This is dress is the twin the dress that walked the fall 1986 Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche runway. I was so pleased to find a shot of it on because it really shows you just how much it comes to life when worn

This gorgeous dress mixes a solid black velvet with a velvet that has a printed effect to it. The effect is created by parts the velvet being raised up slightly higher that the base. The patterned portions of the velvet have been used for the sleeves and the skirt and when it catches the light is gives the suggestion of a leopard print. This particular velvet was one of the signature fabrics of this collection and he also used a version of these same velvets in the 1985 Haute Couture collection. To add some contrast to the textured parts he kept the bodice in a solid black velvet and gave it a corseted feel. It has a curving sweetheart neckline that drapes low at the front and curves up to highlight the bust. The bodice nips in to the waist and then continues to just over the top of the hips for shape. The dress still has its original matching velvet tie so that you can cinch in the waist as much as you want and add that extra bit of texture there. The sleeves are incredible. Each is made out of the patterned velvet. They are cut to be very full and pouf out above the elbows. The skirt is also made of the patterned velvet and it falls to the floor in a pretty sweep of fabric. It is softly gathered in around the hip seam and this gives it an extra touch of volume that you see more of as you move. Excellent condition

The bodice is lined in a black hand set silk and the skirt is interfaced with a black silk chiffon. It closed with a back zipper. Each sleeve has elastic as its cuff and each shoulder has light padding. Has its original matching printed velvet tie belt. It appears to have never been worn, or worn very little. Tagged a vintage YSL 34. There is about 2.5 inches turned up under the hem if you needed more length

Sleeves: 22"
Shoulders: 14"
Bust: to 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 12.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 16.5" across lowest seam at very top of hips, open under that
Bodice: 14.5" from neck to waist, 4.5 from waist to lowest seam at very top of hips
Skirt: 39" from waist seam to hem including the 4.5"velvet portion under the waist seam

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XXS-XS

Item# DD3163

Reference photos: (1) F/W 1986 Yves Saint Laurent Runway Collection.  /  (2) F/W 1985 Haute Couture Yves Saint Laurent Runway Collection.  /  (3) F/W 1985 Haute Couture Yves Saint Laurent dress in The MET Online Collection.  /  (4) Catherine Deneuve and Yves Saint Laurent, 1985

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

Jean Paul Gaultier's career spans decades. His first show was in 1976 and his avant garde designs quickly gained him the reputation of being fashion's 'l'enfant terrible'. His designs mixed cultures with abandon, gender norms were blurred through his pieces and the body was presented encased in ways unimaginable prior to his brilliant vision. In 1997 he entered the sanctified world of Haute Couture and for just over two decades produced stunning work cumulating with his final show for Spring 2020. His pieces of couture rarely come to market and I am very pleased to have this dress that is very well documented and instantly recognizeable. This is the twin of the dress shown for the Fall 2000 Haute Couture presentation entitled 'Paris and its Muses'. I have included the original runway photos for reference here for you. The dress was also photoed for Vanity fair on Doutzen Kroes. Fast forward to 2013 where the twin of this dress was featured in the The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk exhibit. I actually attended the opening of that show in San Francisco and it is surreal to now have the actual dress in hand as I remember swooning over it on display. This dress was obviously a favourite of Jean Paul's because he chose to recreate a version of it for his Fall 2018 Couture collection. That 2018 version was then worn by Rita Ora for the 2018 MTV VMAs. This may have been the only original piece ever produced beyond the piece that was shown in the exhibition. 

The dress is an incredible work of art. It is made from a layer of silk netting that falls over an interior nude coloured lingerie weight stretch silk. This makes it very easy to wear and be comfortable in despite the dramatic feel it has to everyone seeing it. Onto the silk netting at hand made and hand applied tubes of silk with a stiffened netting inside that gives them the 3D dimension that you see. The entire dress would have had to have been careful planned out prior to its creation. Every single word that you see running over its surface would have had to have been laid out and planned for how it would be placed onto the dress before it was even started. Each word would have had to have been figured out as to the degree it would curve over the body and then it would have been all meticulously brought to life. The letters cover the dress from head to toe and the closer you look the more you see the French words 'Cherie',  'Mon Amour', 'Jean Paul Gaultier', 'Paris' and more as the hand written script cascade and curves it way down the length of the dress. It falls from the shoulders in a long swoop that widens out as it nears the hem. I love how the hem is curved and swooped to follow the final words across the bottom. The script and the netting inside the words also helps to keep the shape of the dress that you see in my photos as they act as structure and support. In a way like a crinoline but attached on the outside rather then worn underneath and hidden. The top is sleeveless and the straps are just wide enough to accommodate the lettering that runs over them. The front scoops down and the back dips into a V. The waist is easy and then it flares out dramatically to the hem. It is bias cut so should fit a range of sizes. Inside you can see how all of the seams are finished with proper couture techniques. This is a dress that would have taken hundreds of hours to complete and is literally like wearing an art piece come to life. To have a piece available for purchase is almost as rare as being able to have bought it as a couture client in the first place. Truly one of the most magnificent pieces he has ever created. Excellent condition with some very minor notes below 

