Over half a century in the making, the Yves Saint Laurent museum finally opened its doors last night in Paris to an exclusive list of well-heeled guests from the worlds of politics and culture. The highly anticipated launch takes place only three short weeks after the death of YSL co-founder (and the designer’s romantic partner) Pierre Bergé.
The new museum is located in the historic building of the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, and is dedicated to Saint Laurent’s couture work—first with Dior and then his own house—as well as his prêt-a-porter collections for Rive Gauche. In order to preserve the delicate textiles and showcase Saint Laurent’s large legacy of works, the displays will be frequently updated. A second museum in Marrakesh also dedicated to the late designer will open on October 19.
The current exhibition includes works from his first collections as an eponymous label in 1962, his work desk, as well as a portraits of the designer by Andy Warhol. The iconic Le Smoking tuxedo and Saharienne jacket are also on view. For now and throughout the weekend, the museum is only open to private previews; on opening night its rooms were packed with celebrities like designers Kenzo Takada and Jean Paul Gaultier, current Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello and his muse, model Anja Rubik, Bianca Jagger, and Salma Hayek and her Francois-Henri Pinault, to name a few.
The museum officially opens to the public on October 3 and the current exhibition will be on view until September 9, 2018.
See images from the museum’s opening below:
Vice-president of the Fondation Berge-Saint Laurent and husband of late co-founder of fashion house Yves Saint-Laurent, Pierre Berge, Madison Cox (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images)
(STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images)
(STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images)
(STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images)