Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh

The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh is a cultural institution devoted to the work and legacy of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. Located on a street named after the designer near the Jardin Majorelle, the museum links Saint Laurent’s international fashion career with his long relationship with Morocco. Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé first visited Marrakesh in 1966 and later acquired the Jardin Majorelle, making the city an important source of visual, material, and emotional inspiration for the designer. The museum was created alongside a sister institution at the former Yves Saint Laurent couture headquarters in Paris, with both projects organized for opening in 2017. The Marrakesh museum was inaugurated in October 2017 and opened to the public on 19 October of that year. Its development was notably supported by a 2015 auction of Moroccan artworks organized in Marrakesh by Pierre Bergé. The institution was designed not simply as a fashion display, but as a venue connecting clothing, design, Moroccan artistic traditions, architecture, photography, botanical interests, and scholarship. In January 2018, it received the best new public building award at the Wallpaper* Design Awards. The building occupies approximately 4,000 square metres and was designed by Studio KO. Construction was carried out by a Moroccan subsidiary of Bouygues. Its exterior combines earth-colored volumes, curves, and a brick lattice intended to evoke textile construction and weaving. Locally produced Moroccan earth was used for the bricks, while the building also incorporates concrete, terrazzo, local stone, and local marble aggregates. The design was conceived to harmonize with the surrounding urban environment and with the visual identity of Marrakesh. The principal exhibition space presents garments, accessories, sketches, photographs, and video material associated with Saint Laurent’s career. The collection includes more than 7,000 garments and approximately 30,000 accessories from his personal collections, although not all holdings are displayed at once. A separate hall is dedicated to Jacques Majorelle, the painter and original creator of the garden that became closely associated with Saint Laurent and Bergé. The museum also operates temporary exhibition galleries, a 130-seat auditorium, a research library, a bookshop, a gift shop, and a café-restaurant with a patio. The research library contains more than 5,000 volumes, covering subjects including Yves Saint Laurent, botany, Amazigh art, Andalusi culture, and Moroccan history. Its holdings include historic Andalusi works dating from as early as the twelfth century. Through these facilities and its rotating exhibitions, the museum extends beyond the presentation of haute couture: it functions as an archive, educational venue, architectural landmark, and cultural-tourism destination. Its activities are closely connected with the nearby Jardin Majorelle, the Berber Museum, and other heritage and arts institutions in Marrakesh.

The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh was established as one of two museums created to preserve and interpret the work of Yves Saint Laurent and the holdings of the Pierre Bergé–Yves Saint Laurent Foundation. The second museum is located in Paris at the former headquarters of the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house. The paired institutions were developed for opening in 2017, reflecting an effort to present Saint Laurent’s legacy both through the history of his couture house and through his relationship with Morocco. Marrakesh occupied a distinctive place in Saint Laurent’s life and work. He and Pierre Bergé visited the city in 1966 and subsequently acquired the Jardin Majorelle, a garden originally associated with painter Jacques Majorelle. The garden became a major part of their life in Morocco and later evolved into a public cultural complex containing the garden, a Berber Art Museum, and exhibition facilities. Saint Laurent’s engagement with Moroccan color, architecture, textiles, landscapes, and decorative traditions is often cited as an important influence on his design vocabulary. The Marrakesh museum was therefore conceived as a natural setting for presenting his work rather than as a generic fashion museum relocated abroad. The project was supported in part by a September 2015 auction of Moroccan artworks held in Marrakesh by Pierre Bergé. The auction helped finance the museum’s development and connected the institution to Bergé’s collecting activities and commitment to Moroccan cultural heritage. The building was designed by Studio KO and constructed by a Moroccan subsidiary of Bouygues. Its architecture uses a composition of cubic and curved forms covered by an open brick surface that recalls woven fabric. Moroccan earth was used to produce the bricks locally, and the building incorporates concrete, terrazzo, stone, and local marble aggregates. The material and color choices were intended to integrate the museum into Marrakesh’s built environment. The museum was inaugurated in October 2017 and welcomed the public from 19 October. Its approximately 4,000-square-metre program includes a main gallery devoted to Saint Laurent’s work, a hall dedicated to Jacques Majorelle, temporary exhibition rooms, an auditorium with 130 seats, a library, a bookshop, a gift shop, and a café-restaurant with a patio. The permanent fashion presentation draws on a large personal collection containing more than 7,000 garments and around 30,000 accessories, supplemented by photographs, films, and design sketches. The institution’s scope extends beyond fashion history. Its library holds more than 5,000 books and reference works concerning Saint Laurent, botany, Amazigh art, Moroccan culture, and related fields. The collection also includes historic Andalusi works dating to the twelfth century. Exhibitions and publications associated with the museum have explored Moroccan dress, jewelry, carpets, and other aspects of Amazigh heritage. In this way, the museum operates as a multidisciplinary cultural venue that places haute couture in dialogue with art history, local traditions, architecture, and the natural environment. The museum’s early architectural recognition came in January 2018, when it received the best new public building award at the Wallpaper* Design Awards. Its location on Yves Saint Laurent Street, close to Jardin Majorelle, reinforces its role within a wider cultural destination in Marrakesh. Together, the museum and nearby garden complex provide a framework for understanding Saint Laurent’s creative practice, his collecting interests, and his lasting connection to Morocco.

