Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche dress in lurex lamé with checks Circa 1990
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Equivalent size France 36 -37 (EU)
- Style:1990 (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very Good condition and Color.
- Seller Location:Toulon, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU633322154292
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.
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Toulon, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Nylon and lurex crepe formal dress - France Circa 1972Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1972 France Off-white nylon crepe long dress for ceremony or bridesmaid, with a bustier and cuffs made of shiny lurex in geometrical patterns. High-waisted dress with Claudin...Category
1970s French Ballerina Dresses
- Elegant Openwork Wool Crepe Evening Coat - France Circa 1935-1945Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1935-1945 France Elegant evening coat in black woollen crepe with geometric and openwork motifs around the edges, signed withl'Aigle Royal, a fashion house in Blois. Very flu...Category
1930s French Evening Dresses
- Chamois suede dress by Emanuel Ungaro Parallèle - France Circa 1982By Emanuel UngaroLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1982 France Amazing short safari-style dress in buff-coloured suede by Emanuel Ungaro Parallèle dating from the early 1980s. Straight cut with puffed sleeves and stitched inserts. Beige stretch knit with turtleneck effect collar and cuffs. Two slit pockets on the side and a thin integrated belt to tie for a blouson effect. Cream nylon lining and Ungaro Parallèle Paris logo label, size 10 Made in Italy. Dry-cleaned suede with no soiling apart from a slight structural patina of the suede skin. No defects to report. Good overall structural condition. Dimensions: Equivalent size M France...Category
1980s French Aesthetic Day Dresses
- Cocktail dress in lace and sequins by Louis Féraud Haute Couture Circa 1985By Louis FeraudLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1985 France Black and wine lace cocktail dress embroidered with sequins by Louis Féraud Haute couture dating from the 1980s. Short, form-fitting sheath dress with long sleev...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- A French Printed ChiffonSilk Dress Raoul Dufy inspiration Circa 1940Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1940/1950 France Beautiful summer dress in printed silk crepe dating from the 1940s / 1950s. Dense printing with strong polychromy with patterns of fruits, grapes, peach flowers, jars, fountains and architectural elements. Straight dress...Category
1940s French Summer Dresses
- An André Courrèges Couture Baby Doll Dress - France Circa 1968By André CourrègesLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1965-1970 France Rare model of Baby Doll Dress by André Courrèges Haute Couture model 23075 and dating from the late 1960s. Short sleeveless dress, Trapeze shape, high waist...Category
1960s French Babydoll Dresses
- Black lace cocktail dress with beadwork on waist and necklineLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRBlack lace cocktail dress with beadwork on waist and neckline. No fabric composition tag but probably polyester. Zip closure on the left side. Light padded bra. Bow closure on the to...Category
2010s Unknown Cocktail Dresses
- Louis Feraud Vintage Circa 80's Velvet DressBy Louis FeraudLocated in West Palm Beach, FLLouis Feraud vintage circa 80's eggplant velvet dress with sashCategory
1980s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Roger Freres Black Lace and Green Silk Taffeta Gown-10-Circa 70'sBy Roger FreresLocated in West Palm Beach, FLRoger Freres Black Lace and Green Silk Taffeta Gown - Sz 10 - Circa 70's Additional Measurements: Bust 40" Waist 30" Shoulder to Shoulder 16" Sleeve length 25" Length 59"Category
1970s French Evening Gowns
- Vicky Tiel Black & White Lace Strapless Dress w/ Beading - 44By Vicky TielLocated in West Palm Beach, FLVicky Tiel Black & White Lace Strapless Dress w/ Beading - 44. This beautiful dress is in excellent condition. It features a gorgeous black lace over a white nylon blend, a built-i...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Evening Dresses
- Vicky Tiel Purple Silk Taffeta Strapless Gown w/ Floral Detail On Back - 42By Vicky TielLocated in West Palm Beach, FLVicky Tiel Purple Silk Taffeta Strapless Gown w/ Organza Floral Detail On Back - 42. This special gown is in excellent condition. This dress features a purple silk taffeta material...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Evening Gowns
- Carolyne Roehm 1980's Black Velvet Dress with Olive Ruffle Bottom - 4By Carolyne RoehmLocated in West Palm Beach, FLCarolyne Roehm 1980's Black Velvet Dress with Olive Ruffle Bottom - 4. This dress is in excellent vintage condition. It is short sleeved and has side ruching with rhinestone buttons ...Category
1980s American Evening Dresses and Gowns
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.