YVES SAINT LAURENT Size S Pink Green Black Abstract Short Sleeve Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: S (US)
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:
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: San Francisco, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- LOUIS VUITTON Size 4 Black & White Stripe Silk Sleeveless Wrap DressBy Louis VuittonLocated in San Francisco, CALOUIS VUITTON sleeveless wrap dress with a plunging neckline and tulip skirt, in striped gazar and silk georgette. A dash of geometric transparency and a runway-inspired fabric belt ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- SELF-PORTRAIT Size 4 Black Polyester Blend Eyelet A-Line DressBy Self-PortraitLocated in San Francisco, CASELF-PORTRAIT dress comes in a black polyester fabric featuring an a-line style, see through panel, long sleeves, and an invisible zip up closure at center back. Excellent Pre-Owned ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- DOLCE & GABBANA Size 8 Green Acetate Blend Sleeveless Mid-Calf Cocktail DressBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in San Francisco, CADOLCE & GABBANA cocktail dress comes in an emerald green acetate blend with an animal print interior featuring, back slit, sleeveless, and a back zip up closure. Made in Italy.Very G...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- LOUIS VUITTON Size M Black Viscose Ruched Knee-Length Cocktail DressBy Louis VuittonLocated in San Francisco, CALOUIS VUITTON dress comes in a black viscose with a ruched design, elastic detail, knee-length, and a shoulder zipper closure. Made in France. Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. Marked...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- GIAMBATTISTA VALLI Size M White Cotton Lace Short Sleeve DressBy Giambattista ValliLocated in San Francisco, CAGIAMBATTISTA VALLI t-shirt knee high dress comes in white cotton jersey and white lace fabrics. Made in Italy. Excellent Good Pre-Owned Condition. Marked: M Measurements: S...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- HERVE LEGER Size XXS Blue Rayon Blend A-Line Cocktail DressBy Herve LégerLocated in San Francisco, CAHERVE LEGER cocktail mini dress comes in blue rayon blend knit fabric featuring a strappy neckline, A-line shape, and a back zipper closure.Good Pre-Owned Condition. As Is. Garment ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- COURREGES Paris c.1960's Vtg Mint Green Tie Front Overall Midi Day DressBy Courrèges, André CourrègesLocated in Thiensville, WICOURREGES Paris c.1960's Vtg Mint Green Tie Front Overall Midi Day Dress Brand / Manufacturer: Courreges Paris Circa: 1960's Designer: Andre Courreges Style: Overall Day Dress Color...Category
1960s French Day Dresses
- Chanel New Ribbon Tweed Dress in BeigeBy ChanelLocated in Dubai, AENew stunning Chanel dress made of most precious Ribbon tweed -- current price of Chanel boutique for dresses in this kind of tweed starts from 10,000€ Size mark 38 FR. Never worn. - ...Category
1980s Cocktail Dresses
- Silk jersey and chiffon printed cocktail dress Averardo Bessi Circa 1960'sBy Averardo BessiLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRSilk jersey and chiffon printed cocktail dress. Belt with gold metal hardware and chain fringes at the end. Shoulder pad. Zip and hook&eye in the middle back. The top part of the dre...Category
1960s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- A Pierre Balmain Lurex Knitting Three-pieces Set - France Circa 1980By Pierre BalmainLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1980 France Pierre Balmain three-piece knitwear set in silver and purple lurex. Long-sleeved, tight-fitting top with cuffs. Small turtleneck closing with invisible staples. L...Category
1980s French Greek Style Dresses
- Printed shirt dress Lanvin Circa 1970'sBy Lanvin ParisLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRPrinted shirt dress. Button covered with fabric. SIZE LCategory
1970s French Chemise Dresses
- 1970S Purple & Blue Striped Poly Blend Satin Long Sleeve Day To Night DressLocated in New York, NY1970S Purple & Blue Striped Poly Blend Satin Long Sleeve Day To Night DressCategory
1970s Casual Dresses
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.