1. 2018Recognized as best new public building

   The museum received the best new public building award at the 2018 Wallpaper* Design Awards.

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2. 2017Museum inaugurated and opened to the public

   The museum was inaugurated in October and opened to visitors on 19 October as a permanent institution devoted to Yves Saint Laurent and related Moroccan cultural subjects.

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3. 2015Moroccan art auction helps finance the museum

   Pierre Bergé organized an auction of Moroccan artworks in Marrakesh in September, with proceeds supporting development of the museum.

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4. 1966Saint Laurent and Bergé first visit Marrakesh

   Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé visited Marrakesh, beginning the relationship with Morocco that later shaped Saint Laurent’s life, collections, and creative work.

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A destination museum combining Yves Saint Laurent fashion archives with Moroccan cultural history, Amazigh art, botanical interests, architecture, scholarship, and contemporary exhibition-making.

• Permanent Yves Saint Laurent exhibitionFashion museum exhibition2017

  The principal exhibition presents selected garments, accessories, sketches, photographs, and audiovisual material from Yves Saint Laurent’s career. It draws on a personal collection reported to contain more than 7,000 garments and approximately 30,000 accessories, allowing the museum to interpret both the finished designs and the creative process behind them.

• Jacques Majorelle exhibition hallArt and cultural heritage exhibition2017

  A dedicated hall addresses Jacques Majorelle, the painter associated with the garden later acquired and preserved by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. The space places the museum within the artistic and botanical history of Jardin Majorelle and the wider cultural landscape of Marrakesh.

• Temporary exhibitionsRotating cultural exhibitions2017

  The museum includes temporary exhibition galleries for changing presentations related to fashion, art, design, Moroccan culture, Amazigh heritage, photography, and other subjects connected with the institution’s collections and research interests.

• Research libraryLibrary and research service2017

  The research library contains more than 5,000 volumes covering Yves Saint Laurent, botany, Amazigh art, Moroccan culture, and related areas. Its holdings also include historic Andalusi works dating from the twelfth century, supporting scholarly and educational use.

• 2017Launch the Marrakesh museum as a multidisciplinary cultural venueProduct launch

  The institution was created to present Yves Saint Laurent’s work in the Moroccan city that had a strong personal and creative significance for him.

  What changed. The museum opened with fashion galleries, a Jacques Majorelle hall, temporary exhibition spaces, an auditorium, library, retail facilities, and food service.

  Aftermath. The institution became part of the cultural destination surrounding Jardin Majorelle and received architectural recognition in 2018.

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• 2015Use a Moroccan art auction to support museum developmentStrategy

  The planned Marrakesh museum required funding while also being closely connected to Pierre Bergé’s collecting and preservation of Moroccan art.

  What changed. Pierre Bergé organized a September auction of Moroccan artworks in Marrakesh, with the event contributing to financing for the museum.

  Aftermath. The museum was subsequently inaugurated and opened to visitors in October 2017.

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• 2018Museum receives Wallpaper* award for best new public building

  The museum received the best new public building award at the 2018 Design Awards organized by Wallpaper*, recognizing its architectural design and public-cultural role.

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• 2017Yves Saint Laurent Museum inaugurated in Marrakesh

  The Marrakesh museum was inaugurated in October 2017 and opened to the public on 19 October, establishing a permanent institution dedicated to Yves Saint Laurent near Jardin Majorelle.

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1. Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh
2. Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech official website