1980s Yves Saint Laurent/YSL Black Cocktail Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Length: 39 in (99.06 cm)Marked Size: FR 36 (EU)Bust: 34 in (86.36 cm)Waist: 32 in (81.28 cm)Hip: 36 in (91.44 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU228210770002
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: Toronto, Canada
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- 1990s Valentino Black Chiffon and Velvet Dress Shirt DressBy ValentinoLocated in Toronto, OntarioAmazing 1990s Valentino little black shirt dress from Holt Renfrew Canada. Top is black chiffon with a pussy bow tie, sheer bishop sleeves and delicate ruching at shoulders. Jet blac...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- 1970's Nina Ricci Black Taffeta Ingenue GownBy Nina RicciLocated in Toronto, OntarioBlack jersey and taffeta 1970's ingenue style evening gown with cream satin collar and cuffs. Fitted waistline attached to full taffeta skirt trimmed with velvet. In excellent vintag...Category
1970s French Evening Dresses
- 1960's Geoffrey Beene Black Silk Cocktail DressBy Geoffrey BeeneLocated in Toronto, OntarioCute and chic 1960's Geoffrey Beene black silk crepe cocktail dress. Empire waist and cap sleeve. Perfect for nearly any occasion. Invisible zipper closure up back. Excellent vintag...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
- 1980's Emmanuelle Khanh Black Wool Gown with Paisley EmbroideryBy Emmanuelle KhanhLocated in Toronto, OntarioBEYOND amazing Emmanuelle Khanh black pleated wool long sleeve gown from the 1980's. Eye is drawn to the stunning hand sewn paisley pattern embroidery and beading. Embroidery and bea...Category
1980s French Evening Dresses
- 1970's Annacat Burgundy Velvet Gown with Gold & Silver DetailsBy AnnaCatLocated in Toronto, Ontario1970's burgundy velvet mock turtleneck, long sleeve gown. Mutton style sleeve at shoulder, tapers and elongates past the wrist forming a point. Very Directoire inspired 70's London Look piece. Bottom of sleeves and bottom of skirt are decorated with stunning gold and silver tambour embroidery...Category
1970s British Directoire Style Evening Dresses
- 1980's Gianni Versace Black & Yellow Linen DressBy VersaceLocated in Toronto, OntarioGianni Versace circa mid 80's shaped black linen dress with vibrant yellow insert detail on capped sleeve. In crisp like new condition. Fitted through the waist, sleek shoulder lines...Category
1980s Italian Mini Dresses
- UNWORN Gucci by Tom Ford FW 2004 Black Silk & Tassle Evening Gown Dress 40By Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Switzerland, CHRARE COLLECTOR'S ITEM STUNNING PIECE BY TOM FORD FOR HIS FINAL COLLECTION IN FALL 2004 FOR GUCCI Seen on the runway show, in the AD campaign and in many editorials One of the key...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Gowns
- Vintage Tom Ford for Gucci F/W 1996 Black Jersey Dress Gown w Pony Hair Belt 42By Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXVintage Runway Tom Ford for Gucci Black Jersey Dress Gown F/W 1996 Collection Designer size - 42 Black Jersey, Fully Lined, Slip-on Style. Black Pony Hair Belt...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Gianni Versace black silk evening wrap dress with lace underlay, fw 2000By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Gianni Versace black silk evening wrap dress ▪ Lace underlay ▪ Open back ▪ Beaded belt fastening ▪ Boat neck ▪ Pleated detail at waist ▪ Draped detail at back fastening ▪ IT 3...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Black velvet cocktail dress with flowers appliqué on both side Loris AzzaroBy Loris Azzaro ParisLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRBlack velvet cocktail dress with flowers appliqué on both side. See-through on the side with chiffon. Zip and hook&eye in the middle back. SIZE 36 / SCategory
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- Christian Lacroix Organza Set EnsembleBy Christian LacroixLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRChristian Lacroix -(Made in France) Organza set consisting of a top, a long skirt and a belt. No size label, it fits a size 42FR. Additional information: Dimensions: Top: Chest: 50...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses
- Black sequin cocktail dress Black Tie by Oleg CassiniBy Black Tie by Oleg CassiniLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRBlack sequin cocktail dress. Sequin are stitched on a rayon jersey base. No lining. Zip and hook&eye in the middle back. SIZE MCategory
1980s Unknown Cocktail Dresses