The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, chaired by Madison Cox, is the first museum dedicated to one of the greatest couturiers of the twentieth century to open in the capital of fashion. It opened its doors on October 3, 2017, fifteen years after the closure of the haute couture house and was designated a Musée de France. It occupies the historic hôtel particulier at 5 Avenue Marceau, where for nearly thirty years, from 1974 to 2002, Yves Saint Laurent’s creative genius held sway. The museum’s vast collection includes 30,000 garments, including 8,500 haute couture pieces, more than 100,000 graphic art pieces, including 55,000 fashion sketches by the couturier, and 130,000 photographs. A press and audiovisual documentary archive with over 5,000 entries completes the collection, which is the result of the pioneering, systematic archival work begun by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé.
The presentation of the collections, which is constantly renewed, alternates between retrospective paths and thematic temporary exhibitions, reflecting the richness of the unique heritage preserved by the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent. The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris reflects both the designer’s creative genius and the process of creating haute couture collections. But more than just a monographic museum, it also serves as a testimony to the 20th century and to the haute couture that accompanied a now-vanished lifestyle. Designer Nathalie Mane and decorator Jacques Grange, both of whom have worked on many projects for the Foundation, redesigned the exhibition spaces while preserving the original atmosphere of the fashion house. A true pioneer and artist, Yves Saint Laurent is the only designer of his generation to have archived all his work since the creation of his couture house. The museum’s collection now includes over 5,000 pieces of haute couture. To allow the public to explore this unique treasure, the exhibition is regularly updated, in sync with the rhythm of life in major fashion houses.
The YSL Museum is a monographic museum, testimony to the history of the 20th century and to how haute couture captured the spirit of the times. It is a tribute to the prodigious designer Pierre Bergé, Saint Laurent’s partner and co-founder of the house, who passed away shortly before seeing the completed project. A black-and-white portrait of Yves Saint Laurent by Andy Warhol dominates the museum’s entrance, inviting visitors into the designer’s world through the story of his life. The rooms, filled with exquisite garments displayed on mannequins, drawings, fabrics, and jewellery, reflect YSL’s creative genius and the process of designing haute couture collections. Follow the exhibition path as you wander through the 450-square-meter space, housing 5,000 garments and 30,000 accessories signed by YSL. Walk through the first hall among trench coats, blazers, tailored suits, and tuxedos, including the first women’s tuxedo introduced in 1966.
YSL learned Dior’s lesson about the discipline of garment construction but sought to liberate women’s bodies from overly rigid forms. This gave rise to masculine lines that Parisian women would adopt, discovering a new kind of femininity. YSL offered a form of emancipation to women in the 1960s. Continue your visit with a journey through the places and eras that inspired the designer: Morocco, Sub-Saharan Africa, Russia, Spain, and especially Asia. From Asia, YSL drew a love for vibrant colours, bold forms, and luxurious fabrics, always crafting compositions that were never mere costumes, but his dreamlike vision of the elsewhere. YSL’s travels were often imaginary or motionless. “My most beautiful journeys were made through books, on my couch, in my living room,” he used to say.
End your tour in the jewellery room: a wall of stunning pieces, each displayed in its little case. Lastly, watch the videos of longtime YSL staff members sharing their experiences and memories. Glasses resting on a sketch on the desk, a white blouse hanging on a chair, sketches and photos on the walls, it almost feels like Yves Saint Laurent might walk in at any moment. The Pierre Bergé Foundation has meticulously recreated the designer’s atelier as faithfully as possible.
In this stark white studio, which contrasts sharply with the Second Empire-style furnishings of the hôtel particulier, YSL brought his creations to life. In the mirror on the far wall, you can almost still see the models walking past his watchful eyes during fittings.
Article edited by Elena Parmegiani
