Yves Saint Laurent Huge green silk chiffon shawl
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Silk chiffon and silk cord thread
- Condition:Excellent.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU120617247991
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: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Vera Turquoise & Lime 'Abstract Palsey" Print Silk ScarfBy VeraLocated in New York, NYVera whimsical turquoise and lime 'abstract palsey' print silk scarf is finished with hand-rolled edges and measures 44 inches by 14 1/2 inches. Made in Japan.Category
1970s Japanese Scarves
- Burmel Red Border With Turquoise Multicolor Palseys Silk ScarfBy BurmelLocated in New York, NYBurmel wonderful detailed multicolor palsey silk scarf is surrounded with hand-rolled red borders. Made in Italy, this scarf measures 15 1/4 inches by 43 inches. Made in Italy.Category
1980s Italian Scarves
- Huge Majestic Shades of Emerald Green & Plum Wool Challis Fringed ShawlLocated in New York, NYThis wonderfully huge majestic shades of emerald green & plum wool challis fringed shawl, measures 46 inches by 48 inches. Made in Italy.Category
1980s Italian Shawls
- Magnificent Turquoise & Coco Brown "Showcase of Horses" Wool Blend Challis ShawlLocated in New York, NYThis huge striking magnificent turquoise & coco brown accent "Showcase of Horses" wool blend challis optional shawl or scarf, measures 52 inches by 52 inches. Made in Italy.Category
1980s Italian Shawls
- Perry Ellis Cream and Emerald Green Silk Chiffon ScarfBy Perry EllisLocated in New York, NYPerry Ellis wonderful combination of cream surrounded with emerald green silk chiffon scarf, measures 30 inches by 31 inches. Rolled edges and ...Category
1980s Japanese Scarves
- Jeannene Booher for Maggy London Large Rich Emerald & Black Palsey Silk ScarfLocated in New York, NYJeannene Booher for Maggy London richly elegant large rich emerald and black multi palsey silk crepe di chine scarf measures 33...Category
1980s North Korean Scarves
- Escada Silk Scarf Green & Black Musical Made in Italy, Never Worn 1990sBy EscadaLocated in Wallkill, NYThis is from a Vast Collection of Scarves that have never been worn. Featuring a Music notes in a vibrant Green with black accents. Made in Italy. Hand Rolled Silk. 34in. x 34in. Thi...Category
1990s Italian Scarves
- 1920s Large Green and Silver Burn Out Panne Silk Velvet Tassled ShawlLocated in London, GBExtraordinary and very rare vintage 1920s shawl with jade green and silver burn out panne silk velvet in an art deco style geometric pattern. Semi-circle...Category
1920s Scarves
- Very Rare Hermes Black Silk Scarf “Danse du Cheval Marwari” by Annie Faivre 2008By Hermès, HemesLocated in Chillerton, Isle of WightVery Rare Hermes Black Silk Scarf “Danse du Cheval Marwari” by Annie Faivre, 2008 Beautiful unworn Hermes “Danse du Cheval Marwari” by Annie Faivre. Th...Category
Early 2000s French Scarves
- Andre Courreges Cotton Sateen Logo ScarfBy André CourrègesLocated in New York, NYAndre Courreges Cotton Sateen Logo Scarf in lime green and white. Charming "hand drawn" graphics. 1960's France. 28" x 28". Excell...Category
1960s French Scarves
- Green & Multicolor Les Rubans du Cheval Motif Silk ScarfBy HermèsLocated in New York, NYGreen and multicolor Les Rubans du Cheval motif silk scarf by Hermes. 34" width, 34" length.Category
2010s Scarves
- Yves Saint Laurent YSL Tartan Check Silk ScarfBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Paris, FRYves Saint Laurent YSL tartan-check silk scarf featuring bright green/multicolour, a Yves Saint Laurent signature. Circa 1970s In good vintage condition. Made in France. 35.4in. (90...Category
1970s French Scarves
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.