Evening dress

Yves Saint Laurent|House of Dior

ca. 1959 · silk · Costume Institute

Following his first successful "Trapèze" collection for Dior in 1958, Saint Laurent remained committed to a new shape for garments in subsequent seasons. The ballooning back drapery of this evening dress offers a counterpoint to the more conventional fitted silhouette of the front. The juxtaposition of volume creates a slimming effect, while still incorporating the sacque-back, an "au courant" design element of the late 1950s.

Artist

Yves Saint Laurent|House of Dior

Date

ca. 1959

Medium

silk

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Lauren Bacall, 1967