Vintage Yves Saint Laurent YSL 1980s Grey Suede Leather High Waisted Harem Pants
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 42 (EU)Waist: 28 in (71.12 cm)Hip: 42 in (106.68 cm)
- Place of Origin:France
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6629592672
Yves Saint Laurent
French fashion 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, 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, 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.
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: San Diego, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Incredible Vintage Judy Hornby Couture Black Crepe JumpsuitBy Judy HornbyLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing vintage Judy Hornby Couture black crepe jumpsuit! Flattering from both the front, and the back! Features snaps on the interior of both leg openings (to make legs more tapered...Category
1980s American Jumpsuits
- Rare Alexander McQueen ' Pussycat Crotch ' Tie Dye Leopard Wool Leggings PantsBy Alexander McQueenLocated in San Diego, CARare early 2000s ALEXANDER MCQUEEN black and white 'pussycat crotch' wool stretch leggings! Features an allover tie dye leopard print. Amazing fit, with super soft extra virgin wool ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Flat Front Pants
- Vintage Moschino Couture Tree Bark + Hearts 1990s Novelty Flared Hem TrousersBy Moschino Couture, MoschinoLocated in San Diego, CAWonderful vintage 90s MOSCHINO COUTURE brown and black 'tree bark and hearts' printed flared leg pants! Awesome novelty print, with an equally impressive fit! Mid-rise crotch, with f...Category
1990s Italian Flat Front Pants
- 1990s Ralph Lauren ' Blue Label ' Tan & Brown Corduroy + Suede Flare Leg PantsBy Ralph LaurenLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing vintage 90s RALPH LAUREN 'Blue Label' tan and brown cotton corduroy low rise trousers! Features two leather suede patches at the inte...Category
1990s American Flat Front Pants
- Reed Krakoff Lightweight Wool Signature RK Gray Cropped Culottes / TrousersBy Reed KrakoffLocated in San Diego, CAWardrobe staple Reed Krakoff light gray cropped pants! Lightweight wool, with an amazing fit---not too slouchy, yet not too fitted...Just PERFECT! Wide cuff at hem. Utilitarian f...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Culottes
- 1970s Mollie Parnis Vintage Black Jersey Playsuit Romper w/ Poet Chiffon SleevesBy Mollie ParnisLocated in San Diego, CAIn all of my years of collecting vintage, I have never seen a piece quite like this 70s black stretch jersey playsuit / jumpsuit! Attributed to Mollie Parnis (original owner lost the...Category
1970s American Jumpsuits
- Tom Ford Era Vintage GUCCI Fall 1999 Black Leather Pintuck PantsBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Malibu, CA🖤SUPER RARE Collectors Piece!!🖤 Tom Ford Era Vintage GUCCI Fall 1999 Black Leather Pintuck Pants! EXCELLENT CONDITION! These babies are INSANELY A...Category
1990s Pants
- DOLCE&GABBANA – 90s Vintage Black Cotton Pants with Side Placques Size 6US 38EUBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Cuggiono, MIThese vintage pants are an early example of the creative beauty that Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana introduced in the world of fashion starting from the late 80s. They feature a ...Category
1990s Italian Pants
- DOLCE & GABBANA - Vintage Olive Green Cotton Velvet 7/8 Pants | Size 4US 36EUBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Cuggiono, MIIntroducing these Dolce&Gabbana 7/8 length pants, a unique blend of style and comfort. Crafted from olive green stretch cotton corduroy, these pants showcase a distinctive Tyrolean-i...Category
1990s Italian Pants
- PRADA – Authentic Dark Blue Riding Pants w/ Leather Applications Size 8US 40EUBy Miuccia Prada, PradaLocated in Cuggiono, MISportive yet elegant, linear yet sophisticated, these riding pants have more than one reason to please the collector. They feature a hook and zip closure, two small front pockets, a ...Category
2010s Macedonian Riding Pants
- 1992 Gianni Versace Bondage Black Wool Jumpsuit with MedallionsBy Gianni VersaceLocated in New York, NYIconic 1992 Gianni Versace Black Wool and Silk Jumpsuit with original tags. Features Silk Faille Bands over Embroidered Net Bodice; Gold-tone Medallion Accents with inset Amber Color...Category
1990s Italian Jumpsuits
- Pleats Please Issey Miyake Guest Artist Series No. 4 Cai Guo-Qiang Bullet PantsBy Issey Miyake Guest ArtistLocated in PARIS, FRPleats Please By Issey Miyake Guest Artist Series No. 4 Cai Guo-Qiang Gunpowder Runway Pants Trousers 1998 THE MATCHING GUNPOWDER TOP SOLD SEPARATELY. If you are interested in, PM me! ;) A rare and coveted Pleats Please by Issey Miyake pants from the collaboration with Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang, Guest Artist Series No. 4, 1998. The mind-boggling process of creating the design by sprinkling gunpowder onto the patterns and evoking a detonation is shown in the YouTube video above (an even more prolonged and more detailed version here). Pleated throughout. 100% polyester. Made in Japan. Reference picture 1 shows the garments on the runway (via Cai Guo-Qiang), reference picture 2 gives us an impression of the exhibition "Issey Miyake Making Things...Category
Early 2000s Japanese Pleated Pants
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.