The Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent in Paris launched last week the exhibition “Noureddine Amir’s Sculpted Dresses,” curated by Hamid Fardjad and featuring a dazzling exhibition design, full of dramatic lights and shadows, courtesy of Christophe Martin.

Noureddine Amir
Photo: Courtesy the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, © Jean Madeysk.

Though Amir is a couturier, many of his garments are incredibly sculptural: he experiments with line and form, pairing materials such as silk chiffon and organza with jute canvas and his own raw materials and fabrics.

“I accumulate mountains of materials. Then I feel them, I mix them, I experiment… I begin in the middle, the belly around which I create the dress. And I never know at what point I’ll stop. The form creates itself. It is born out of the material,” Amir describes in the exhibition’s press release.

Photo: courtesy the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, © Cringuta Pinzaru.

The Moroccan designer currently lives and works in Marrakesh. He has worked on numerous costume designs, including notable collaboration with the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat.

He has presented his collections at fashion shows around the world and has exhibited his designs at museums internationally, including the ModeMuseum in Antwerp, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille, and the Arab World Institute in Paris.

This is Noureddine Amir’s first solo exhibition in France.
Photo: courtesy the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, © Luc Castel.

Pierre Bergé chose to devote an entire exhibition to Amir’s creations after falling in love with his work. Bergé—who has a strong personal and professional interest in Morocco—discovered the designer’s work at the Arab World Institute and subsequently met him in Marrakesh, WWD reports.

This is the first solo exhibition in France of Amir’s work, and it is also the last exhibition at the foundation before it closes until next year for renovations.

“Noureddine Amir’s Sculpted Dresses” is on view from March 9-April 3, 2016, at the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, Paris.