1980s Yves Saint Laurent Vintage Red and Black Abstract Print Silk Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Fr 36 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Portland, OR
- 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: Beaverton, OR
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- 1980s Vintage Red Vakko Suede Peplum Strapless DressBy VAKKOLocated in Portland, ORThis is such a fun vintage red dress! This Vakko suede peplum evening dress has a sweetheart bust and a pointed peplum at the waist. .The dress is fu...Category
1980s American Evening Dresses
- Vintage Bill Blass Strawberry Red Pink Dress and Embroidered Coat Suit OutfitBy Bill BlassLocated in Portland, ORThis is such a stunning Bill Blass Summer dress suit! This would make a great wedding guest outfit or you can wear it to any special dressier day event. Pair it with the right access...Category
20th Century American Dress and Coat Ensembles
- 1930s Rusty Red Silk Vintage 2 Pc Bias Dress With Rhinestone Belt and TieLocated in Portland, ORThis is a vintage 1930's two piece rust red silk dress with a matching belt with original sash buckle. This top of the dress has long sleeves with gathered tucks on the elbows, a V n...Category
1930s American Day Dresses
- Pauline Trigere Vintage Red Dress With Sheer Striped Sleeves & ScarfBy Pauline TrigèreLocated in Portland, ORThis is a beautiful vintage Pauline Trigere red shift dress with sheer striped sleeves. Pauline Trigere cut and draped the fabric she was using directly on actual women instead of sketching her designs. Not only was she an innovative designer, she kept her designs current and was constantly challenging tradition. .This lovely dress is an example of s piece that truly stands the test of time! The red fabric is medium weight, and feels like a linen cotton blend, and the sheer sleeves have thin black vertical stripes. The dress is fully lined in satin and it has a round neckline, long bishop sleeves with buttoned cuffs, and closes with a center back zipper and hook and eye. You can wear the separate red and black...Category
1980s American Day Dresses
- McQ Alexander McQueen Orange Stretch Knit Dress W Cut Out Zipper DetailsBy McQ Alexander McQueen, Alexander McQueenLocated in Portland, ORThis orange Alexander McQueen dress is so special and we really love the diagonal bust zipper that is fully functional! You can wear it with the zipper open for a cut out effect. Thi...Category
2010s Turkish Day Dresses
- 1960s Rodrigues New W Tags Vintage Orange Red Silk Dress w Keyhole OpeningBy RodriguesLocated in Portland, ORThis is a gorgeous dead stock vintage dress by Rodrigues from the 1960's! This fun, sleeveless dress is in a fiery red/orange raw silk with a button closure at the neck. The dress h...Category
1960s American Day Dresses
- CHRISTIAN DIOR red acetate LACE TRIM COCKTAIL Dress 40 MBy Christian DiorLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Christian Dior sleeveless cocktail dress in red acetate (57%) and viscose (43%) with lace details around the waist, chest and shoulders. Open back with twisted strap d...Category
2010s Casual Dresses
- GUCCI red viscose 2016 RUFFLED VELVET BELTED JERSEY GOWN Maxi Dress LBy GucciLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Gucci long sleeve jersey gown in viscose (98%) and elastane (2%) with ruffled details on neckline and cuffs. The design features...Category
2010s Cocktail Dresses
- HERMES red silk EPERON D'OR BANDANA BOAT NECK Shift Dress 36 XSBy HermèsLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Hermès Eperon d'Or Bandana dress in red silk (100%). Features a boat neck and long sleeves. Unlined. Has been worn once and is in virtuall...Category
2010s Casual Dresses
- HERMES orange wool & silk 2018 TWILLAINE SHIRT Dress 40 MBy HermèsLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Hermès Pre-Fall 2018 long sleeve shirt dress in orange, navy, yellow, burgundy, light blue and off-white silk (94%), elastane (6%) and the knit parts in orange wool (8...Category
2010s Casual Dresses
- LOUIS VUITTON red viscose RUFFLED SLEEVELESS A-LINE MINI COCKTAIL Dress 38 SBy Louis VuittonLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Louis Vuitton sleeveless a-line mini dress in red (viscose 76%) and silk (24%) with ruffle detail around the chest. Opens with a black zipper on the back and is lined ...Category
2010s Casual Dresses
- LANVIN red wool RUFFLED NECK SHORT SLLEVE Dress 38 SBy Lanvin ParisLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Lanvin short sleeve ruffled neck shirt dress in red wool (97%) and elastane (3%). Button-up and closes on the back with a concealed zipper. Lined in silk (95%) and ela...Category
2010s 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.