1970's Yves Saint Laurent YSL Teal Green Smock Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 36.75 in (93.35 cm)Bust: 40 in (101.6 cm)Waist: 41 in (104.14 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Studio City, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3573256923
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: Studio City, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Rare 1982 S/S Michaele Vollbracht Bacon & Eggs Print Checked Pinafore DressBy Michaele VollbrachtLocated in Studio City, CA1982 S/S Michaele Vollbracht iconic black plaid on white pinafore dress featuring a breakfast scene replete with bacon and eggs w/yellow sequin yokes served on a plate, a steaming cu...Category
1980s American Day Dresses
- Vintage Anne Klein Silk Mini Dress w/Ikat Print & ElephantsBy Anne KleinLocated in Studio City, CAVintage Anne Klein from the Donna Karan era mini dress w/Ikat-style print featuring elephants and humans wearing hats standing under a temple.Shoulder ties fasten at the back by mean...Category
1970s American Day Dresses
- 1971 Iconic Yves Saint Laurent Lips Print DressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Studio City, CAThe celebrated 1971 Yves Saint Laurent lips print dress from the collection that was panned when it came out but now universally revered. We are so luc...Category
1970s French Day Dresses
- Chanel Pink Velvet Burnout Dress w/Self Belt ca. 1970'sBy ChanelLocated in Studio City, CA1970's Chanel "Creation" label pink silk velvet burnout dress w/extra long ties at the back neck, a dropped waist, a self-belt and nude fabric lining at the interior. In excellent co...Category
1970s French Day Dresses
- 1970's Yves Saint Laurent Cotton Maxi Dress w/Multicolored Floral & Star PrintBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Studio City, CA1970's Yves Saint Laurent polished cotton abstract floral and star print maxi dress with an empire waistline, button-down collar neckline w/green buttons, 3/4 sleeves, hidden side po...Category
1970s French Day Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Red Wool Maxi Dress w/Blue & Green Colorblock TrimBy Yves Saint Laurent, Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in Studio City, CAIconic Yves Saint Laurent red wool maxi dress with blue and green wool trim. The dress is being sold at a deep discount because it has several condition issues - the red interior sil...Category
1970s French Day Dresses
- 90s Geoffrey Beene Lime Green Metallic Silk Grecian gownBy Geoffrey BeeneLocated in Beverly Hills, CA1992 Geoffrey Beene Lime green chartreuse print Grecian cut out gown with multi color sequins. see runway photo attached. Marked size 4 but it fit siz...Category
1990s American Wedding Dresses
- Alexander McQueen Bustier Silk Poision Green Corset Evening Mini Midi DressBy Alexander McQueenLocated in PARIS, FRAlexander McQueen silk dress. You can variate the straps, they can be placed on your shoulder, or let your shoulder free. 100% silk. VER...Category
Early 2000s Evening Dresses
- New Etro Silk Runway Yellow Green Midi Open Back Dress with Scarf Italian 42By EtroLocated in Montgomery, TXEtro Silk Runway Yellow Green Midi Open Back Dress with Scarf Italian size - 42 100% Silk, Halter Neck Style with Attached Scarf, Scarf Finished with Metal Fringe, Open Back. Measur...Category
2010s Italian Day Dresses
- Dark brown wrap dress in wool with turquoise collar and cuffs Thierry MuglerBy Thierry MuglerLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRDark brown wrap dress in wool with turquoise collar and cuffs. Drape on the waist. Cut-work. Shoulder pads. Raglan sleeves with cut-work details on t...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- NEW ALEXANDER McQueen GREEN EVENING DRESS size 40 - 4By Alexander McQueenLocated in Montgomery, TXAlexander McQueen Emerald green glass beaded long dress Content: 100% silk Back zipper Sleeveless Back slit Size 40 - 4 (S) Length 63" Bust 35...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1970s French Haute Couture Green and White Floral DressLocated in London, GBThis 1970s French couture green and white dress in silk crepe features a striking floral fabric design. It has a softly rounded neckline and fast...Category
1970s French 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.