Yves Saint Laurent Vintage Smock dress with Fringe - '70s
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Length: 44.1 in (112 cm)Shoulder to Hem: 24.41 in (62 cm)
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Milano, IT
- 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: Milano, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Roberto Cavalli Animal Print Silk Maxi Dress-'90sBy Roberto CavalliLocated in Milano, ITThe Roberto Cavalli leopard and tiger silk maxi dress is fully lined and celebrates the feminine silhouette with its embracing fit. Made with 100% silk, the maxi dress ensures unriva...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Roberto Cavalli Floral DressBy Roberto CavalliLocated in Milano, ITThis Roberto Cavalli dress features a luxurious silk material in a multicolor floral print for a refined and elegant look. Cinched with a stylish braided leather rope, the dress grac...Category
Early 2000s Day Dresses
- Valentino V Neck DressBy Valentino GaravaniLocated in Milano, ITFeaturing a lavish lavender hue, this Valentino dress is perfect for a special occasion. This short-sleeved midi dress features a V neck enhanced by pleated det...Category
2010s Day Dresses
- Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Denim DressBy ANGLOMANIA by VIVIENNE WESTWOODLocated in Milano, ITThis Vivienne Westwood Anglomania dress is cut to a fitted silhouette and crafted from dark denim fabric. It features box shoulders ...Category
Early 2000s Day Dresses
- Moschino Cheap and Chic Star Printed Wrap DressBy Moschino Cheap and ChicLocated in Milano, ITThis Moschino Cheap and Chic Star Printed Wrap Dress is the perfect addition to any summer wardrobe. Skillfully crafted with a self tie-knot, folded v neckline, this short sleeved dr...Category
Early 2000s Day Dresses
- Louis Vuitton Green Shirt DressBy Louis VuittonLocated in Milano, ITThis classic-yet-modern shirt dress from Louis Vuitton is made of a dark green midi-length silhouette perfect for day or evening events. Details include two front pockets with black ...Category
2010s Day 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
- 1990S GIANNI VERSACE Style Silk Crepe De Chine Leopard Baroque Scarf Print DressLocated in New York, NY1990S GIANNI VERSACE Style Silk Crepe De Chine Leopard Baroque Scarf Print DressCategory
1990s Casual Dresses
- 1960'S Pyschedelic Floral Cotton Long Sleeve Mod Dress With PocketsLocated in New York, NY1960'S Pyschedelic Floral Cotton Long Sleeve Mod Dress With PocketsCategory
1960s Casual Dresses
- MORPHEW COLLECTION Peach Silk Jersey Dress With Cutout Front & 1930S Floral TrimBy MorphewLocated in New York, NYMORPHEW COLLECTION Peach Silk Jersey Dress With Cutout Front & 1930S Floral Trim MORPHEW COLLECTION is made entirely by hand in our NYC Ateliér of rare antique materials sourced from...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Casual Dresses
- 1970S SAKS 5TH AVENUE Navy Silk Chiffon Ruffled GownLocated in New York, NY1970S SAKS 5TH AVENUE Navy Silk Chiffon Ruffled GownCategory
1970s Formal Gowns
- DOLCE & GABBANA black & white ROSE PRINT & LACE Dress 42By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Zürich, CHDolce & Gabbana shift dress in black and white viscose (82%) cotton (16%) nylon (2%) with a rose print and lace part at the bottom, stand-up collar, puffed shoulders, long sleeves wi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown 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.