Mondrian dress
(1965-1966) {autumn-winter}
- Medium
- wool, silk, metal
- Measurements
- 85.0 cm (centre back)
- Place/s of Execution
- France
- Inscription
- label, inside centre back, woven in silk on black and white silk: YVES SAINT LAURENT / PARIS 09879 / MADE IN FRANCE
label, inside centre back, woven in black silk on white silk: BONWITT TELLER / No 77 / DRESS / colour white, black, red / size 8 / composition / wool 100% / lining silk 100% - Accession Number
- 2000.1
- Department
- International Fashion and Textiles
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gurnett-Smith Bequest, 2000
© Yves Saint Laurent, Paris
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Professor AGL Shaw AO Bequest - Gallery location
- Contemporary Art gallery
Level 3, NGV International - About this work
-
In 1961, after working at Christian Dior for seven years, Yves Saint Laurent established his own fashion house aiming to revolutionise how women dressed. From trapezeshaped tunics and mini dresses to trousers, he presented a contemporary elegance and androgyny that had not previously existed in womenswear. Throughout his career Saint Laurent paid tribute to the artists he loved, among them Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Piet Mondrian. This dress is named after Mondrian and pays homage to the artist’s use of geometry, two-dimensionality and block colour.
- Physical description
- A cream wool 'mini' dress with side splits, with an abstract design compromising a square of red at the front top left, a black cross to the front and hem, and a black strip centre back covering the zip. The dress is fully lined with oyster silk.