Yves Saint Laurent in Morocco. Genius loci: the Yves Saint Laurent Museum opens in Marrakech

"There is a garden in Marrakesh,
which I have a real passion for."
Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent was born in Oran (Algeria) in 1936, but the rich colors and exoticism of North Africa struck him 30 years later, when he arrived in Marrakesh.

His friend Pierre Berger says: “When Yves Saint Laurent and I first arrived in Marrakech, we could not even imagine that it would become our second home.”

The designer and his companion were fascinated by an abandoned garden with a collection of exotic plants from all over the world, which previously belonged to the French artist Jacques Majorelle; his home-workshop was located in the garden. In 1980 they bought it and began restoration work. Many buildings had fallen into disrepair by that time, rare plants had died, and colors had faded.

The villa and garden were restored, the unique garden buildings were put in order and now “Majorelle’s Garden” (it still bears the name French artist) is one of the most full meetings flora from all over the world. It should be noted that not a single day, even during restoration work, was the garden closed to visitors. Even that day, when I walked through the garden, painting work was being carried out, there were “Caution, Painted” signs everywhere, but the flow of visitors did not stop. Anyone can admire the wonderful monument of architectural and garden art.

It is in this villa-museum that an exclusive exhibition of works by Yves Saint Laurent related to Morocco is being held from November 27 to March 18.

The color of the villa really stands out against the terracotta red of Marrakech.

Entrance to the museum.

The exhibition features 44 mannequins dressed in classic Yves Saint Laurent designs. They demonstrate the deep connection between the artist's designs and Moroccan culture. Visitors are also offered unique photographs, documents, and sketches showing how the couturier interpreted national clothes inhabitants of Morocco, ornaments and embroideries.

First, in the first room we see scanned diaries of Saint Laurent on the walls, passages that relate to Morocco. All of them are accompanied by photographs from his life of one period or another.

Unfortunately, photography is prohibited in the museum, and there are almost no photos from this exhibition on the Internet; I had difficulty finding a few.

The first clothing room is called "Moroccan Inspiration". Inspired by the graceful lines of kaftans and djellabs, Yves Saint Laurent embellished traditional Moroccan garments and gave them new silhouettes. He reoriented ideas of oriental clothing for the free European woman of the late sixties and seventies. This room displays models from 1969-91.

Once in 1976, speaking about one of his collections, Yves Saint Laurent said: “This collection will be colorful, lively, bright. The fabrics will be woven the way they do in Morocco for sewing djellabs - striped wool.[...] I I don't know if this is my best collection. But it is my most beautiful collection."

Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco and exhibition organizer Pierre Berger at the opening.

“I wanted,” says Pierre Berger, “for the exhibits of this exhibition to tell visitors about Yves Saint Laurent’s love for Morocco. It is very well known all over the world, but it holds a special place in the hearts of Moroccans. Worldwide famous designer I often received inspiration in this country.”

I liked the second room the most, it’s called “African Dreams”. The illusion of the Sahara at night is created - darkness, a low starry sky (the room is round and mirrored, due to this it seems that there are millions of stars around), sand under the models’ feet. The outfits in this room are from the 1967 collection.

The third hall is called "Colors of Morocco". It contains truly brilliant works by couturiers from 1985-2000. The floor under the models' feet is strewn with rose petals. And the screen broadcasts a fashion show that was filmed in this garden, Yves Saint Laurent himself comments on the models. There are also amazingly beautiful precious jewelry here.

What I remember most about this room was this poncho-jacket with bougainvillea embroidery.

I am sure that the couturier was inspired for this model by his own garden, because it is buried in bougainvilleas. Yves Saint Laurent loved to relax in the garden in the shade of trees, enjoying tart-sweet Moroccan tea.

With Pierre Berger in the villa

Let's take a little stroll through the magnificent Majorelle Garden.

At the entrance we are greeted by a fountain.

Bamboo Grove

The entire garden is riddled with paths along which there are many benches; people (mostly tourists) come there just to sit and read a book in the shade of the trees while the birds sing. The garden is cool even in the hottest weather. This is a real oasis, an island of calm in the center of noisy and dusty Marrakech.

Ponds with fish and turtles

Nice fountain in front of the villa

Terrace

In the garden there is a memorial to Yves Saint Laurent. The great couturier died in 2008 in Paris, and his ashes were later scattered over this garden.

There is also a store in the garden where you can buy books and CDs about the life and work of the designer. Gallery of his abstractions, many works on the theme of love and his bulldog.

And a cozy cafe in Andalusian style

Residents of the city honored the memory of the couturier by naming the street along which the garden is located after him.

