An Yves Saint Laurent museum in Marrakech

"I'm building an Yves Saint Laurent museum in Marrakech. I've bought a plot of land. The architects are at work. It will be the first of its kind in the world!"

This statement made by Pierre Bergé in January 2014 to Paris Match went largely unnoticed. Yet, less than a year later, construction of this future museum began and observers agree that significant resources have been deployed. This space is expected to exhibit haute couture dresses designed by the Little Prince of fashion, as well as sketches, accessories, and miscellaneous objects. The Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent Foundation maintains over 5,000 haute couture pieces and 150,000 objects.

"For forty years, we've lived in Marrakech. We owe a debt of life and an artistic debt to Morocco, our adopted country," Pierre Bergé explained a few years ago. The creation of this museum extends the love story connecting Yves Saint Laurent and his partner to the ochre city. Upon their arrival in the late 60s, they acquired 'Dar El Hanch,' a house in the medina, and subsequently fell under the spell of the "Majorelle Garden".

As the story goes, they purchased the garden which has been an "endless source of inspiration" for the designer and saved it from real estate speculation. In June 2008, the date Yves Saint Laurent passed away, his ashes were laid to rest there. Since then, visitors can pay their respects at a stele bearing his name. Two years later, the street of the Majorelle Garden was renamed Rue Yves Saint Laurent.