The Yves Saint Laurent Museum opened its doors to the public in 2017 to preserve the memory of this French designer of international stature, for whom Marrakech served as the muse that inspired most of his creations, and thanks to which he reconciled himself with colors, after having been a fervent supporter of black and white.
The museum is located in an alley that bears his name and is not far from the famous Majorelle gardens that were bought and renovated by Yves Saint Laurent and his friend Pierre Bergé. The museum is not simply a place dedicated to the memory of the French designer, but it is a cultural center in its own right and includes, in addition to the work of this creator and the films that have been made around his prestigious career in the field of fashion, precious Arabic and Andalusian books and magnificent works of art. It is also a place where Moroccan and international artists can exhibit their work.
This space is imbued with the spirit and walls of the ochre city, as well as the colors that Yves Saint Laurent was inspired by for his creations, he who has fallen in love with it since his first visit in 1966 and who has offered himself a home that has served as a haven of peace where he used to close himself off before each creation.
The museum covers an area of 4000 square meters. Its design was supervised by the famous French company “Bouygues”. It includes two exhibition rooms: the first is dedicated to the works of Yves Saint Laurent and the second to the works of the painter Jacques Majorelle. It also includes a 240-seat auditorium, a shop, a library, a café and a restaurant.
The idea of creating a museum for Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakech came from Pierre Bergé, a former businessman and close friend of the French international designer, who wanted to pay tribute to and immortalize Yves Saint-Laurent’s memory in this charming city that recounts many of their memories.
“The most important thing is to transform memories into projects,” Bergé said of the museum in a statement to the newspaper “Le Monde”, adding that “it was obvious that Morocco is hosting a museum dedicated to the work of Yves Saint Laurent, because it owes a lot to this country, both in terms of the colors or shapes it has used in its creations.
The museum cost about 15 million euros. This sum was raised by selling several works of art belonging to Yves Saint Laurent at auctions around the world.
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