1960s/70s Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture Paneled Felt Hat
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Height: 6.5 in (16.51 cm)Diameter: 12.5 in (31.75 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Light wear from age and minor use.
- Seller Location:West Hollywood, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2388213956242
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: West Hollywood, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- S/S 1994 Gianni Versace Safety Pin Medusa Gold Brown Acetate SunglassesBy Gianni VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a pair of incredible brown and gold-tone Gianni Versace sunglasses designed by Gianni Versace. From the Spring/Summer 1994 collection, these sunglasses feature a subtle ca...Category
1990s Italian Sunglasses
- 1980s Christian Dior Honey Geometric Oversized CD SunglassesBy Christian DiorLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a pair of fabulous oversized Christian Dior sunglasses. From the 1980s, these honey-colored sunglasses feature an oversized octagonal frame and are made complete with a re...Category
1980s European Visors
- Christian Dior by John Galliano Faux Turtle Shell Rimless Oversized D SunglassesBy John Galliano for Christian Dior, Christian DiorLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a pair of brown faux turtle shell Christian Dior rimless sunglasses, designed by John Galliano. From the early 2000s, thes...Category
Early 2000s European Visors
- F/W 2003 Christian Dior by John Galliano Green Yellow Wrap Bandage SunglassesBy Christian Dior, John Galliano for Christian DiorLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a pair of green and yellow Christian Dior wrap sunglasses, designed by John Galliano. From the Fall/Winter 2003 collection, these fabul...Category
Early 2000s French Sunglasses
- 1960s Christian Dior Chapeaux by Marc Bohan Woven Wicker Floral Rose Velvet HatBy Christian Dior, Marc BohanLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a playful velvet-trimmed wicker hat with a faux rose blossom. This piece was designed in the 1960s while the house was under the creative direction of Marc Bohan. 7.2" i...Category
1960s Hats
- Suzanne Couture Millinery Oversized Yellow and Black Chinchilla Fur Beehive HatBy Suzanne Couture MillineryLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a fabulous yellow and black Suzanne Couture Millinery chinchilla hat. This oversized vintage hat is constructed entirely of velvety chinchill...Category
Early 2000s American Hats
- Hermes Wool Fisherman HatBy HermèsLocated in Scottsdale, AZCommand your wardrobe with this Hermes Wool Fisherman hat. This wool silk blend hat is perfect for winter and fall festivities. It will offer you the warmth and comfort you need for the winter months without sacrificing you any style points. Pair with your favorite Chanel tweed or Ysl trench coat...Category
2010s French Hats
- Bollman Co. Ivory Boho Greenwich Floppy Hat with Ostrich Feather Band – M, 1970sBy Bollman Hat CompanyLocated in Tucson, AZStarted in 1868, the Bollman Hat Company is America's oldest hat maker and still provides luxury millinery products for brands like Helen Kaminski. Made...Category
1970s American Hats
- Black Velvet Bubble Veil Clamshell Saucer Hat with Provenance – O/S, 1930sLocated in Tucson, AZFrom the estate of French heiress (and sister of WWI aviation hero and French Open namesake Roland Garros) Gilberte Garros, this magnificent saucer hat comb...Category
1930s Tunisian Hats
- Black Velvet Flower Petal Fascinator with Silk Rose and Veil – O/S, 1950sLocated in Tucson, AZA hat that would make Isabella Blow’s heart flutter, this magnificent fascinator sits atop the head via black velvet “petals” that fan from the crown of the head to the ears. A perfect pink satin rose sits at the top center beneath which a black veil spills to just below the nose. A work of art. Stiff velvet 5-petal fascinator with satin rose at top center; nose-length veil. Fascinator lined in cotton gabardine. material: cotton velvet, cotton gabardine, veiling, poly satin noteworthy: loosen dirt with baby toothbrush or compressed air repairs: replaced veiling condition: excellent measurements: fascinator: each “petal” approx. 4 ½” from crown...Category
1950s Unknown Hats
- Versace Bold Tangerine with Signature Logo and gold hardware studs SunglassesBy Gianni VersaceLocated in New York, NYVersace wonderful eye-popping "limited Edition" bold tangerine sunglasses are accented with their signature logo surrounded with micro gold hardware studs as well as detailed etching...Category
Early 2000s Italian Sunglasses
- Prada Steel-Gray Accented with Italian-Red 'Loop' Lucite Mirrored SunglassesBy PradaLocated in New York, NYPrada Lightweight Steel-Gray accented with Italian-Red 'Loop' lucite Mirrored sunglasses measures 5 3/4 inches across the front, height measures 2 inches, and the arms are 5 3/4...Category
1990s Italian Sunglasses
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.