We wanted to visit this little Parisian museum of Yves Saint Laurent's life and work since it opened in 2017, and finally in the fall last year, during one of our trips to Paris, on a very wet morning, we managed to make it happen. Because for us no other fashion designer personifies the idea of timeless elegance better than YSL.
The museum is housed in the legendary original hôtel particulier where YSL lived, and where his studio was located for over 30 years. It is small but very well curated and cleverly arranged to experience the creative, public, and private lives of YSL, with numerous rooms devoted to his iconic creations and collections.
Just entering the building we were transported into the stylish and elegant world of Haute Couture. Being lifelong design lovers we found ourselves in fashion paradise.
As we perused the beautiful displays, it occurred to us that we're looking at designs that are 30-50 years old. And yet they looked fresh and beautiful, and we wouldn't mind having a thing or two from these collections in our own wardrobes...
YSL's genius of garment construction, the art of presenting a woman's body in the best possible way, the ingenuity of making the fabric float around a silhouette, his gift of comfortable elegance is timeless.
One could just throw on any dress, a gown, a pantsuit, from his collections (if we were so lucky!), and feel confident, modern, and fabulous.
After we managed to leave the fashion displays (it was hard!), we proceeded to
the exposition of jewelry, which was a delight. Every piece was displayed in an ingenious way, like a piece of candy. Each necklace, earring, brooch - exquisite, unique, original, created to adorn various looks of each collection.
Apart from fashion there was much to learn about the great man's life, with a documentary, short movies from his atelier, and footage from the catwalks.
There was one room, which resonated with us most. A special room that offered a fascinating glimpse into the creative process of the genius, and where we felt the presence of the designer - his atelier.
The space looked as if YSL had just left the room - with the surfaces in creative disarray, with his desk full of the personal objects, the boards with ideas for future collections, half opened boxes of lace and
buttons... And his white smock casually resting on the back of his chair...
The shelves were full of books and art albums, used by the designer for inspiration and reference.
Other than the colorful medley of fabric samples, ribbons, beads, and garments, all furniture, walls and floor were soothing white, the perfect canvas for the rest of the creative disarray.
What can one say after such an experience? We left with our heads full of fashion dreams.
We leave you with famous words of wisdom from Yves Saint Lauren himself:
"Fashions fade, style is eternal".
This small and beautiful museum is located at 5 avenue Marceau, 75116 Paris, France
Website: www.museeyslparis.com
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