Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Patterned Silk Day Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Length: 42.5 in (107.95 cm)Marked Size: 38 (EU)Bust: 40 in (101.6 cm)Waist: 27 in (68.58 cm)Hip: 40 in (101.6 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU444343363
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: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Norell Wool Knit Day DressBy Norman NorellLocated in New York, NYNorman Norell, oatmeal tone, wool knit, sheath, having buttons closing down the middle front, short sleeves, a rolled neck with a front bow and visible deep patch pockets.Category
1960s American Sheath Dresses
- Courrèges Belted LBDBy André CourrègesLocated in New York, NYAndré Corrèges, black, silk, heavy crepe, belted dress having a deep V neckline and pleated accents from the shoulder to the waist. There is an off centered curved slit detail at the...Category
1970s French Day Dresses
- Galanos Belted Wool Knit Day DressBy James GalanosLocated in New York, NYJames Galanos, red, wool knit, shift-like day dress having long sleeves with a slightly dropped shoulder, jewel neckline and a gathered back detail with vertical slits at the upper b...Category
1980s American Day Dresses
- Samuel Winston Floral Pattern Dress C. 1960By Samuel WinstonLocated in New York, NYSamuel Winston, crinkled silk, impressionistic, soft tones, floral pattern, dress having a bateau neckline, cap sleeve, fitted bodice, and full gathered skirt. Tubular self belt ties...Category
1960s American Day Dresses
- Geoffrey Beene Crepe Dress with Patent String BeltBy Geoffrey BeeneLocated in New York, NYGeoffrey Beene, black, silk crepe dress, having cap sleeves and a unique v neckline that curves symmetrically. Black, string, patent, accent belt wraps around the waist.Category
1990s American Day Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Bold Stripe Knit Day DressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in New York, NYYves Saint Laurent, Tricot knitted dress having a straight silhouette that gently hugs the body, a U neckline, slightly puff sleeves that end at the elbow and a gathered flounce at t...Category
1990s French Day Dresses
- Valentino 18 white aztec leopard print crepe cady low cut silk gown dress IT 38By ValentinoLocated in Paris, FRValentino Resort 2018 floor length dress in leopard print motif developed in collaboration with artist Sandra Rhodes Print in Burgundy, pink and green...Category
2010s Italian Maxi Dresses
- Michael Kors Collection Off White Ivory Size 2 / 4 Grommet Bell Sleeve DressBy Michael KorsLocated in San Diego, CAEarly 2000s vintage MICHAEL KORS COLLECTION off-white / ivory long bell sleeve grommet dress ! Features a tailored bodice with silver grommets aro...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Dolce & Gabbana S/S 1994 "La Mediterranea" distressed knitted dressBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Rome, IT• Oversized knitted dress • Cream distressed fishnetCategory
1990s Italian Day Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche White Crepe Wrap DressBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in Kingston, NYThe Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche White dress is a white wrap dress featuring short sleeves. Made with signature quality fabrics, this stylish and timeless piece will ensure you loo...Category
1990s French Casual Dresses
- DOLCE & GABBANA - Cotton Sleeveless Dress in Blue and Cream Stripes | Size MBy D&G by DOLCE & GABBANA, Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Cuggiono, MIIntroducing a sleeveless cotton dress from the prestigious Italian luxury brand D&G, adorned with elegant dark blue and cream stripes, embodying timeless style and sophistication. Cr...Category
Early 2000s Italian Shift Dresses
- S/S 2012 look #27 VERSACE WHITE STUDDED EMBELLISHED LEATHER DRESS 38 - 2By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Actual runway sample Spring/Summer look # 27 (Has a minor sings of wear on the lining) Embellished Leather Dress Sleeveless Knee length Content: 100% leather armpi...Category
2010s Italian Casual Dresses