Composed of two layers, the inner nude lingerie weight stretch silk and then the netted layer over that. The inner layer closes with a zipper and the outer layer snaps to close with a tightly spaced series of tiny snaps.  The dress looks to have been worn very little if at all. There is some minor stress to the netting around the seam of the armholes. I see a couple of the ends of a word that have popped through the silk a bit and some small tiny snags to the netting here and there. All of these are very minor. Please see the photos after the Couture label. All the work is done by hand to Haute Couture standards. Proper Couture tag present. It appears to have been worn very little if at all. Sourced from the original couture client  

Bust: 15-19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 15 " flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 62" from top of shoulder to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3612

Reference Photos: (1-2) Fall 2000 Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Runway Collection.  /  (3) Doutzen Kroes in Jean Paul Gaultier couture from the 2000 collection for Vanity Fair, 2009.  /  (4-8) Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition at the Grand Palais, 2015.  /  (9) Fall 2018 Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Runway Collection. Look 34.  /  (10-12) Rita Ora in Jean Paul Gaultier at the 2018 MTV VMAs.

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

This is an incredible dress that would be from when Marc Bohan was head of the Dior atelier before he retired in 1989. It is a beautiful example of the work being produced by Christian Dior in this time period. In the book Dior; Catwalk, the notes on the fall collection state that the collection was placed 'under the sign of opposites' and that he had looked to the work of Abstract Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock for inspiration. Pieces were adorned in drip embroidery and motifs and then he did a series of long sheath dresses that were 'accessorized with 'Pollock jewels" in jet and multi colour stones'. In the book there is a photo of a long velvet dress with a jacket over it and I wonder if that is a glimpse of the back of the twin of this one. This may have been one of the simple 'sheath like pieces' that were shown with jewels rather then the embroidery you see on the other dresses in the photo. The dress is a true Haute Couture piece and has the appropriate numbered label intact.

The dress is made out of a soft textured silk velvet in a jet black. Using a velvet that has this added texture to it is an incredible choice as the dress catches the light in different ways as you move and it really makes it come to life. The cut is simple and sleek with a low front neckline that dips from an angle created over each shoulder. It slightly curves down to the centre and then the fabric is softly gathered down the centre to the waist. This leaves it with a  slightly bloused over feel over the the nipped in waist. The sleeves are cut long and they slim down as they reach the wrists. There is a slight volume built in at the outer part of each shoulder. On the inside I see hand made silk cases that at one time had light padding in them but the padding has been removed at some point to give it a softer shape. You could easily have some padding put back in if you wanted a stronger shoulder.  Inside the bodice is a more fitted and boned inner silk corseted piece that holds you in place while the silk velvet simply drapes softly over that outside. The skirt is cut to feel sleek and simple and falls to the floor with just a touch of gentle widening as it reaches the hem. A vent runs up the back so that you can walk. It is a beautiful and dramatic piece despite its simple lines. It is meant to be slightly more voluminous through the top and then slimmer through the skirt as was the fashion at the time. Excellent condition with a very minor note below.

Fully interlined in a fine black silk satin and then has a built in bodice made of black silk. The inner bodice is boned and closes with its own zipper as photoed. The exterior dress closes with a back painted metal zipper. Each sleeve has a zipper at the cuff. Appropriate numbered tag present with couture number 19469. Silk hand made pads that have no padding inside each shoulder as described above. Slight damage to the silk on either side of the zipper on the inner corset. Please see the photo after the label shot. 

Sleeves: 23"
Soft shoulders: to 16.5"
Inner bust: to 18" flat across from side seam to side seam with room for up to a B cup
Inner waist: 12.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 18.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 13.5" from shoulder to waist
Length: 45" from waist to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3611

Reference Photo: F/W 1984 Christian Dior Couture Runway Collection as shown in the book 'Dior; Catwalk'.

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.