Sunday 18 September 2011

Mondrian dresses

Yves Saint Laurent owned three Mondrians, including B142 Composition with Blue, Red, Yellow and Black, 1922 (left), acquired in 1972 (the others were bought in 1969 and 1980). In 1965, YSL created his first Mondrian-influenced dress. The sketch (right) is by Kenneth Paul Block. This blog suggests that Anne Klein thought of it first, but that YSL's implementation was superior.






There are some memorable contemporary photographs of the dresses. The photograph on the left, including B116, Composition with Yellow, Blue, Black, Red, and Grey, 1921, was used by the Hague Gemeentemuseum in publicity for their exhibition Fashion ♥ Art: A Passionate Affair, Sep 2011 - Jan 2012. On the right is, perhaps, the finest contemporary photograph of a YSL Mondrian dress, Isabel Eberstadt taken by Frederick Eberstadt.


More recently, Francesso Maria Bandini has extended the concept. More details in this blog.


More on Mondrian-influenced clothing here.