Qhen Yves Saint Laurent unveiled, in 1965, twenty-six models of cocktail dresses paying homage to the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, the entire fashion press went into overdrive. Stars of his fall-winter 1965 collection, these modern silhouettes break with the haute couture elegance that the young couturier had cultivated until then. By imagining these collarless and sleeveless dresses, called “three holes” (one for the head, two for the arms), enhanced with pop colors, the “Beatle of rue Spontini”, as he was nicknamed then, wanted to fit into its era. We are in the midst of a social revolution, desired and represented by young people eager for change.
The time has also come for the emancipation of women, who are abandoning restrictive cuts for a more relaxed silhouette. The three-hole dress is a hit: the hips are freed, the knees (even the thighs) are revealed. “From the 1960s, street movements, spontaneous or concerted, exerted an increasingly strong counter-power, which‘also embodies by an informal wardrobe to take into account from now on for those who want to write the‘history of contemporary fashion”, notes Olivier Saillard in The Fashion Book (Robert Laffont, 2019).
One of the standard bearers of this modern look is André Courrèges, whose collection The Moon Girl, rich in mini-dresses with geometric lines, disrupts the creation of the 1960s. “Both abstract and material at the same time, Courrèges’ fashion only seems to have given itself‘a function: that of making clothing a very clear sign of the whole body”, wrote Roland Barthes in 1967, in the columns of Marie Claire.
Minimal silhouette
We don’t know if, like the French philosopher, everyone thinks “body” when seeing this type of dress, but, across the Channel, the three-hole models with psychedelic prints by Mary Quant – mother of the miniskirt – also do recipe. It goes without saying that the most prominent personalities are grabbing it: the English top model Twiggy, Catherine Deneuve (all in Saint Laurent dressed in Beautiful day, in 1967) or even Jackie Kennedy adore this minimal silhouette, which they accompany with a pair of small heels, called kitten heels. While, at the same time, ready-to-wear is taking over the streets, democratizing fashion a little more.
Symbol of a decade that has become a classic, the three-hole dress has crossed the ages and trends, returning throughout the fashion shows. More modern than ever, it remains the ally of urbanites who are always on the move. It is gaining ground this season, in contact with various materials and effects (oiled canvas, fleece, crochet or organza), and lengthens or shortens according to the desires and the creators. All without ever losing efficiency. And by doubling its apparent simplicity with a little dressy side.
