Object: Dress
Brand:
Yves Saint Laurent
(French, founded 1961)
Designer:
Yves Saint Laurent
(1936 - 2008)
Date: Fall 1965
Medium: Wool jersey
Country: France
Credit Line: Gift of Igor Kamlukin from the Estate of Valentina Schlee
Object number: 95.180.1
DescriptionMondrian dress, sleeveless chemise in ivory wool jersey with pieced geometric design of black stripes and single red color block at left shoulder; couture
Label Text:Fashion and art interact in this dress inspired by artist Piet Mondrian's color block paintings. Saint Laurent used the flatness of the sheath silhouette to suggest the two-dimensionality of a painted canvas. He designed several versions of this dress, each one unique in its color block design. Unlike the paintings, however, where the design is a surface application, the color blocking is integral to the construction of the dress, requiring the precision of couture pattern making and sewing. The dress was widely
copied and both the original and a copy were featured in the 2015 Museum at FIT exhibition "Faking It."
copied and both the original and a copy were featured in the 2015 Museum at FIT exhibition "Faking It."
In Collection(s)
Exhibitions:
- Faking It: Originals, Copies, and Counterfeits
- She's like a Rainbow: Colors in Fashion
- Fashion, A-Z: Highlights from the Collection of the Museum at FIT (Part One)
- Paris Refashioned, 1957-1968
- 50 Years of Fashion, 1947 - 1997