From Schiaparelli and Salvador Dalí in the 1920s to Jeff Koons collaborating with H&M in 2014, the history of fashion and art is a long, interesting and colorful one. One of the most successful collaborations between art and fashion came during the 1960s when Yves Saint Laurent took inspiration from the painting he owned by Piet Mondrian of the Dutch School ‘De Stiljl’.
In 1965, Saint Laurent designed a collection of fashion based upon modern artists, including Serge Poliakoff, Kazimir Malevich and of course, Mondrian. Although the collection was diverse in its inspiration and design, it was the collection of six cocktail dresses based on the works of the artist Mondrian that became the forefront of the collection, thus creating the nickname, 'The Mondrian Collection'.
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Rather than being printed, the dresses' blocks of primary colors and black geometric lines were made of individual pieces of fabric. To coincide with the designs, Saint Laurent made sure he addressed the structure of the dress. The weight of the fabric meant they hung straight and without movement, which enhanced the idea that each dress was a piece of art.
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The dresses hit the fashion world at exactly the right moment, encapsulating the bright, geometric ideals of 1960s fashion and with a clean simple structure. As a result, the effect of the Mondrian Collection was felt almost immediately. In 1965, one of the six designs appeared on the cover of French Vogue and cheaper, copycat versions in similar bold geometric designs appeared across the high street.
The importance of this collaboration and its effect on the fashion of the sixties is evident today. In 2011, a rare silk version (instead of the more commonly produced wool version) sold at Kerry Taylor's auction house in London for £27,000. Saint Laurent personally told Sandy Schreier (the accessory designer of the 'ready-to-wear' collection) that he made just two couture dresses in silk of this design, the other version is in the Victoria & Albert fashion collection.