Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech
Museum dedicated to the couturier’s work, beside the Jardin Majorelle.
The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech opened on 19 October 2017 on Rue Yves Saint Laurent, a short walk from the Jardin Majorelle, the garden that Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé bought in 1980. The couturier first visited Marrakech in 1966 and returned regularly for decades, and Bergé described the city as a natural home for a museum devoted to his work. It was conceived alongside a sister institution in Paris, which opened in the former couture house on Avenue Marceau in the same month.
The building was designed by the Paris-based practice Studio KO, led by Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty, and covers about 4,000 square metres. Its exterior is formed of interlocking cubes clad in terracotta brick laid in patterns that recall the warp and weft of woven fabric, while the interiors are smooth and softly lit. The architects drew on the contrast between curved and straight lines found in Saint Laurent's cutting. In 2018 the building received the Wallpaper* Design Award for best new public building.
The museum holds a permanent exhibition hall presenting a rotating selection of garments, accessories, sketches and photographs from the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, whose collections number several thousand haute couture pieces. It also has a temporary exhibition hall, a gallery, an auditorium used for concerts, film screenings and lectures, a research library of more than 5,000 volumes on subjects including Moroccan history, Berber culture, botany and fashion, a bookshop and a terrace café. Conservation facilities occupy around 700 square metres.
Highlights
- Terracotta brick facade laid in patterns inspired by woven fabric
- Permanent hall with garments and sketches from the Saint Laurent collections
- Designed by Studio KO; Wallpaper* award for best new public building in 2018
- Research library of more than 5,000 volumes and a concert and film auditorium
- A short walk from the Jardin Majorelle, bought by Saint Laurent and Bergé in 1980
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