That's all. Hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for your attention!

That being said, there is nothing more French outside of France than Marrakech. And that's why.

House and Museum of Yves Saint Laurent

One of the most famous couturiers in France, whose collections were often inspired by different countries, in fact, rarely traveled abroad. The only exception was Marrakech, which became a second home for the fashion designer. Yves Saint Laurent not only visited this city often, but also lived for a long time in Marrakech with his life partner Pierre Berger. He first came to Marrakech in 1966, persecuted by fashion critics and torn by doubts about his own talent. This city healed him and ignited his talent even stronger. Together with Berger, Yves Saint Laurent bought the garden of the artist Jacques Majorelle, improved it and built a house next to it. After the death of the couturier, a small museum was opened in the garden, which gave an idea of ​​the life and work of the great fashion designer. A few years ago they opened new center is the first museum in Africa dedicated to Yves Saint Laurent and the history of fashion. On this moment it is more impressive and cohesive than the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris. The authors of the project were Carl Fournier and Olivier Marty, Parisian architects in love with Morocco. Studio KO, which they created, has worked extensively on the construction and decoration of hotels and private homes throughout the country. The building of the new museum turned out to be light, as if woven from a thousand threads. The museum houses halls of temporary exhibitions, large library, lecture halls and cinema hall. But the main thing in the exhibition is the couturier’s personal belongings, dresses and accessories from couture collections over the years. This is probably the number one place to visit in Marrakech at the moment.

Details
www.museeyslmarrakech.com

Serge Lutens House and Museum

Unlike the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, visiting the home of one of the most famous perfumers in France is not so easy. As far as I know, only one hotel has the opportunity to send its guests there - Royal Mansour Marrakech. The cost of visiting the house-museum is not only high, but is available only to truly wealthy tourists or true fans of the work of Serge Lutens: a ticket costs 600 euros per guest. This is not a house, but a whole collection of palace houses, which in Morocco are called riads and which the maestro bought and combined into a single space year after year. For 35 years now, restoration has been ongoing there to this day. All houses are very different in size, architecture and interior content. What I saw was rather a non-residential space, and you won’t find Serge Lutens’ personal belongings there. But in one of these houses there is a museum that shows the distillation process and gives the opportunity to listen to almost all the aromas created by the maestro.

Royal Mansour Hotel

The Royal Mansour Marrakech is owned by the King of Morocco, so it's not really a hotel, but rather a place where you come to visit. The king and members of the royal family quite often visit the Royal Mansour Marrakech to see royal guests from other countries, have lunch or just relax. At the same time, no one blocks access to the hotel. When I was at the La Grande Table Marocaine restaurant, representatives of the royal family and their guests were having dinner in the next room. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that you could so easily sit with the Princess of Morocco (the official title of the king’s wife) in the same restaurant, albeit in different rooms.

The French restaurant La Grande Table Francaise is one of the favorites in the city not only for the King of Morocco, but also for the local elite and expats who work in Marrakech. The decor, porcelain, dishes, silver will take you to the banks of the Seine, where the chef is from. To get acquainted with the cuisine, I recommend ordering a set from the chef, which includes perhaps the most interesting dishes of French cuisine, but with an oriental touch. The wine list, as expected, is dominated by French producers, but you can also try local Moroccan wines.

In addition to La Grande Table Francaise, Royal Mansour Marrakech recently opened an ideal restaurant for lunch. The hotel is expanding its territory by planting free space orange trees and fragrant plants, turning the desert into a garden, and in one of the corners of this garden the romantic restaurant Le Jardin appeared. Chef Yannick Alleno, winner of three Michelin stars, offered a menu of Mediterranean cuisine with an Asian twist, where seafood and grilled meats are complemented by dim sum and signature rolls.

Royal Mansour is a place designed for relaxation. Therefore, the hotel has one of the largest spa complexes I have seen. The design of the building deserves special mention: when you walk inside, you feel as if you are entering a large, dazzling white bird cage. On a sunny day, the shadows from the forged rods are incredibly beautiful patterns on the floor and walls. On an area of ​​2500 square meters there is a large greenhouse with a swimming pool, a fitness room, two oriental baths, a relaxation area with a tea room, a beauty salon and separate spa rooms. Royal Mansour's team of experts has chosen the best means: marocMaroc body care line made in France from traditional Moroccan ingredients, Sisley for facial treatments and Leonor Greyl for hair care. The spa offers more than 100 beauty rituals, I chose the oriental hammam with cleansing with traditional black soap-scrub and the Tahlila hair restoration procedure using a Moroccan mixture of oils, herbs and plants, which for centuries has helped Moroccan women restore their hair to a healthy look and shine .

