APPLIED ART : COSTUME

Object Name: Short evening dress
Maker: Yves Saint Laurent (Primary maker)
Yves Saint Laurent
Date Made: 1966
1964 circa
1966
Description: colour : blue and green. design : long sleeved short evening dress covered completely with sequins in black, yellow, blue and green stripes, v - neck. In the 1960s Yves Saint Laurent managed to combine haute couture methods with contemporary youthful designs more successfully than his peers, who could not compete with the hugely popular, cheap fashions coming from 'Swinging London'. He took over the house of Dior at the age of 21, and founded his own house in 1961. By the time of his retirement in 2002 he and his partner Pierre Bergé had built up a huge fashion, cosmetics and perfume empire, founded on Saint Laurent's superb and constantly innovative design skills Sometimes a fashionable revival relates to the material rather than to the cut. Sequins are a dramatic and effective evening dress embellishment, and when they are used overall they make a very strong statement.
Catalogue Number: BELUM.T813
Copyright: National Museums NI

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