Yves Saint Laurent museum to open in Marrakesh

French luxury brand Yves Saint Laurent is building a museum and is dedicating it to the legacy its founder left behind.

Situated in Marrakesh, the new institution will house an important selection from the Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent’s impressive collection, which comprises 5,000 items of clothing, 15,000 haute couture accessories as well as tens of thousands of sketches and assorted objects, all currently archived in Paris. There will even be a library.

Studio Ko, the French architecture firm behind the project, explains: "We designed the building like one would cut fabric for a dress, by composing curves and lines, in the fashion of the working drawings, white traced on black paper, that we discovered in the designer’s workshop and archives."

"Its façades would be wrapped it in a brick trim, like a drape, a throw, a cape." What we see is a brand paying homage to its past, making room to recall and reminisce.

Situated on rue Yves Saint Laurent, adjacent to the jardin majorelle, the new structure spans over 4,000 square meters and features a 400 square meter permanent exhibition space, showcasing yves Saint Laurent’s work within an original scenography designed by christophe martin. other aspects include a 150 square meter temporary exhibition space, a 130-seat auditorium, a bookshop, a restaurant with a terrace, and a research library housing 5,000 books.

The inauguration of the building in Marrakesh will be in autumn 2017, coinciding with the new Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Paris.

Image: Studio KO, Musee Yves Saint Laurent, Marrakesh