The hardest thing about Royal Mansour is forcing yourself to leave your riad. Since the hotel was built as a royal guest house, the construction budget was not limited. Yes, yes, it happens. Therefore, you will probably not see such a design and interior decoration of a hotel anywhere in the world. All the best masters Morocco (and not only Morocco) in forging, wood and bone carving, working with mosaics and tiles, painting with paints and gold were involved in the construction of the hotel. Believe me, the first day of your stay will take you to carefully examine every centimeter of the space you find yourself in. At the same time, which is absolutely incredible, there is no feeling that you are in a museum at all. Everything is done conveniently and comfortably, and throughout your stay you feel at home.

Details
www.royalmansour.com

If you still want to leave the hotel and go out into the city in the evening, I recommend Le Palace - a hotbed French culture V North Africa. The place is notable not only for its cuisine, which is undoubtedly good, but also for its style and general atmosphere. It's like you're being transported to a French boudoir. Lots of wood and purple velvet on the walls large photos Yves Saint Laurent. Owner Nordine Fakir is a passionate admirer of the designer's personality, and the place is said to have been "blessed" by Pierre Berger himself. Here are the best cocktails in the city; there is no prosecco in the bar - only champagne. Le Palace is visited by all the celebrities who visit Marrakech: Hollywood actors, top models and musicians.

Details
Corner of Avenue Echouhadda and Rue Chaouki Hivernage, Marrakech, Tel: +212 5244-58901

Having already become famous in advance, perpetuating the memory of the legendary couturier, and the first museum in Africa, dedicated to history fashion.

Street Yves Saint Laurent near the 12-acre botanical garden created by the artist Jacques Majorelle, decorated with an elegant terracotta façade. In creating it, the architects of the bureau Studio KO were inspired by the characteristic pattern that the fashion designer loved to use in his works, at the same time referring to the interweaving of the warp and weft in the woven fabric. Also, the authors of the project in this cubic volume emphasized the paradoxical ability of the master to combine straight and curved lines.

The expanses of the bright interior contrast with the blank external walls. Author of museum scenography, decorator Christophe Martin used traditional Moroccan materials: glazed tiles, granite, oak and laurel wood.

Space of 400 sq. m is divided into zones: space for permanent exhibition and temporary exhibitions, a library with a fund of 6,000 volumes, a hall with 150 seats, where fashion shows, concerts, symposiums on botany and Berber culture, book Shop and a 75-seat cafe designed by a famous designer Yves Taralon. The museum has an archive with an extensive collection of clothes, now owned by a businessman friend of the fashion designer Pierre Berger. The building is surrounded by a garden with trees and plants typical of the desert.

Fifty models of clothing are shown in the halls in combination with objects creative inspiration Yves Saint Laurent, as well as with photographs, archival documents, interviews that are broadcast on screens.

"There is a garden in Marrakech that I have a real passion for."
Yves Saint Laurent

What is a must-see in Morocco?
Majorelle Garden by Yves Saint Laurent, which is located in Marrakech.

About Yves Saint Laurent:

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent is a fashion designer who reigned in the world of high fashion for more than 40 years. After the death of Christian Dior, for whom Yves began as an assistant, in 1957 he became the head of his fashion house (he was 21 years old). Entered into women's fashion elements of the men's wardrobe - leather jackets, thigh-high boots and even tuxedos (1966). Considered the founder of the unisex style.

About the Majorelle Garden

Yves Saint Laurent's friend Pierre Berger said: "When Yves Saint Laurent and I first arrived in Marrakech, we could not even think that it would become a second home for us."

The designer and his companion were fascinated by an abandoned garden with a collection of exotic plants from all over the world, which previously belonged to the French artist Jacques Majorelle; his home-workshop was located in the garden. In 1980 they bought it and began restoration work. Many buildings had fallen into disrepair by that time, rare plants had died, and colors had faded.
The villa and garden were restored, the unique garden buildings were put in order, and now the Majorelle Garden (it still bears the name of the French artist) is one of the most complete collections of fauna from around the world and is open to visitors for a nominal fee.

