Princess Lalla Salma inaugurates the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech
On Saturday, the Yves Saint Laurent museum in Marrakech opened its doors to the public. A stone’s throw from Yves Saint Laurent’s cobalt blue villa and the city’s famed Jardin Majorelle botanical garden, the Studio KO-designed Musée Yves Saint Laurent was inaugurated by Morocco’s Princess Lalla Salma, who wore vintage Saint Laurent for the occasion. Other guests included former supermodel and muse to the late designer, Betty Catroux. The grand event coincided with the ribbon being cut at another museum dedicated to the designer in Paris.
Courtesy of Yves Saint Laurent
The 4000 sq ft space in Marrakech is home to a myriad of masterpieces created by the late designer, such as the iconic 1965 Mondrian collection and the black “Le Smoking” tuxedo. Along with his ground-breaking designs, the new museum also features a wall of photographs tracing the evolution of Saint Laurent’s life and career, accompanied by a voiceover by his friend the actress Catherine Deneuve.
Courtesy of Yves Saint Laurent
In addition, there is a 130-seat auditorium, a bookshop, café, and research library with more than 5,000 books on fashion, Arab history, the Berbers of North Africa, geography, literature, and botany.
The project was spearheaded by Pierre Bergé, Saint Laurent’s former business partner, who passed away less than three weeks before the opening on September 8.
