• The twin of the dress walked the Spring 2002 Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture for Look 240. 
• It was made under the creative direction of Yves Saint Laurent.
• It would've been made completely by hand in the Paris atelier.
• This was Yve's final collection ever so has significant historical importance.
• That final show was over an hour long and was presented to a room of 1500 hand picked guests. To tell the story of his decades long career there was a total of 371 garments shown that day. The presentation began at the beginning of his career and the show was a full retrospective of his work that showed a highlight of all of his creations through the decades.
• There were also a small group of 11 new items for the 2002 season included about 2/3rds of the way into the show created as the Spring 2002 couture collection. All were pieces that were based on dresses from the past but done in new colours. They were all made of weightless silk chiffon and were in a variety of colours.
• The twin of this black dress was included in that grouping and it is based on the green dress we have included a reference photo of for you here from the Spring 1991 collection.
• This blending of past and present further evoked the idea of his journey and how his designs are truly timeless no matter when they were made. 
• The dress has its own special couture tag that commemorates it as being a part of this final show. It is an extremely rare and wonderful piece.
• "I have chosen today to say goodbye to the craft that I have loved so much. The next show to which I invite you, on Tuesday, 22nd January at 6 PM, at the centre of George's Pompano, will predominantly be a retrospective of my work… Some designs from the currencies will also be shown."
• The dress has a strapless bodice that is fitted to hold the dress on the body and then it falls from there to the floor in layers of weightless black silk chiffon.
• The silk of the bodice is gathered and set vertically and inside the bodice there is a full inner built-in corset that is shaped and seamed so the dress stays perfectly in place once on.
• A wide band of silk wraps underneath the breasts to the waist and there is a sash that ties in a soft bow off to one side.
• The ends of the sash trail all the way down the side to the floor and this helps to add to the beautiful movement this dress has once on.
• Below the beautiful shape through the bodice the skirt falls to the floor in a soft cascade of silk chiffon. The side of the skirt that opens is slightly longer than the other and this is a clever way to give that side of the skirt even more movement. These are the tiny details in Couture that make a dress move the exact perfect way.
• The innermost layer of silk chiffon is set all the way around you and then the other layers of the skirt are set over this and slit right up to where the waistband meets the top of the skirt on that side. So when you walk and move you are covered by that single layer of silk chiffon underneath but you are still bare underneath the transparency of the chiffon. You can see this clearly in the video as the model walks. It is very sexy.
• The layers and open side of the skirt combined with the trailing ties from the waist are then what allow the dress to move so beautifully around you when you move.
• It is absolutely perfect in every way. The workmanship is beautiful and the dress appears to have never been worn or worn very little. What a joy to have such an important dress from Yves very last collection.
• The dress is fully lined in a black silk chiffon as described above. Boning and structure through the inner bodice and it closes with a hidden set side zipper. Its proper Haute Couture tag is present.
• There is no size tag present because it is true Couture. Please see the measurements below.
• Excellent condition.

Bust: 15.5-16" flat across from side seam to side seam with an A-B cup
Seam under the bust: 14.25" flat across from side seam to side seam 
Inner waist: 12-13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 4.75" from top of bodice to seam under the bodice
Total length: 51" from top of bodice to shortest part of the hem, 54" to the longest

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XXS-XS

Item# DD5594

Reference Photos/Video: (1-3) Spring 2002 Yves Saint Laurent Couture, Look 240.  /  (4) From the book “Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture: CATWALK”  /  (5-6) Spring 1991 Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture. 

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

• Based on the jagged flame pattern on the dress, this dress is almost certainly from the 1973 season.
• It was made under the creative direction of Loris Azzaro
• Loris Azzaro launched his label in 1967 and quickly defined his trademark looks by using ornate fabrics and avant garde ways of defining the body. Some of the most beautiful women in the world wore his clothing including Marisa Berenson, Raquel Welch, Jane Birkin, Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Tina Turner.
• It was a label that defined sexiness and had a certain French flare that women world-wide loved. By the seventies and eighties he was experimenting with volume and proportions and new fabrics that at the time were all cutting edge. This is a stunning example of his work during the mid-seventies.
• This is a dress that will come to life even more once on an actual body and I hope the photos convey enough of how fabulous it is because when worn this one will be even better.
• The entire body of the dress is covered with densely applied black sequins and these catch the light from every angle.
• The sequins are set in long vertical rows to the hem and appeared to have been all hand placed.
• The top of the bodice is a single layer of black silk chiffon. This bit of transparency adds an incredibly sexy feel. 
• He used that same silk chiffon down the back where it dips into a low scoop.
• I love the way that the jagged flame pattern defines the bust and that low scoop at the back.
• A high slit up one side lets you have the perfect flash of skin when you walk or sit.
• The dress is fully lined through the body in a black silk and it zips to close at the back. 
• Excellent condition

