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. His revolutionary Mondrian mini dress from 1965 is a core element of his fashion biography. Saint Laurent had given birth to a global brand. In 1966, they opened the first YSL Rive Gauche women’s boutique in Paris, followed soon thereafter by YSL Rive Gauche for men. 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. 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.Īfter a mandated spell in the torturous French military, Saint Laurent suffered a nervous breakdown and was dismissed by Dior in 1962. A mere slip of a youth, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was nevertheless up to the challenge. Surprisingly soon thereafter, Dior publicly chose Saint Laurent as his successor, which sadly proved prescient when the fashion legend died unexpectedly, in 1957. Just two years later, in 1955, his remarkable sketches were shown to Christian Dior, then the world’s reigning couturier, who hired him immediately. 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.īorn 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. Many of his designs are today considered timeless classics. By blurring gender-specific design, he empowered individual style while creating a scissor-sharp fashion aesthetic of sensual ease and beauty. 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. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter. *Please note, this item does not qualify for private discounts*įrench fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture. Check out our catalog of YSL ready-to-wear pieces designed by Tom Ford and inspired by this important collection! A truly museum-worthy piece, this set is seldom available for purchase. Creative directors of YSL from Tom Ford to Stefano Pilati have used this collection as inspiration for the direction of the house in the 21st century. Similar pieces were highlighted for the MET Costume Institute's retrospective: "China: Through the Looking Glass" in collaboration with the museum's Department of Asian Art, focusing on the effect of Chinese aestheticism on Western culture. Marino Schiano, one of YSL's muses, wore a similar set to the "Yves Saint Laurent Presents Opium Perfume" event on September 20, 1978, aboard the historic Peking at the South Street Seaport Museum in Manhattan. This collection corresponded with the release of YSL's infamous Opium fragrance and featured the designer's dreamy interpretation of historical Chinese style elements. A version of this Cheongsam-inspired belted dress set debuted on the Fall/Winter 1977 Haute Couture runway in July 1977 and appears in Saint Laurent's original archival sketches, held by the YSL Museum in Marrakesh. Yves Saint Laurent designed this dress for his infamous and brand-defining 'Les Chinoises,' or 'Opium Couture,' collection. Presenting a well-documented piece of fashion history expertly crafted by a master couturier in his prime.
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