skirt for Spring by French design house Celine. In a coffee colour wool mix, this skirt has a side zip, and two large pockets on the front.The skirt has a 2" hem.Category
1990s French Skirts
- 1980s Christian Aujard Floral Cotton Country Print SkirtLocated in London, GBThis early 1980s Christian Aujard skirt is constructed from a thick, high quality cotton fabric in a classic wrap over style silhouette. It is pleated on either side of the hip which...Category
1970s French Pleated Skirts
- Kenzo Jungle by Kenzo multicoloured SkirtBy KenzoLocated in Capri, ITKenzo Jungle by Kenzo multicoloured Skirt Totally made in france in size standard M Composition: acetate and othersCategory
1980s French Skirts
- Philipp Plein red roses skirtBy Philipp PleinLocated in Capri, ITPhilipp Plein red roses skirt size S / 38 IT total lenght 47 cm waist 68 cmCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Skirts
- Crimson Italian Skirt & Scarf EnsembleLocated in Atlanta, GAThis Italian ensemble by Crimson puts style into spandex! The body conscious stretch skirt is a slinky jersey fabric consisting of rayon and spandex with an Egyptian revival print all in a bronzed brown tone. The coordinating scarf is a buttery yellow semi sheer crepe with a complimentary print...Category
1980s Italian Pencil Skirts
- Moschino Boutique Pink & Black Tweed Skirt-6By Boutique MoschinoLocated in West Palm Beach, FLMoschino Boutique Pink & Black Tweed Skirt-6. This amazing Moschino skirt is in excellent condition. It has very minimal signs of use. The skirt is m...Category
2010s Hungarian Pencil Skirts
- Valentino Boutique Camel Embossed leather skirt-4By ValentinoLocated in West Palm Beach, FLValentino Boutique Camel Embossed leather skirt-4. This amazing Valentino Boutique skirt is in excellent condition. It is camel color and is an embossed leather throughout. There is ...Category
2010s Italian Peg Top Skirts
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.