The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech targets fashion aficionados and the general public.
Fans of French designer Yves Saint Laurent can mark their calendars. Come October 2017, The Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, which works to preserve the legacy of the famous designer, will open two museums dedicated to his life and work.
The foundation has selected Paris and Marrakesh in Morocco as the locations in which 5,000 haute couture garments and 15,000 accessories will be on display. Also set to be featured are a thousand sketches, photographs and the like that the designer himself had archived since 1961, when he created his fashion house.
“Both museums are aimed at the general public as well as fashion lovers. Yves Saint Laurent was a major artist of the 20th century,” said the couple’s foundation in a statement.
Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech. Photo © 2016 Studio KO and The Fondation Pierre Bergé Yves Saint Laurent
The larger museum in Marrakesh hopes to attract up to 700,000 visitors a year. Yves Saint Laurent owned a house in the Moroccan city and spent a great deal of time there over the years. It was essential to his inspiration in his work. The space will be located on Rue Yves-Saint Laurent near Jardin Majorelle, a garden that he and Pierre Bergé saved from development in 1980. It is also now home to a Berber cultural museum and cultural site that receives 700,000 visitors a year.
French architectural firm Studio KO is behind the 4,000 square meter structure that will comprise a museum with a permanent collection of Yves Saint Laurent’s work, a space for temporary exhibitions, an auditorium, a research library, as well as a café and restaurant.
The Yves Saint Laurent museum in Paris.
The comparably smaller Parisian museum will be located in the historical couture house at 5 Avenue Marceau where Yves Saint Laurent designed his work for 30 years, from 1974 until 2002. The site has also been home to The Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent since 2004. Visitors will be able to explore a constantly updated display of the collection. The museum will also include visits to the former haute couture salons, as well as Yves Saint Laurent’s studio.
The Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent in Paris closed its doors in April 2016 in order to allow works to create the future museum to begin. Stage designer Nathalie Crinière and interior designer Jacques Grange is recreating an exhibition area that will be twice as large as the existing space. They are also refurbishing the designer’s couture house in the original style.
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