Step into the World of Yves Saint Laurent at the Stunning Musée YSL Marrakech

This post dives into the stunning life and work of Yves Saint Laurent and the breathtaking museum that honors his legacy. 

Inspired by the designer's archives, the French firm Studio KO designed the outside and inside of the museum. The museum has a permanent exhibition space, temporary exhibition hall, research library, auditorium, bookshop, and terrace café. 

Who Was Yves Saint Laurent?

Yves Saint Laurent was a famous fashion designer born in Algeria in 1936. He became famous for creating a modern wardrobe for women with a pea-jacket, trench coat, and pantsuit. 

He also invented "le smoking," a tuxedo for women that gave them confidence and power while preserving their femininity. He opened a ready-to-wear boutique in Paris in 1966 that paved the way for the fashion industry we know today.

Yves Saint Laurent created costumes for theater, ballet, and cinema. He worked with famous artists and actors. He was inspired by many cultures and countries, particularly Morocco. In Marrakech, he spent time designing his haute couture collections. 

In 2002, he retired from fashion. He then focuses on the activities of the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, which preserves his work. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 72.

Musée Yves Saint Laurent Architecture: A Contrast of Interior and Exterior Design

Near the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech, YVES SAINT LAURENT is not just a museum. 

The museum includes a permanent exhibition space, temporary exhibition hall, research library, auditorium, bookshop, and terrace café.

The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech is a stunning architectural masterpiece designed by the French firm Studio KO. The Studio combines traditional materials and techniques with contemporary forms and technologies.

Studio KO found inspiration from the fashion designer's archives. The Studio explored the contrasts and harmonies between curved and straight lines. The result is a building that is both modern and rooted in its cultural and historical context.

The building's facade is made up of intersecting cubes that are covered with a delicate lace-like pattern of bricks. This design creates a play of light and shadow that changes throughout the day.

The interior of the museum is a complete contrast to the exterior. It is a velvety, smooth, and radiant finish. This contrast is a hallmark of Studio KO's approach to design. The Studio seeks to create functional, pleasing, but also meaningful, and thought-provoking buildings.

Related posts

Unpacking the Archive: Inside Yves Saint Laurent's Fashion Legacy

Yves Saint Laurent was a pioneer and the only fashion designer of his generation to, systematically, archive his work. In 1964, he started to set aside prototypes and significant elements from each collection for safekeeping. 

The prototypes were conserved by the foundation along with accessories like jewelry, shoes, gloves, hats, etc . 

The foundation's holdings include over 5,000 haute couture garments and the complete haute couture collection made by Yves Saint Laurent from 1962 to 2002. 

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé's personal archives, mainly photographs, are also held by the foundation.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Open To The Public Every Day, Except Wednesdays

From 10 A.M To 6 P.M.

Last Admission At 5:30 P.M.

Admission Fee: 130 Mad

Contact

Info@Museeyslmarrakech.Com / T. +212(0) 524 29 86 86

Rue Yves Saint Laurent, 40000 Marrakech near Majorelle Gardens