Vintage Yves Saint Laurent Waxed Canvas Leather Crossbody YSL Shoulder Bag
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6623168823
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 Diego, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Vintage Luc Benoit Navy Blue Leather Small Embossed Crossbody Hand Bag PurseBy Luc BenoitLocated in San Diego, CAChic LUC BENOIT navy blue leather embossed leather small cross body bag / handbag! Features a gold metal chain intertwined with matching navy blue...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- 1970s Gucci Black Suede Tiger Clasp Large Vintage 70s Handbag Purse Shoudler BagBy GucciLocated in San Diego, CARare 70s GUCCI black suede leather tiger clasp shoulder bag ! Features black suede with gold hardware. Adjustable strap to make longer or shorter. Painted ...Category
1970s Italian Structured Shoulder Bags
- 1970s Pierre Cardin Brown Ultra Suede Snakeskin Logo 70s Bag Clutch CrossbodyBy Pierre Cardin, Pierre Cardin ParisLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing early 1970s PIERRE CARDIN brown ultra suede and snakeskin large bag, clutch or crossbody ! Hinge closure secures everything. Attached gold chain can be tucked in the bag to w...Category
1970s Structured Shoulder Bags
- Vintage Jill Stuart Crocodile Embossed Leather Tan Brown Crossbody Shoulder bagBy Jill StuartLocated in San Diego, CAPerfect vintage JILL STUART tan/brown alligator embossed leather crossbody bag! Fantastic shade of brown matches everything. Long adjustable bag can be worn on the shoulder, or comfo...Category
1990s Italian Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- Vintage Nicole Miller Deadstock 1990s Novelty Print Tube Purse Handbag CrossbodyBy Nicole MillerLocated in San Diego, CAChic vintage NICOLE MILLER 90s (1991) Tubular novelty bag! Brand new with original tags still attached. Chic novelty print with cosmetic theme. Prints of lipstick, blush, makeup brushes...Category
1990s American Novelty Bags
- Gucci by Tom Ford Black Python Snakeskin 2000s Convertible Clutch Crossbody BagBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful early 2000s Y2K Tom Ford for Gucci black python snake skin convertible clutch, crossbody, or shoulder bag. Brushed matte gold GG logo. Snap closure with zipper pouch inside. Such a versatile piece that can be worn as a crossbody messenger bag, shoulder bag (with strap doubles), or a clutch (the strap can come completely off if desired). In great condition, with original authenticity cards included. Made in Italy Dimensions: 12 inches from side to side 7 inches from top to bottom (not including strap) 24.5 inch shoulder drop (at crossbody length) The pictured vintage Gianni Versace Spring 2001...Category
Early 2000s Italian Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- Chanel Black Patent Leather Quilted Single Flap Maxi Classic BagBy ChanelLocated in New York, NYChanel Black Patent Leather Single Flap Maxi Bag Made In: Italy Year of Production: 2009-2010 Color: Black Hardware: Silvertone Materials: Patent leather Lining: Black smooth leathe...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Structured Shoulder Bags
- CHANEL- Matte Caviar 2.55 Reissue Diamond Quilted Mini Raspberry CrossbodyBy ChanelLocated in Sanford, FLCHANEL- Matte Caviar 2.55 Reissue - Diamond Quilted Mini Raspberry Crossbody Description This shoulder bag is crafted of diamond quilted matte caviar leather in a raspberry. Featu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shoulder Bags
- Old Hand Tooled Leather Moroccan Satchel BagLocated in North Hollywood, CAOld leather African Moroccan satchel bag with flap decorated with tribal embroideries. Hand-tooled in Marrakech, this is an old antique man shoulder slim bag...Category
Early 20th Century Moroccan Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Matelasse Chain Flap Black Nylon Shoulder BagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLThis shoulder bag features a nylon body, silver-tone chain straps, zip around detail, front flap with interlocking CC twist lock closure, top zip closure, exterior slip pocket and in...Category
Early 2000s French Structured Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Classic Flap Pop Art No. 5 Caption Comic Lambskin Black Multicolor BagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLChanel Pop Art No. 5 Caption Comic Shearling & Lambskin Flap Bag - Fall 2014 Runway Collection - Collector Limited Edition Bag - Black Shearling and L...Category
2010s Italian Structured Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Classic Flap XL And Maxi Jumbo Multicolor Faux Fur Tweed Shoulder BagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLChanel Classic Flap XL And Maxi Jumbo Multicolor Faux Fur Tweed Shoulder Bag In excellent condition from Chanel 2010 RTW. 5"L x 13"W x 10"H Made in FranceCategory
2010s French Structured Shoulder Bags
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.