Bust: to 21" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 22.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 57.5" from top of shoulder to hem with 2.5" turned under
Slit: 19.5" from hem up

Modern Sizing Equivalent: MED-XL

Item# DD5595

Reference Photos: (1-3) Marisa Berenson in a Loris Azzaro. October 1973. Photo: Michael Holtz.   /   (4) The cover of the book "Azzaro" for Assouline - Marisa Berenson and Loris Azzaro photographed in 1973, for issue 604 of L'Officiel de la Couture et de la Mode de Paris, by Roland Bianchini.  /  (5) Image from the book "Azzaro: Fifty Sparkling Years"  /  (6) Magazine spread featuring a model in Azzaro, 1973. / (7) Spring 1973 Loris Azzaro Couture.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

• This dress is from the Spring 1976 Collection
• It was made under the creative direction of Roy Halston.
• These front tie dresses are one of the most iconic signature pieces from Halston. It was heavily documented that season and remains one of the most beloved silhouettes of all the pieces he designed.
• Halston created several of these dresses in different colours that season. They tended to be mainly produced in a bias cut silk or a hammered bias cut silk and rarely in velvet. Even the silk versions are hard to find now and finding one in a black velvet is very rare.
• It is said that before even putting scissors to fabric, Halston already had a mental image of how he wanted to dress to look. He believed that evening pieces should be as easy-to-wear and comfortable as day wear but absolutely elegant at the same time. When these dresses were shown for the first time in 1976 the press dubbed them as being "clean and and yet still with sex appeal".
• This is from the main Halston label and these were pieces were custom-made or made to order at this point in the brands history.
  
• The dress is strapless and ties at the front of the bust. This creates a little discreet keyhole under the tie. It also allows you to adjust the fit by how loose or tight you tie it.
• The cut is very forgiving as it skims over the bust, comes in slightly at the waist. and then curves back out over the hips. It is not meant to be super fitted. This is a dress that is very easy to fit. On a smaller frame it drapes more and the bias cut will allow it to move to accommodate if you need more room.
• From there it continues to skim over the body all the way to the hem widening out slightly as it nears the floor.
• The seaming is all set on an angled curve that wraps around the body. This means the entire dress is made out of one piece of black velvet. Do not underestimate its simplicity. Creating the dress in this way is actually quite complex and a technical challenge. Without seaming at the sides, the shape of the dress completely relies on the way it drapes, making it a much more difficult task and complex problem to have it fall over the body as perfectly as it does.
• Personally, I think this might be one of the most iconic little black dresses to have ever been created. It's a highly collectible piece for the Halston collector. 
• The dress is fully lined in a black silk and slips on to wear with a tie at the front that you can adjust for fit. I see slight change in the pile of the velvet where it ties at the front from being tied. This is a natural occurrence and is not considered a flaw but mentioned for accuracy.
• There is no size tag present so please go by the measurements listed below
• Excellent condition

Bust: approx 17-19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam with the ability to adjust the size at the front because of the tie
Waist: 15-21" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 18-24" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: 56" from top of bodice to hem with approx 2.5" turned under the hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-LRG

Item# DD5596

Reference Photos: (1) ‘The Strapless’ in Women’s Wear Daily, August 1976. / (2) ‘The New York Collections: Easy Winners!’, Jacques Malignon for Vogue, September 1976. / (3) ‘Your Night to Star’, Ladies Home Journal, December 1976. / (4) Elizabeth Taylor in Halston at the 1976 Oscars. / (5) Marisa Berenson in Halston, Vogue 1976. Photo by Richard Avedon. / (6) "Yves Saint Laurent + Halston. Fashioning the 70s" Exhibit at the Museum at FIT, 2015. / (7) Halston's original sketch for the tie-front strapless dress & Lee Radziwell, 1976.  / (8) Rachel Zoe in Halston at the Zoe Report Dinner, 2014.  /  (9-10) Cherie, Owner of Shrimpton Couture.  /  (11-13) Spring 1976 Halston Runway.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.