Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford Black Silk Taffeta Trained Evening Skirt, FW 2001
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: FR38 - UK10 - US6 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140222812382
Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent
No one understands sex appeal quite like Tom Ford. When Gucci acquired Yves Saint Laurent in 1999, the Texas-born fashion designer had been Gucci’s creative director for several years and was also named creative director for YSL. Ford designed YSL’s ready-to-wear collection, and his vintage evening dresses, shirts, skirts and other garments for the maison are particularly popular today.
An avowed perfectionist from an early age, Ford was rearranging furniture at the age of six and offering his mother advice on her hair and shoes. The designer, author, film director and chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) is one of the most successful people working in fashion today.
Born in Austin, Ford grew up in the suburbs of Houston and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He briefly attended New York University, where he studied art history before dropping out to pursue acting. He became a regular at Studio 54, with its decadent nightlife later informing his high-octane fashion. He studied architecture at Parsons School of Design before shifting his focus to fashion and spending time at the Parsons Paris campus, graduating in 1985. The rest of the decade he worked for designers Perry Ellis and Cathy Hardwick. In 1990, Gucci’s creative director Dawn Mello hired him as a womens-wear designer.
At the time, the Italian label was better known for leather goods than luxury fashion. It was also nearly bankrupt. After Mello left in 1994, following a Bahrain-based investment group becoming Gucci’s majority shareholder, Ford was named creative director. He soon infused the brand with a fresh sensuality and bold style. His fall 1995 show, in which Kate Moss walked down the runway in an unbuttoned satin shirt, velvet hip-huggers and tousled hair, heralded an exciting, glammed-up era for the once fusty brand. Vogue critic Sarah Mower called it “one of those hitting-in-the-solar-plexus moments.”
As Ford shot to fame, he continued to explore plunging necklines, such as in the black and white looks of the Fall 1996 collection, and sumptuous fabrics like leather and tweed, with the Fall 2000 ready-to-wear collection ranging from sultry silk evening dresses to plush belted coats. He also cranked up the seduction in the provocative ads for the fashion house, particularly with regard to campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent, which Gucci acquired in 1999. Gucci's Fall/Winter 1997 campaign featured Carolyn Murphy grasping Angela Lindvall in what looked like a video still; in another shot, a face pressed against a foot in a lipstick-red heel. Each promoted a vision of modern fashion where women were sexually confident, the materials were luxurious and the styles were fearless.
In 2004, Ford and Gucci president Domenico De Sole left the company after failing to agree on the renewal of their contracts. In 2006, with De Sole as chairman, Ford launched his wildly successful eponymous menswear label. The brand has expanded into womens wear, beauty, accessories — vintage Tom Ford handbags are universally adored by celebrities and collectors alike — as well as eyewear and fragrance, with the unisex Black Orchid introduced in 2006. Ford broke into film directing with the critically acclaimed A Single Man in 2009 and Nocturnal Animals in 2016, continuing to blur the boundaries between fashion and culture.
Find vintage Tom Ford YSL day dresses, handbags and other clothing and accessories now on 1stDibs.
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 PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Azzedine Alaia grey knitted wool skirt with leather harness, fw 1987By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBPresenting a captivating Alaia grey knitted wool high waist figure-hugging skirt from the autumn-winter 1987 collection. This skirt is a true testament to the brand's innovative desi...Category
1980s Italian Skirts
- Dolce & Gabbana silk georgette Raphael painting print maxi skirt, ss 1990By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GBDolce & Gabbana silk georgette maxi skirt - Transfiguration Painting by Raphael (1516–1520) print - Black wool waistband - Six ribbon waist ties Spring-Summer 1990Category
1990s Italian Skirts
- Dolce & Gabbana Black Mongolian Lamb Maxi Skirt, fw 1999By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Archival Dolce & Gabbana Fur Skirt ▪ Fall-Winter 1999 ▪ Sold by One of a Kind Archive ▪ Crafted from layered Mongolian Lamb fur for a luxurious texture ▪ Features a silk chiffon li...Category
1990s Italian Skirts
- Gianni Versace yellow cheetah print wool crepe pleated wrap skirt, ss 1992By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Gianni Versace wool crepe wrap skirt ▪ Black cheetah print with yellow place ▪ Gold fringed trim ▪ Flat pleats ▪ IT 42 - FR 38 - UK 10 - US 6 ▪ Spring-Summer 1992Category
1990s Italian Skirts
- Gianni Versace embroidered floral skirt with chainmail and beaded belt, fw 1999By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GBGianni Versace, embroidered floral above-the-knee pencil skirt. Silver metal mesh chainmail waistband with turquoise hanging beads and red silk lining. Fall-Winter 1999Category
1990s Italian Skirts
- Gianni Versace printed silk organza peplum evening skirt, ss 1992By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GBGianni Versace printed silk organza peplum evening skirt with lace up bows and pleated underskirt for added volume. Spring-Summer 1992 Image 2 ...Category
1990s Italian Skirts
- c.1970s Archival GUCCI Camel Suede A-Line SkirtBy GucciLocated in New York, NY1970s GUCCI Archival Camel Suede A-Line Skirt; Knee Length skirt with oval leather trim and gold metal buckle hardware; Side zipper closure; Fully lined with signature "Gucci" monogr...Category
1970s Italian A-Line Skirts
- Fendi Monogram SkirtBy FendiLocated in London, GBFendi Monogram Skirt CONDITION: This item is a vintage/pre-worn piece so some signs of natural wear and age are to be expected. However good general condition. SIZE LABELLED: IT 44...Category
21st Century and Contemporary A-Line Skirts
- Roberto Cavalli 1999 python style skirtBy Roberto CavalliLocated in CAPELLE AAN DEN IJSSEL, ZHThis Roberto Cavalli mini skirt, crafted from 100% leather in a vibrant yellow creme hue, features an exotic snakeskin texture. It is designed with a convenient side zipper closure. ...Category
1990s A-Line Skirts
- Jean Paul Gaultier Venus De Milo Torso Optical Illusion Nude Sculpture Dress SetBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in PARIS, FRNEW Jean Paul Gaultier Venus De Milo Torso Optical Illusion Nude Sculpture S/S 1999 Kim Kourtney Kardashian Iconic Collector Soleil De...Category
1990s Maxi Dresses
- John Galliano SS-2011 Wool Ruffled Hem Knee Length SkirtBy John GallianoLocated in Brussels, BEThe genius of John Galliano was his ability to make even the most traditional shapes alluring and seductive, adding his own personal twist to classical dressing. This stylish knee le...Category
2010s French Skirts
- Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford SS-2002 Silk/Rayon Skirt with Pocket DetailingBy Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent, Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in Brussels, BEStraight skirts are a Saint Laurent staple and they were famously worn with broad shouldered blazers or pussy-bow blouses from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. This unusual red ski...Category
Early 2000s Italian 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.
This Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen Ensemble Is Part Zsa Zsa Gabor, Part ‘Blade Runner’
As Burton steps away from the brand, it’s a fitting time to revisit one of her visionary designs.