’Inspiration’ Marrakesh hosts Yves Saint Laurent museum
MARRAKESH, Morocco: A fusion of Moroccan traditions and contemporary flair inspired Yves Saint Laurent, and a museum to the famed fashion designer was unveiled Saturday in his beloved Marrakesh.
Iconic creations — from the black “Le Smoking” tuxedo to the Mondrian dress — went on display, with the museum hoping to attract 300,000 visitors in its first year after it opens its doors on Thursday.
“Marrakesh was a place of inspiration for Yves Saint Laurent,” said director Bjorn Dahlstrom as he surveyed the last touches being made.
The legendary French couturier was entranced by the “ochre city” when he discovered the vibrancy and easy-going atmosphere of its busy streets, overlooked by the Atlas mountains, with Pierre Berge in 1966.
When Saint Laurent came to Marrakesh, he was a designer known for working in black, but he said he “discovered color” in the city and the traditional dress of the women.
He acquired a villa — which his foundation also hopes to open next spring — and in the 1980s took over the spectacular Majorelle Gardens, where a mausoleum was built to the designer after his death in 2008.
Along with his ground-breaking designs, the new museum also contains a wall of photographs retracing reclusive Saint Laurent’s life and career, accompanied by the voice of his friend, the actress Catherine Deneuve.
Marrakesh and its UNESCOprotected Old City is now packed with tourists from all over the world.
But back when Saint Laurent first arrived it was a draw for hippies and artists — from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to beat poet Allen Ginsberg — attracted by the bohemian freedoms and party scene.
The museum to Saint Laurent is housed in a contemporary building of rose ochre brick that intends to evoke both the traditional Moroccan culture that influenced Saint Laurent and his ground-breaking modernity.