About the collections of Yves Saint Laurent

In his haute couture collections, I. Saint Laurent allowed himself bold experiments with styles. With a brilliant gift for stylization, he could transform almost any creative source into modern clothing. In the same collection autumn/winter 1966-1967. there were “pop art” dresses - made of knitted fabric with huge appliqués in the form of lips, hearts, women's profiles and body outline. Their bright colors reminded acrylic paints paintings by artists themselves fashion direction in art of the 1960s. - “pop art”, and the motifs of the appliqués are the surreal models of E. Schiaparelli. The historical costume was the prototype of suits with velvet jackets trimmed with lace collars and culottes.
In the summer collection of 1967, I. Saint Laurent turned to an ethnic source - in short cocktail dresses under the motto “Bambara” he used motifs of primitive jewelry. The dresses were woven from linen and raffia fibers and colorful wooden beads, complemented by African-inspired jewelry and stylized African hairstyles. In the summer collection of 1968, he proposed the “safari” style - cotton models based on colonial costume. The same collection included transparent blouses, tuxedos and overalls with shorts. In 1968, Coco Chanel named I. Saint Laurent her spiritual successor, recognizing his merits for the first time. In 1969, Saint Laurent amazed the public with colorful blouses and skirts imitating a patchwork technique, undoubtedly inspired by the images of hippies, and transparent dresses, trimmed with ostrich feathers. The first trouser suit appeared in the 1969 summer collection male type, which was symbolically named “Leitmotif”. These suits will become as much a symbol of Saint Laurent's style as the tuxedo.

My impressions:

The color of the villa is very unusual - bright blue, a pond with lotuses and goldfish. And exposure graphic works Maestro on the theme "Love".

Sayings by Yves Saint Laurent

Love is the best cosmetic. But it’s easier to buy cosmetics.

Over the years, I have realized that the most important thing in a dress is the woman who wears it.

In this life, I regret only one thing - that I didn’t invent jeans.

Clothes should be subordinated to the woman's personality, and not vice versa.

Traveling is so great!
Nona Dronova

• Address: Rue Yves St Laurent, Marrakech 40090, Morocco
• Telephone: +212 5243-13047
• Website: www.jardinmajorelle.com
• Working hours: from 8.00 to 18.00, seven days a week

The hot sun of the East attracts vacationers and tourists. Active and busy life here is mainly on the coasts - there are a lot of hotels, restaurants, gardens and parks. But there are exceptions to all rules. And a striking example of this is the Majorelle Garden. This marvelous corner of greenery among the red-brown tones of the city leaves no chance of passing by.

A hint of the history of the Majorelle Garden

Notes of France mixed here with the spirit of the East. And this is not surprising, because the Majorelle Garden is the creation of the French artist Jacques Majorelle. In 1919 he moved to Morocco in search of a cure for terrible disease– tuberculosis. In 1924, the artist founded his studio here, laying out a small garden around it. But since Jacques Majorelle was very passionate about collecting plants, after each of his trips the collection was replenished and grew. Today the garden covers an area of ​​about a hectare. It’s relatively small, like a big supermarket, but the pleasure and comfort it brings are simply enormous! The shade of the trees and plants of the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech is the best place to hide from the hot sun.

After the death of Jacques Majorelle, the garden fell into disrepair. The French couturier Yves Saint Laurent breathed a second life into it. Together with his friend, he bought the garden from the city, restored it and ensured that the park was maintained at the proper level. In the old studio there is a small exhibition of the works of the famous couturier, and after his death in 2008, a special tank was installed in the garden in which the ashes of Yves Saint Laurent are stored.

What is the Majorelle Garden interesting for tourists?

Being close to the Majorelle Garden, it is simply impossible to miss it. The contrast of bright blue with lush greenery immediately catches your attention. But this was precisely the artist’s idea - he painted the building in his workshop with bright blue paint. At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a bamboo alley. In the garden you can find plants from all five continents. Beautiful views complement great amount ponds, fountains, canals. By the way, there is such an abundance of reservoirs for a reason - they provide the proper level of humidity for tropical plants. Some have turtles.

The Majorelle Garden in Morocco is decorated with sculptures, clay vases and columns. Conventionally, the park territory is divided into two parts. Tropical plants grow on the right side, desert territory on the left. Here you can see a whole park of cacti of various sizes and shapes! In total, this botanical garden has more than 350 rare species plants.

Today, the Majorelle Garden also houses the Museum of Islamic Art. Here you can see the works of ancient Moroccan artisans - ancient carpets, clothes, ceramics. The museum also houses about 40 works by the artist. There is an opportunity to have a snack in a cafe in the park.

The Majorelle Garden is located in the new part of the city of Marrakech, among an interweaving of narrow streets and new houses. You can get here by bus number 4, to the Boukar-Majorelle stop. For lovers of oriental exoticism, there is the opportunity to hire a carriage. Well, if you want comfort, of course, there is a taxi network in the city.