Mondrian Collection

1965 Mondrian dress by Saint Laurent, Rijksmuseum

The six wool jersey and silk A-line Mondrian dresses comprised graphic black lines and blocks of white and primary colour, directly referencing the work of Mondrian.[4][5][6] Rather than being printed, the dresses were made of pre-dyed fabrics, each colour in their design being an individual piece of fabric.[5] Saint Laurent experimented with the interplay of lines by integrating them in the seams of the garment and giving a seemingly seam-free construction.[7] The weight of the fabrics used ensured that the dresses hung straight, without draping or movement to distort the simplicity of the effect—features that enhanced the Modernism theme of the designs.[5] In interviews Saint Laurent acknowledged that Mondrian inspired him to focus on simple dresses with minimal decoration.[1][8] Although the overall effect appeared simple, the technique was complex and required precision cutting and work-intensive haute couture techniques to achieve successfully, making the dresses expensive.[7]

The convergence of fashion and art in the Mondrian dresses is significant.[11] Whilst reflecting the fashionable Western silhouette, the designs also reflect the significance of the work of artists like Mondrian during the 1960s.[12] The abstract, geometric visual language of the modernistic Dutch movement De Stijl to which Mondrian belonged was applied to the design of the six dresses.[12]

Saint Laurent was known for his love of fine art,[7] and had an extensive collection covering a wide range of periods and styles which had important influence on his work.[8] He said of Mondrian: ‘Mondrian is purity and one can go no further in purity in painting. This is a purity that joins with that of the Bauhaus. The masterpiece of the twentieth century is a Mondrian’.[13] The dresses have been described as a canvas on which Saint Laurent experimented with his artistic ideas,[14] and have become regarded as having captured the Zeitgest of their era.[13] As icons of 1965 fashion the dresses have been described as giving a new perspective on haute couture—namely that it didn't have to consist of a total look any more, and that it could be easy to wear.[8]

The Mondrian collection was widely published in many fashion magazines, with one dress featuring on the cover of Vogue in 1965.[15] Mondrian style dresses became very popular, with many mass manufacturers producing copies of the designs for lower prices, which were then widely circulated.[7] The copying was so widespread that Saint Laurent became a little disenchanted with this collection during the peak of its success, saying at one point, "I hate Mondrian now."[16]

The original Mondrian dresses can be found in several museums around the world, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam,[12] the Victoria and Albert Museum in London,[6] and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.[2]